How to Install CodeBlocks IDE on macOS and Linux: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

CodeBlocks is a lightweight open‑source C/C++ integrated development environment (IDE) that supports editing, compiling, debugging, and offers features such as cross‑platform compatibility, multiple compiler support, a plugin framework, simple runtime, rapid updates, and an embedded wxWidgets GUI designer.

Below are the installation steps for macOS and Linux.

Installing CodeBlocks on macOS

First install Xcode from the App Store, then download the Apple Command‑Line Tools (GCC) from the Apple Developer site and install the resulting .pkg file.

Next, download the binary distribution from codeblock.org, extract it, move the application to the Applications folder, and grant the necessary permissions in System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General.

If the app cannot open, allow installations from “any source” in the Security settings. After these steps, CodeBlocks is ready on macOS.

Installing CodeBlocks on Linux/Ubuntu

CodeBlocks is available in the Ubuntu repositories. Open a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:damien-moore/codeblocks-stable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install codeblocks codeblocks-contrib

After the commands finish, CodeBlocks is installed on Linux.