If you’re like me and prefer to keep your system as clean as possible, you might avoid Homebrew unless absolutely necessary. TA-Lib is one of the few exceptions—until now. Fortunately, compiling TA-Lib from source is simple and doesn’t require Homebrew at all.

This step-by-step guide has been tested on macOS 11.1 Big Sur and runs flawlessly on Apple Silicon (M1) machines.

Step 1: Download the Source Code

Begin by downloading the official source package for TA-Lib from the Here. Once the archive is downloaded, extract it and navigate into the directory:

tar xf ta-lib-0.4.0-src.tar.gz
cd ta-lib

Step 2: Compile and Install

Now compile and install the library using the following commands:

./configure --prefix=/usr/local
make
sudo make install

Step 3: Install the Python Wrapper

With the native library in place, you can now install the Python bindings:

pip install TA-Lib

That’s it! You’ve installed TA-Lib without touching Homebrew.