Install Ink/Stitch on macOS

Video Guide

We also provide beginner tutorial videos on our YouTube channel. Watch the installation process for macOS.

Warning: The video for macOS users is outdated. Please read updated info “Additional Steps for Catalina and Big Sur”

Requirements

That’s it! All python libraries and external dependencies are bundled (using the excellent pyinstaller), so you shouldn’t need to set anything else up.

Installation

Download

Download the release archive.

язык Catalina & Big Sur High Sierra & Mojave Sierra & El Capitan
английский Catalina / Big Sur High Sierra / Mojave Sierra / El Capitan
финский Catalina / Big Sur High Sierra / Mojave Sierra / El Capitan
Французский Catalina / Big Sur High Sierra / Mojave Sierra / El Capitan
итальянский Catalina / Big Sur High Sierra / Mojave Sierra / El Capitan
Японский Catalina / Big Sur High Sierra / Mojave Sierra / El Capitan
Немецкий Catalina / Big Sur High Sierra / Mojave Sierra / El Capitan
нидерландский Catalina / Big Sur High Sierra / Mojave Sierra / El Capitan
русский Catalina / Big Sur High Sierra / Mojave Sierra / El Capitan

Latest release: Ink/Stitch v2.0.0 (2021-05-03)

The LOCALE selected affects the menus shown inside Inkscape. Ink/Stitch dialogs are in the lanugage of your OS (if that language is supported).

Your language is not available? Help us to translate the dialogs into your native language.

Extract Files

Go to Edit > Preferences > System and check where your User Extensions folder is.

Preferences: Extensions Folder

Extract the Ink/Stitch archive into this folder.

Addtitional Steps for Catalina / Big Sur

Newer macOS versions will complain about Ink/Stitch if it is downloaded through your browser. You will receive an error message like this: 'xxxx' cannot be opened, because the developer cannot be verified.

To avoid this error message open your Terminal App. Click on the small magnifying glass icon in your menu bar at the top right corner (or press Command (⌘)+Space). Search for Terminal and open the application.

In the Terminal enter the following command:

xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine ~/Library/Application\ Support/org.inkscape.Inkscape/config/inkscape/extensions/

Replace ~/Library/Application\ Support/org.inkscape.Inkscape/config/inkscape/extensions/ if your Inkscape extension folder path has an other location (verify through Inkscape > Preferences > System).

Run Ink/Stitch

Restart Inkscape.

You will then find Ink/Stitch under Extensions > Ink/Stitch.

Upgrade

Delete the old extension files first. Go to the extension directory and remove each inkstitch* file and folder.

Then, proceed as above.

Tip: Subscribe to a news feed channel to keep track on Ink/Stitch Updates:
GitHub Feed on new Releases
Ink/Stitch News

Or watch the project on GitHub:

Troubleshoot

Ink/Stitch doesn’t run / is greyed out

Confirm installation path

Check if you extracted Ink/Stitch into the correct folder. If the User extensions folder doesn’t work out correctly, you can also try to install into the Inkscape extensions folder. You can also look it up under Inkscape > Preferences > System.

Confirm version

Please verify if you have downloaded Ink/Stitch for macOS (Download).

‘xxxx’ cannot be opened, because the developer cannot be verified

Read “Additional Steps for Catalina and Big Sur”.

ValueError: Null geometry supports no operations

Ink/Stitch on macOS could raise the following error message: [...] ValueError: Null geometry supports no operations.

This error is caused by an incompatibality of the shapely speedups library, which is inlcuded in the Ink/Stitch files. In order to bring Ink/Stitch back to work delete the library as follows:

  • Open the folder of your Ink/Stitch installation (usually this is: ~/Library/Application\ Support/org.inkscape.Inkscape/config/inkscape/extensions/)
  • Open as well your Ink/Stitch subfolder if you have one

  • Press Ctrl while you click on the inkstitch application file and select Show Package Contents

    Show Package Contents

  • Go into the Folder Contents > MacOS and delete the folder named shapely

I installed Ink/Stitch in my native language, but the dialogue windows are displayed in English

Incomplete Translation

It is possible, that not all strings have been translated. This is indicated by some strings of text beeing in English and others in your native language. If you like to complete the translation, have a look at our description for translators.

Language Settings

We have to distinguish between the Extension menu in Inkscape and the dialogue windows. The selection of the ZIP file causes only the Extension menu to be in a certain language. The dialgoue windows are build differently. They will use the language of your operating system. If Ink/Stitch is uncertain, which language to support, it will fallback on English. You can tell Inkscape explicitly to use your native language as follows:

  • Go to Edit > Preferences > Interface (Ctrl + Shift + P)
  • Set your language
  • Restart Inkscape

Preferences > Interface