Error when installing synth

[egonora blue]

Hi everyone,
I'm trying to install the package synth, but it does not work.

It reads as follows:

ssc install synth 
ssc install: "synth" not found at SSC, type search synth
(To find all packages at SSC that start with s, type ssc describe s)
r(601);

Of course, when I do "ssc describe s" and "search synth", I can find synth. But as soon as I try to install it, it gives me an error. I also tried "replace" after the command, but nothing.
I have a mac, I don't know if it's important, but maybe it does.

Thank you all,
Egonora

[William Lisowski]

I think the problem is indeed that you are running on a Mac. In particular, I think that like me, you are running Stata on a contemporary Mac using Apple Silicon (the ARM M1 or M2 series chip). The problem is that the synth command uses plugins compiled in the native code for each supported OS/hardware combination, and the synth package has not been updated to include a native plugin for the Apple Silicon hardware. The software has not been updated by the authors since the introduction of Apple Silicon.

. ssc describe synth
ssc describe: "synth" not found at SSC, type search synth
(To find all packages at SSC that start with s, type ssc describe s)
r(601);

. net describe synth
package does not contain synthopt.plugin for MACARM64 platform
could not load synth.pkg from http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/bocode/s/
r(601);

.

You can work around this problem, awkwardly, by running the Intel version of Stata (Stata.app on the Mac contains both versions) in the Rosetta emulator. To do so

• In Finder open your Applications Folder
• Open the Stata Folder within the Applications Folder
• Select the Stata.app within the Stata Folder
• From Finder's File menu, select Get Info
• In the dialog box that opens, check Open Using Rosetta
• Close the dialog box
• Double-click Stata.app to launch Stata
• Now ssc describe synth and ssc install synth, etc., will work

The problem is that now your Stata is running in emulation mode, which is slower than running native Apple Silicon code. To return to running Stata in native mode, you need to repeat this procedure and uncheck the Open Using Rosetta box.

Perhaps there is a way to launch Stata using Rosetta on a case-by-case basis, but I don't know what that would be.

Added in edit: I am going to submit this to Apple Technical Services. While they cannot solve the problem of non-existent plugins, the behavior of ssc describe synth is not helpful, and the behavior of net describe synth is only marginally better, since without the output of describe, there's no easy way to find email addresses for support.

[Hemanshu Kumar]

Arguably, the ssc command should return a more informative message rather than simply saying that the package has not been found. Perhaps something for the Stata 18 wishlist?

[egonora blue]

I think the problem is indeed that you are running on a Mac. In particular, I think that like me, you are running Stata on a contemporary Mac using Apple Silicon (the ARM M1 or M2 series chip). The problem is that the synth command uses plugins compiled in the native code for each supported OS/hardware combination, and the synth package has not been updated to include a native plugin for the Apple Silicon hardware. The software has not been updated by the authors since the introduction of Apple Silicon.

. ssc describe synth
ssc describe: "synth" not found at SSC, type search synth
(To find all packages at SSC that start with s, type ssc describe s)
r(601);

. net describe synth
package does not contain synthopt.plugin for MACARM64 platform
could not load synth.pkg from http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/bocode/s/
r(601);

.

You can work around this problem, awkwardly, by running the Intel version of Stata (Stata.app on the Mac contains both versions) in the Rosetta emulator. To do so

• In Finder open your Applications Folder
• Open the Stata Folder within the Applications Folder
• Select the Stata.app within the Stata Folder
• From Finder's File menu, select Get Info
• In the dialog box that opens, check Open Using Rosetta
• Close the dialog box
• Double-click Stata.app to launch Stata
• Now ssc describe synth and ssc install synth, etc., will work

The problem is that now your Stata is running in emulation mode, which is slower than running native Apple Silicon code. To return to running Stata in native mode, you need to repeat this procedure and uncheck the Open Using Rosetta box.

Perhaps there is a way to launch Stata using Rosetta on a case-by-case basis, but I don't know what that would be.

Added in edit: I am going to submit this to Apple Technical Services. While they cannot solve the problem of non-existent plugins, the behavior of ssc describe synth is not helpful, and the behavior of net describe synth is only marginally better, since without the output of describe, there's no easy way to find email addresses for support.

Thank you so much! By opening it with Rosetta it works and I was able to download synth. I think it won't be a problem the fact that it is on emulation mode, as I'm a student and I won't be doing any major work on Stata, just small simulations to learn how to use it for econometrics purposes. Thank you again