I keep having trouble using cmake to install dolfinx, I keep getting some error with boost or basix version. I created a conda env, installed all dependencies, but now I have this error that I am not sure what to do anymore. Would appreciate if anyone is able to catch the issue or perhaps help me resolve it.
CMake Error at CMakeLists.txt:275 (find_package):
By not providing "FindBoost.cmake" in CMAKE_MODULE_PATH this project has
asked CMake to find a package configuration file provided by "Boost", but
CMake did not find one.
Could not find a package configuration file provided by "Boost" (requested
version 1.70) with any of the following names:
BoostConfig.cmake
boost-config.cmake
Add the installation prefix of "Boost" to CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH or set
"Boost_DIR" to a directory containing one of the above files. If "Boost"
provides a separate development package or SDK, be sure it has been
installed.
dokken
October 14, 2025, 5:13am
2
What specific dependencies do you have installed in your conda env?
In general, one would just use the conda package of FEniCS-dolfinx (https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/fenics-dolfinx ) and not trying to build it by hand.
What is the motivation for building it by hand?
Thank you for your reply, I have used the provided conda env, initially I made it using the newest python 3.13 version, but that caused errors.
# packages in environment at /Users/Hawraa_1/opt/anaconda3/envs/fenicsx-3-11:
#
# Name Version Build Channel
_python_abi3_support 1.0 hd8ed1ab_2 conda-forge
aiohappyeyeballs 2.6.1 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
aiohttp 3.13.0 py311hdaf2c26_0 conda-forge
aiosignal 1.4.0 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
attrs 25.4.0 pyh71513ae_0 conda-forge
blosc 1.21.6 hd145fbb_1 conda-forge
boost 1.84.0 he764780_7 conda-forge
brotli 1.1.0 h1c43f85_4 conda-forge
brotli-bin 1.1.0 h1c43f85_4 conda-forge
brotli-python 1.1.0 py311h7b20566_4 conda-forge
bzip2 1.0.8 h6c40b1e_6
c-ares 1.34.5 hf13058a_0 conda-forge
c-blosc2 2.15.2 h62acda9_1 conda-forge
ca-certificates 2025.10.5 hbd8a1cb_0 conda-forge
cairo 1.18.4 h950ec3b_0 conda-forge
cctools_osx-64 1010.6 heaa7f0c_1 conda-forge
certifi 2025.10.5 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
cffi 1.16.0 py311hc0b63fd_0 conda-forge
charset-normalizer 3.4.4 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
clang 16.0.6 default_h510d6ca_15 conda-forge
clang-16 16.0.6 default_h4651f56_15 conda-forge
clang-19 19.1.7 default_hc369343_5 conda-forge
clang_impl_osx-64 16.0.6 h8787910_19 conda-forge
clang_osx-64 16.0.6 hb91bd55_19 conda-forge
clangxx 16.0.6 default_h1b9e3cd_15 conda-forge
clangxx_impl_osx-64 16.0.6 h6d92fbe_19 conda-forge
clangxx_osx-64 16.0.6 hb91bd55_19 conda-forge
cli11 2.5.0 h92383a6_0 conda-forge
cmake 4.1.2 h29fc008_0 conda-forge
compiler-rt 16.0.6 ha38d28d_2 conda-forge
compiler-rt_osx-64 16.0.6 ha38d28d_2 conda-forge
contourpy 1.3.3 py311hd4d69bb_2 conda-forge
cpython 3.11.14 py311hd8ed1ab_1 conda-forge
cycler 0.12.1 pyhd8ed1ab_1 conda-forge
cyrus-sasl 2.1.28 h610c526_0 conda-forge
double-conversion 3.3.1 h240833e_0 conda-forge
expat 2.7.1 h6d0c2b6_0
fenics-basix 0.10.0.dev0 pypi_0 pypi
fenics-dolfinx 0.8.0 py311h5dc119b_104 conda-forge
fenics-ffcx 0.8.0 pyh4af843d_0 conda-forge
fenics-libbasix 0.8.0 h2dcea0d_1 conda-forge
fenics-libdolfinx 0.8.0 hdba04dd_104 conda-forge
fenics-ufcx 0.8.0 h22f594c_0 conda-forge
fenics-ufl 2024.1.0 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
fftw 3.3.10 mpi_mpich_h1893886_10 conda-forge
fmt 11.2.0 hbf61d64_0 conda-forge
font-ttf-dejavu-sans-mono 2.37 hab24e00_0 conda-forge
font-ttf-inconsolata 3.000 h77eed37_0 conda-forge
font-ttf-source-code-pro 2.038 h77eed37_0 conda-forge
font-ttf-ubuntu 0.83 h77eed37_3 conda-forge
fontconfig 2.15.0 h37eeddb_1 conda-forge
fonts-conda-ecosystem 1 0 conda-forge
fonts-conda-forge 1 0 conda-forge
fonttools 4.60.1 py311he13f9b5_0 conda-forge
freetype 2.14.1 h694c41f_0 conda-forge
frozenlist 1.7.0 py311h7a2b322_0 conda-forge
gl2ps 1.4.2 hd82a5f3_1 conda-forge
glew 2.1.0 h046ec9c_2 conda-forge
gmp 6.3.0 hf036a51_2 conda-forge
graphite2 1.3.14 h21dd04a_2 conda-forge
h2 4.3.0 pyhcf101f3_0 conda-forge
harfbuzz 11.4.5 h0ffbb26_0 conda-forge
hdf4 4.2.15 h8138101_7 conda-forge
hdf5 1.14.3 mpi_mpich_h116ac41_9 conda-forge
hpack 4.1.0 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
hyperframe 6.1.0 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
hypre 2.31.0 mpi_mpich_h356c364_1 conda-forge
icu 75.1 h120a0e1_0 conda-forge
idna 3.11 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
jsoncpp 1.9.6 h466cfd8_1 conda-forge
kahip 3.16 h8ff10bf_4 conda-forge
kahip-python 3.16 py311h041dfb2_4 conda-forge
kiwisolver 1.4.9 py311ha94bed4_1 conda-forge
krb5 1.21.3 h37d8d59_0 conda-forge
lcms2 2.17 h72f5680_0 conda-forge
ld64_osx-64 951.9 h3516399_1 conda-forge
lerc 4.0.0 hcca01a6_1 conda-forge
libadios2 2.10.1 mpi_mpich_haa7c07a_4 conda-forge
libaec 1.1.4 ha6bc127_0 conda-forge
libamd 3.3.3 ha5840a7_7100102 conda-forge
libblas 3.9.0 37_he492b99_openblas conda-forge
libboost 1.84.0 hf0da243_7 conda-forge
libboost-devel 1.84.0 h20888b2_7 conda-forge
libboost-headers 1.84.0 h694c41f_7 conda-forge
libboost-python 1.84.0 py311h10847b1_7 conda-forge
libboost-python-devel 1.84.0 py311he764780_7 conda-forge
libbrotlicommon 1.1.0 h1c43f85_4 conda-forge
libbrotlidec 1.1.0 h1c43f85_4 conda-forge
libbrotlienc 1.1.0 h1c43f85_4 conda-forge
libbtf 2.3.2 hca54c18_7100102 conda-forge
libcamd 3.3.3 hca54c18_7100102 conda-forge
libcblas 3.9.0 37_h9b27e0a_openblas conda-forge
libccolamd 3.3.4 hca54c18_7100102 conda-forge
libcholmod 5.3.1 h7ea7d7c_7100102 conda-forge
libclang-cpp16 16.0.6 default_h4651f56_15 conda-forge
libclang-cpp18.1 18.1.8 default_hc369343_15 conda-forge
libclang-cpp19.1 19.1.7 default_hc369343_5 conda-forge
libclang13 19.1.7 default_h7f9524c_5 conda-forge
libcolamd 3.3.4 hca54c18_7100102 conda-forge
libcurl 8.14.1 h5dec5d8_0 conda-forge
libcxx 21.1.3 h3d58e20_0 conda-forge
libcxx-devel 16.0.6 h8f8a49f_2 conda-forge
libdeflate 1.24 hcc1b750_0 conda-forge
libedit 3.1.20250104 pl5321ha958ccf_0 conda-forge
libev 4.33 h10d778d_2 conda-forge
libexpat 2.7.1 h21dd04a_0 conda-forge
libfabric 2.2.0 h694c41f_2 conda-forge
libfabric1 2.2.0 h1c43f85_2 conda-forge
libffi 3.4.6 h281671d_1 conda-forge
libfreetype 2.14.1 h694c41f_0 conda-forge
libfreetype6 2.14.1 h6912278_0 conda-forge
libgfortran 15.2.0 h306097a_1 conda-forge
libgfortran5 15.2.0 h336fb69_1 conda-forge
libglib 2.84.3 h5fed8df_0 conda-forge
libhwloc 2.12.1 default_h8c32e24_1000 conda-forge
libiconv 1.18 h57a12c2_2 conda-forge
libintl 0.25.1 h3184127_1 conda-forge
libjpeg-turbo 3.1.0 h6e16a3a_0 conda-forge
libklu 2.3.5 hc7f8671_7100102 conda-forge
liblapack 3.9.0 37_h859234e_openblas conda-forge
libllvm16 16.0.6 hbedff68_3 conda-forge
libllvm18 18.1.8 default_hd2a208e_9 conda-forge
libllvm19 19.1.7 hc29ff6c_1 conda-forge
liblzma 5.8.1 hd471939_2 conda-forge
liblzma-devel 5.8.1 hd471939_2 conda-forge
libnetcdf 4.9.2 nompi_hf3c7182_116 conda-forge
libnghttp2 1.67.0 h3338091_0 conda-forge
libntlm 1.8 h6e16a3a_0 conda-forge
libogg 1.3.5 he3325bb_1 conda-forge
libopenblas 0.3.30 openmp_h83c2472_2 conda-forge
libpng 1.6.50 h84aeda2_1 conda-forge
libpq 17.6 h5a4e477_2 conda-forge
libptscotch 7.0.4 h6939ab0_5 conda-forge
libscotch 7.0.4 hfcec5db_5 conda-forge
libsodium 1.0.20 hfdf4475_0 conda-forge
libspqr 4.3.4 h795628b_7100102 conda-forge
libsqlite 3.50.4 h39a8b3b_0 conda-forge
libssh2 1.11.1 hed3591d_0 conda-forge
libsuitesparseconfig 7.10.1 h00e5f87_7100102 conda-forge
libtheora 1.1.1 hfdf4475_1006 conda-forge
libtiff 4.7.1 haa3b502_0 conda-forge
libumfpack 6.3.5 h0658b90_7100102 conda-forge
libuv 1.51.0 h58003a5_1 conda-forge
libvorbis 1.3.7 ha059160_2 conda-forge
libwebp-base 1.6.0 hb807250_0 conda-forge
libxcb 1.17.0 hf1f96e2_0 conda-forge
libxml2 2.13.8 he1bc88e_1 conda-forge
libzip 1.11.2 h31df5bb_0 conda-forge
libzlib 1.3.1 hd23fc13_2 conda-forge
llvm-openmp 19.1.7 ha54dae1_1 conda-forge
llvm-tools 16.0.6 hbedff68_3 conda-forge
llvm-tools-19 19.1.7 he90a8e3_1 conda-forge
loguru 0.7.3 pyh707e725_0 conda-forge
lz4-c 1.10.0 h240833e_1 conda-forge
matplotlib-base 3.10.6 py311h48d7e91_1 conda-forge
metis 5.1.0 h3023b02_1007 conda-forge
mpfr 4.2.1 haed47dc_3 conda-forge
mpi 1.0.1 mpich conda-forge
mpi4py 4.1.1 py311h59adea6_100 conda-forge
mpich 4.3.2 h7ea6e94_100 conda-forge
msgpack-python 1.1.2 py311haec20ae_0 conda-forge
multidict 6.6.3 py311h1cc1194_0 conda-forge
mumps-include 5.7.3 h694c41f_4 conda-forge
mumps-mpi 5.7.3 h0669c1d_4 conda-forge
munkres 1.1.4 pyhd8ed1ab_1 conda-forge
mysql-common 9.3.0 hd00b0ec_0 conda-forge
mysql-libs 9.3.0 h062309a_0 conda-forge
ncurses 6.5 h923df54_0
nlohmann_json 3.12.0 h53ec75d_1 conda-forge
numpy 2.3.3 py311hf157cb9_0 conda-forge
openjpeg 2.5.4 h87e8dc5_0 conda-forge
openldap 2.6.10 hd8a590d_0 conda-forge
openssl 3.5.4 h230baf5_0 conda-forge
packaging 25.0 pyh29332c3_1 conda-forge
parmetis 4.0.3 hc9a99f5_1007 conda-forge
pcre2 10.45 hf733adb_0 conda-forge
petsc 3.21.5 real_h6bbe012_101 conda-forge
petsc4py 3.21.5 py311h695f91b_1 conda-forge
pillow 11.3.0 py311ha88f94d_3 conda-forge
pip 25.2 pyhc872135_1
pixman 0.46.4 ha059160_1 conda-forge
pkg-config 0.29.2 hf7e621a_1009 conda-forge
platformdirs 4.5.0 pyhcf101f3_0 conda-forge
pooch 1.8.2 pyhd8ed1ab_3 conda-forge
proj 9.5.1 h5273da6_0 conda-forge
propcache 0.3.1 py311ha3cf9ac_0 conda-forge
pthread-stubs 0.4 h00291cd_1002 conda-forge
pugixml 1.14 he965462_0 conda-forge
pycparser 2.22 pyh29332c3_1 conda-forge
pyparsing 3.2.5 pyhcf101f3_0 conda-forge
pysocks 1.7.1 pyha55dd90_7 conda-forge
python 3.11.14 h3999593_1_cpython conda-forge
python-dateutil 2.9.0.post0 pyhe01879c_2 conda-forge
python-gil 3.11.14 hd8ed1ab_1 conda-forge
python_abi 3.11 8_cp311 conda-forge
pyvista 0.46.3 pyhd8ed1ab_1 conda-forge
qhull 2020.2 h3c5361c_5 conda-forge
qt6-main 6.8.3 he2a6cc6_4 conda-forge
readline 8.3 h49f2429_0
requests 2.32.5 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
rhash 1.4.6 h6e16a3a_1 conda-forge
scalapack 2.2.0 h8151de6_4 conda-forge
scooby 0.10.2 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
setuptools 78.1.1 py311hecd8cb5_0
sigtool 0.1.3 h88f4db0_0 conda-forge
six 1.17.0 pyhe01879c_1 conda-forge
slepc 3.21.2 real_h278fd84_300 conda-forge
slepc4py 3.21.2 py311hb2dbe2f_0 conda-forge
snappy 1.2.2 h25c286d_0 conda-forge
spdlog 1.15.3 hcdbecca_1 conda-forge
sqlite 3.50.4 h64b5abc_0 conda-forge
suitesparse 7.8.2 ha93ada7_0 conda-forge
superlu 7.0.0 h9cb3e3b_1 conda-forge
superlu_dist 9.0.0 ha4643b9_1 conda-forge
tapi 1300.6.5 h390ca13_0 conda-forge
tbb 2022.2.0 hc025b3e_1 conda-forge
tk 8.6.13 hf689a15_2 conda-forge
typing-extensions 4.15.0 h396c80c_0 conda-forge
typing_extensions 4.15.0 pyhcf101f3_0 conda-forge
tzdata 2025b h04d1e81_0
unicodedata2 16.0.0 py311h13e5629_1 conda-forge
urllib3 2.5.0 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
utfcpp 4.0.8 h694c41f_0 conda-forge
vtk-base 9.3.1 qt_py311h3403a8e_215 conda-forge
wheel 0.45.1 py311hecd8cb5_0
wslink 2.4.0 pyhd8ed1ab_0 conda-forge
xorg-libxau 1.0.12 h6e16a3a_0 conda-forge
xorg-libxdmcp 1.1.5 h00291cd_0 conda-forge
xz 5.8.1 h357f2ed_2 conda-forge
xz-gpl-tools 5.8.1 h357f2ed_2 conda-forge
xz-tools 5.8.1 hd471939_2 conda-forge
yaml 0.2.5 h4132b18_3 conda-forge
yarl 1.20.1 py311ha3cf9ac_0 conda-forge
zeromq 4.3.5 h6c33b1e_9 conda-forge
zfp 0.5.5 h4a89273_8 conda-forge
zlib 1.3.1 hd23fc13_2 conda-forge
zlib-ng 2.2.5 he7f0fdc_0 conda-forge
zstandard 0.25.0 py311h62e9434_0 conda-forge
zstd 1.5.7 h8210216_2 conda-forge
When I ran cmake, this is the issue I am facing now, still with the basix package:
CMake Error at CMakeLists.txt:318 (find_package):
Could not find a configuration file for package "Basix" that is compatible
with requested version "0.10".
The following configuration files were considered but not accepted:
/Users/Hawraa_1/opt/anaconda3/envs/fenicsx-env/lib/cmake/basix/BasixConfig.cmake, version: 0.9.0
/Users/Hawraa_1/opt/anaconda3/envs/fenicsx-3-11/lib/cmake/basix/BasixConfig.cmake, version: 0.8.0
I tried installing basix from git, and pulling an updated package, but got the following :
ERROR: pip's dependency resolver does not currently take into account all the packages that are installed. This behaviour is the source of the following dependency conflicts.
fenics-dolfinx 0.8.0 requires fenics-basix<0.9.0,>=0.8.0, but you have fenics-basix 0.10.0.dev0 which is incompatible.
fenics-ffcx 0.8.0 requires fenics-basix<0.9.0,>=0.8.0, but you have fenics-basix 0.10.0.dev0 which is incompatible.
So it seems to me there is a conflict, one needs version 0.10, another requires 0.8 or 0.9 if I am understanding correctly.
dokken
October 16, 2025, 5:53am
4
You clearly see here that you have installed the lastest version of basix. This is due to the fact that you probably cloned the repo (which default puts you on the developer branch). You should use git checkout to select the appropriate version (same for ffcx, ufl and dolfinx). And then proceed to installation.
However, this doesn’t answer the question:
I just got it working! I misunderstood the instructions and thought I still had to run the source files to build the c++ core.