The Brew install did not work for me, so here is how to install the Graphviz backend with MacPorts.

  • Install XCode. The complete AppStore version is not necessary: you can simply install the command line tools with xcode-select —install and click on ‘Install’ in the window that opens (if it is not already installed).
  • Install MacPorts. There is a pkg installer for Catalina.
  • In a new terminal, run sudo port -v selfupdate and then sudo port install graphviz
  • If MacPorts returns with errors, you might have to fix some ports:
    • sudo port -f activate xorg-xorgproto
    • sudo port -f activate xorg-libX11
    • sudo port select --set python python38
  • If you use the Python API for Graphviz, you can run pip install graphviz in your dedicated environment, and import graphviz in your code.