Download SciDAVis for Mac (macOS 10.15–15)

SciDAVis is a free, open-source scientific data analysis and visualization application — ideal for publication-quality 2D/3D plots, curve fitting, and statistics on your Mac. The ready-to-install disk image below is the latest precompiled upstream release, v2.8.

How to install SciDAVis on macOS

1. Download the disk image using the button above — the file is scidavis-2.8-mac-dist.dmg (106 MB).
2. Open the DMG. Double-click it in Finder; a window appears showing the SciDAVis app icon.
3. Drag SciDAVis to Applications. Drag the app icon onto the Applications folder shortcut in the same window. This installs it for all users of the Mac.
4. Eject the disk image (drag the mounted volume to the trash or click the eject button), then delete the DMG file if you like.
5. Open SciDAVis from Applications. On first launch, macOS may block it because it isn’t signed — see the Gatekeeper section below for the one-time fix.
6. Verify it works: create a table, enter a few numbers, select the columns and press Plot → Line to render your first graph.

Gatekeeper: “cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer”

The SciDAVis build is not signed with an Apple Developer certificate, so macOS Gatekeeper blocks the first launch. This is normal for volunteer-built open-source apps. To open it anyway:

1. Open Finder → Applications and locate SciDAVis.
2. Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the app and choose Open from the context menu.
3. A dialog appears saying the app is from an unidentified developer — this time it has an Open button. Click it.
4. From now on, SciDAVis launches normally with a regular double-click; you only do this once.

Note: do not disable Gatekeeper globally in System Settings — the right-click → Open method is safer and only whitelists SciDAVis.

What about version 2.9.2?

The upstream project’s newest release tag is v2.9.2 (April 2022) on GitHub (github.com/SciDAVis/scidavis), published as source code — there is no prebuilt macOS disk image for 2.9.2 yet, so the 2.8 DMG above remains the recommended install for Mac. Experienced users can build 2.9.2 from source following the README in the repository.

SciDAVis on other platforms

• Download SciDAVis for Windows — installer for Windows 10/11.
• Install SciDAVis on Linux — Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora options plus source build.
• Back to the main download page for the full release overview.

Frequently asked questions

Is SciDAVis free for Mac?
Yes — free and open-source under the GPL, for personal and commercial use alike.

Why does macOS say the app “can’t be checked for malicious software”?
Because it isn’t notarized by Apple. Use the right-click → Open method above to launch it safely.

Where are my files stored?
SciDAVis saves projects as .sciprj files wherever you choose in Finder.