SmartGo for Mac is not playing strongly, as computer play is using my own pre-AlphaGo engine. However, like SmartGo for Windows, you can use GTP (Go Text Protocol) to connect to strong engines to play against.

The most recent version of SmartGo for Macintosh (0.8.18) includes some improvements in how it handles GTP engines. It’s not perfect, there’s much more to be done, but hopefully it will tide you over while I keep my focus on the new SmartGo for iOS.

The first step is downloading and installing the computer go engines you want to connect to. Here are three I’ve tested with SmartGo for Mac, from easy to hard to install. All assume that you’re somewhat comfortable using the Terminal app; check out this iMore guide if you’re new to the command line.

Pachi

The easiest way to install Pachi on the Mac is using Homebrew (which you probably have to install first). Follow these instructions:

https://brewinstall.org/Install-pachi-on-Mac-with-Brew/

Leela Zero

Find Leela Zero on Github, scroll down to I just want to play with Leela Zero right now, and follow the Homebrew instructions. You’ll also have to download a file with network weights; the link is in that same section.

KataGo

Installing KataGo is more complicated, as you have to compile it yourself. Follow the instructions for Linux at https://github.com/lightvector/KataGo.

Setting Parameters

Once you’ve installed an engine, you need to add it to SmartGo. Choose SmartGo > Preferences in the menu and click on GTP. Then click on the + icon and navigate to the executable of the engine you want to add. SmartGo uses the engine name to guess reasonable parameters, then tries to run the engine to get its name and version. If you see a green checkmark with the name and version, you’re all set. Otherwise, edit the parameters sent to the GTP engine (the third column in the table). The following basic settings work for my setup:

Leela Zero: -g –playouts 1000 –noponder -w /usr/local/Cellar/leela-zero/0.17/best-network/40b_257a_64k_q

KataGo: gtp -model /Users/anders/work/katago/cpp/models/model.txt.gz -config /Users/anders/work/katago/cpp/configs/gtp_example.cfg

Leela Zero and KataGo take a while to initialize, so even just getting name and version initially can take a minute, and SmartGo may time out. If it does, just try starting a game against the engine anyway (File > New Game, specify the engine in the dropdown for Black or White), and see if it works.

I hope these instructions get you pointed in the right direction. I’m sorry none of this is as easy as it should be.

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