Add installation instructions for Macs running on Apple Silicon

docs/book/getting-started/installation.md

@@ -26,6 +26,18 @@ pip install "zenml[server]"
 We highly encourage you to install ZenML in a virtual environment. At ZenML, We like to use [virtualenvwrapper](https://virtualenvwrapper.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) or [pyenv-virtualenv](https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv-virtualenv) to manage our Python virtual environments.
 {% endhint %}
 
+## Installing onto MacOS with Apple Silicon (M1, M2)
+
+A change in how forking works on Macs running on Apple Silicon means that you
+should set the following environment variable which will ensure that your
+connections to the server remain unbroken:
+
+```bash
+export OBJC_DISABLE_INITIALIZE_FORK_SAFETY=YES
+```
+
+You can read more about this [here](http://sealiesoftware.com/blog/archive/2017/6/5/Objective-C_and_fork_in_macOS_1013.html). This environment variable is needed if you are working with a local server on your Mac, but if you're just using ZenML as a client / CLI and connecting to a deployed server then you don't need to set it.
+
 ## Nightly builds
 
 ZenML also publishes nightly builds under the [`zenml-nightly` package name](https://pypi.org/project/zenml-nightly/). These are built from the latest [`develop` branch](https://github.com/zenml-io/zenml/tree/develop) (to which work ready for release is published) and are not guaranteed to be stable. To install the nightly build, run:

docs/book/reference/faq.md

@@ -20,6 +20,24 @@ The ZenML team and community are constantly working to include more tools and in
 
 Most importantly, ZenML is extensible, and we encourage you to use it with whatever other tools you require as part of your ML process and system(s). Check out [our documentation on how to get started](../introduction.md) with extending ZenML to learn more!
 
+#### Do you support Windows?
+
+ZenML officially supports Windows if you're using WSL. Much of ZenML will also
+work on Windows outside a WSL environment, but we don't officially support it
+and some features don't work (notably anything that requires spinning up a
+server process).
+
+#### Do you support Macs running on Apple Silicon?
+
+Yes, ZenML does support Macs running on Apple Silicon. You just need to make sure that you set the following environment variable:
+
+```bash
+export OBJC_DISABLE_INITIALIZE_FORK_SAFETY=YES
+```
+
+This is a known issue with how forking works on Macs running on Apple Silicon
+and it will enable you to use ZenML and the server. This environment variable is needed if you are working with a local server on your Mac, but if you're just using ZenML as a client / CLI and connecting to a deployed server then you don't need to set it.
+
 #### How can I make ZenML work with my custom tool? How can I extend or build on ZenML?
 
 This depends on the tool and its respective MLOps category. We have a full guide on this over [here](../how-to/stack-deployment/implement-a-custom-stack-component.md)!

src/zenml/cli/server.py

@@ -170,6 +170,12 @@ def up(
         else:
             pass
         provider = ServerProviderType.LOCAL
+    if cli_utils.requires_mac_env_var_warning():
+        cli_utils.error(
+            "The `OBJC_DISABLE_INITIALIZE_FORK_SAFETY` environment variable "
+            "is recommended to run the ZenML server locally on a Mac. "
+            "Please set it to `YES` and try again."
+        )
 
     os.environ[ENV_ZENML_LOCAL_SERVER] = str(True)
 

src/zenml/cli/utils.py

@@ -2748,3 +2748,19 @@ def is_jupyter_installed() -> bool:
         return True
     except pkg_resources.DistributionNotFound:
         return False
+
+
+def requires_mac_env_var_warning() -> bool:
+    """Checks if a warning needs to be shown for a local Mac server.
+
+    This is for the case where a user is on a MacOS system, trying to run a
+    local server but is missing the `OBJC_DISABLE_INITIALIZE_FORK_SAFETY`
+    environment variable.
+
+    Returns:
+        bool: True if a warning needs to be shown, False otherwise.
+    """
+    return (
+        not os.getenv("OBJC_DISABLE_INITIALIZE_FORK_SAFETY")
+        and sys.platform == "darwin"
+    )