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Tracer can be installed on macOS for local pipeline debugging and development. The installation process is similar to Linux: run the one-line installer and then initialize the agent with your Tracer token. Note that because macOS lacks Linux eBPF support, some low-level features are limited: eBPF metrics are disabled and process visibility may be reduced. Nevertheless, Tracer will still capture userland metrics and correlate processes. After installation, launch the agent (sudo tracer init --token <token>) and then run your pipeline or script on macOS. You can even use sudo tracer demo on macOS to execute an example Nextflow pipeline (FastQuorum). Once running, the Tracer dashboard will display the pipeline run, showing available performance and cost insights.

Steps to get started:

  1. Install Tracer on macOS: Execute curl -sSL https://install.tracer.cloud | sh as shown on the macOS docs.
  2. Initialize Tracer: Run sudo tracer init --token <your-token>. You will be prompted to name the pipeline, which ensures each run is tracked.
  3. Run your pipeline or demo: Start your workflow (e.g. via your usual command or tracer demo to launch a sample pipeline). The agent will trace the processes started on your Mac.
  4. Monitor in Dashboard: Open the Tracer dashboard to observe the pipeline. Even on macOS you can see the execution steps and resource usage (with the caveat that kernel-level metrics may be unavailable).