diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dec739c..45c491f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ you do not wish to reinstall, though do note you will have to properly link
 them in that case (ROOT / Geant-4).
 
 - CMake v3.22.0+
-- Python 3.x.x
+- Xerces-C 3.2.5 (not built by default)
 - Root 6.25+
 - Geant-4 11.0
 - CRY 1.7
@@ -41,14 +41,39 @@ Additional options are available, including passing make commands
 ```bash
 # For linux, tensorflow can either use the cpu(default) or gpu
 ./setup.sh --only tensorflow --gpu
-# For mac, a separate tensorflow is available
-./setup.sh --only tensorflow --mac
 # Pass number of processors to make, and even keep downloaded files for debugging
 ./setup.sh -j8 --noclean
 # For complete information run
 ./setup.sh -h
 ```
 
+### Building Xerces-C
+The Xerces-C library is required by Geant4. Most machines will have Xerces-C, but not all. The library is NOT included in the default ratpac-setup build, but can be pre-built before your main installation using ratpac-setup. To build Xerces-C, use the command
+```
+./setup --only xerces
+```
+and then continue with the main installation.
+
+### MacOS
+Installation is possible on MacOS using the flag `--mac`. If using Apple 
+Silicon (ARM64 architecture), one will also need the flag `--arm64`. The 
+installation *assumes a zsh shell* for macs.
+
+The MacOS installation is similar to the Linux installation, but uses dynamic
+libraries rather than shared libraries. Some CMakeLists.txt files (including
+ratpac's) are adjusted for the mac installation. Please be aware of this if 
+developing code and committing changes to CMakeLists.txt. Ideally, we will 
+remove these CMakeLists.txt edits in the future.
+
+On Apple Silicon, the installation of ROOT can sometimes run into issues with the
+error message `read jobs pipe: Resource temporarily unavailable.`. There doesn't
+seem to be a consistent permanent solution to this, but if you run the 
+`make && make install` command again within the `root_build` directory (maybe 
+more than once), the build should finish. Then continue with the installation
+with setup.sh, skipping cmake and root.
+
+Mac installation tested on Apple M1 Pro with Sonoma 14.5. 
+
 ## Usage 
 Once installation is complete there will be a new directory structure from where
 `setup.sh` is run with a complete `./local` directory that contains all
diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
index d053c48..e2adf01 100755
--- a/setup.sh
+++ b/setup.sh
@@ -1,118 +1,155 @@
-#!/bin/bash
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
 
 # Since system dependencies, especially on clusters, are a pain
 # Lets just pre-install everything (except GCC for now).
 
-# Todo:
-# --help, -h
-
 exec > >(tee -i install.log)
 exec 2>&1
 
+handle_error() {
+    echo "*** An error occurred during the $1"
+    echo "*** The error occurred on line $2 of setup.sh"
+    exit 1
+}
+
 function install(){
+    trap 'handle_error "setup" $LINENO' ERR
     ## Array of installables
-    declare -a install_options=("cmake" "root" "geant4" "chroma" "cry" "tensorflow" "torch" "ratpac" "nlopt" "hdf5")
+    declare -a install_options=("cmake" "root" "geant4" "chroma" "cry" "tensorflow" "torch" "ratpac" "nlopt" "xerces" "hdf5")
+    # declare -a install_options=("cmake" "root" "geant4" "chroma" "cry" "tensorflow" "torch" "ratpac" "nlopt" "hdf5")
     declare -A install_selection
     for element in "${install_options[@]}"
     do
+        if [ "$element" == "xerces" ]
+        then
+            install_selection[$element]=false
+            continue
+        fi
         install_selection[$element]=true
     done
-    # Versioning
-    root_branch="v6-28-00-patches"
-    geant_branch="v11.1.2"
-    ratpac_repository="https://github.com/rat-pac/ratpac-two.git"
-
-    help $@
-    procuse=$(getnproc $@)
-    # End testing
-    export CC=$(command -v gcc)
-    export CXX=$(command -v g++)
-
-    # Check requirements; Git && GCC
-    if ! [ -x "$(command -v gcc)" ]; then
-        echo "gcc not installed"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-    if ! [ -x "$(command -v git)" ]; then
-        echo "git not installed"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-
-    outfile="env.sh"
-    prefix=$(pwd -P)/local
-    mkdir -p $prefix/bin
-    export PATH=$prefix/bin:$PATH
-    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$prefix/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-    printf "export PATH=$prefix/bin:\$PATH\n" > $outfile
-    printf "export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$prefix/lib:\$LD_LIBRARY_PATH\n" >> $outfile
-    printf "export CC=$CC\n" >> $outfile
-    printf "export CXX=$CXX\n" >> $outfile
+    # help message
+    help "$@"
 
-    ## Tensorflow options
+    ## run options
     enable_gpu=false
     enable_mac=false
+    enable_arm64=false  # for arm64 architectures (e.g. mac with silicon chip)
     cleanup=true
     boolOnly=false
-    
-    for element in $@;
+    prefix=$(pwd -P)/local
+    # Versioning
+    root_branch="v6-28-00-patches"
+    root_branch_mac="v6-34-00-patches"
+    geant_branch="v11.1.2"
+    # geant_branch="v11.3.2"
+    ratpac_repository="https://github.com/rat-pac/ratpac-two.git"
+
+    for element in "$@"
     do
         if [ "$skipping" = true ]
         then
             # Check if element in install_options
-            if [[ " ${install_options[@]} " =~ " ${element} " ]]
-            then
-                install_selection[$element]=false
-            fi
+            for option in "${install_options[@]}"
+            do
+                [[ "${option}" =~ ${element} ]] && install_selection[$element]=false
+            done
         fi
-        if [ $element == "--skip" ]
+        if [ "$element" == "--skip" ]
         then
             skipping=true;
         fi
     done
     
-    for element in $@;
+    for element in "$@"
     do
         if [ "$boolOnly" = true ]
         then
-            if [[ " ${install_options[@]} " =~ " ${element} " ]]
-            then
-                install_selection[$element]=true
-            fi
+            for option in "${install_options[@]}"
+            do
+                [[  "${option}" =~ ${element} ]] && install_selection[$element]=true
+            done
         fi
-        if [ $element == "--only" ]
+        if [ "$element" == "--only" ]
         then
             # Only will overwrite the skipping rules
             boolOnly=true
             # Set all to false
-            for element in "${install_options[@]}"
+            for el in "${install_options[@]}"
             do
-                install_selection[$element]=false
+                install_selection[$el]=false
             done
         fi
-        if [ $element == "--noclean" ]
+        if [ "$element" == "--noclean" ]
         then
             cleanup=false
         fi
-        if [ $element == "--gpu" ]
+        if [ "$element" == "--gpu" ]
         then
             enable_gpu=true
         fi
-        if [ $element == "--mac" ]
+        if [ "$element" == "--mac" ]
         then
             enable_mac=true
         fi
+        if [ "$element" == "--arm64" ]
+        then
+            enable_arm64=true
+        fi
     done
-
+    procuse=$(getnproc "$@")
     # global options dictionary
     declare -A options=(["procuse"]=$procuse ["prefix"]=$prefix ["root_branch"]=$root_branch \
         ["geant_branch"]=$geant_branch ["enable_gpu"]=$enable_gpu ["enable_mac"]=$enable_mac \
-        ["ratpac_repository"]=$ratpac_repository ["cleanup"]=$cleanup)
+        ["ratpac_repository"]=$ratpac_repository ["cleanup"]=$cleanup ["enable_arm64"]=$enable_arm64 \
+        ["root_branch_mac"]=$root_branch_mac)
+
+    # check dependencies unless skipped
+    if ! skip_check "$@"
+    then
+        if ! check_deps
+        then
+            printf "\033[31mPlease install system dependencies as indicated above.\033[0m\n"
+            printf "\033[31mYou can skip these checks by passing the --skip-checks flag.\033[0m\n"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    # End testing
+    # Check requirements; Git && GCC
+    if ! [ -x "$(command -v gcc)" ]; then
+        echo "gcc not installed"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if ! [ -x "$(command -v git)" ]; then
+        echo "git not installed"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    CC=$(command -v gcc)
+    export CC
+    CXX=$(command -v g++)
+    export CXX
+
+    outfile="${prefix}/../env.sh"
+    mkdir -p "${prefix}"/bin
+    export PATH=$prefix/bin:$PATH
+    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$prefix/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
+    export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$prefix/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH
+    printf 'export PATH=%s/bin:$PATH\n' "$prefix" > $outfile
+    printf 'export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=%s/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH\n' "$prefix" >> $outfile
+    printf 'export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=%s/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH\n' "$prefix" >> $outfile
+    printf 'export CC=%s\n' "$CC" >> $outfile
+    printf 'export CXX=%s\n' "$CXX" >> $outfile
 
     if [ "${install_selection[cmake]}" = true ]
     then
         install_cmake
     fi
 
+    if [ "${install_selection[xerces]}" = true ]
+    then
+        install_xerces
+    fi
+
     if [ "${install_selection[root]}" = true ]
     then
         install_root
@@ -130,7 +167,13 @@ function install(){
 
     if [ "${install_selection[tensorflow]}" = true ]
     then
-        install_tensorflow
+        if [ "${options[enable_arm64]}" = true ]
+        then
+            echo "Tensorflow C does not support arm64. Skipping..."
+            echo "WARNING: Tensorflow will not be included in the installation"
+        else
+            install_tensorflow
+        fi
     fi
 
     if [ "${install_selection[torch]}" = true ]
@@ -152,16 +195,15 @@ function install(){
     then
         install_ratpac
     fi
-
-    if [[ -f "$prefix/lib/libCRY.so" ]];
+    if test -f "$prefix"/lib/libCRY.so
     then
-        printf "export CRYLIB=$prefix/lib\n" >> $outfile
-        printf "export CRYINCLUDE=$prefix/include/cry\n" >> $outfile
-        printf "export CRYDATA=$prefix/data/cry\n" >> $outfile
+        printf 'export CRYLIB=%s/lib\n' "$prefix" >> $outfile
+        printf 'export CRYINCLUDE=%s/include/cry\n' "$prefix" >> $outfile
+        printf 'export CRYDATA=%s/data/cry\n' "$prefix" >> $outfile
     fi
-    printf "pushd $prefix/bin 2>&1 >/dev/null\nsource thisroot.sh\nsource geant4.sh\npopd 2>&1 >/dev/null\n" >> $outfile
-    printf "if [ -f \"$prefix/../ratpac/ratpac.sh\" ]; then\nsource $prefix/../ratpac/ratpac.sh\nfi\n" >> $outfile
-    printf "if [ -f \"$prefix/../pyrat/bin/activate\" ]; then\nsource $prefix/../pyrat/bin/activate\nfi\n" >> $outfile
+    printf 'pushd %s/bin 2>&1 >/dev/null\nsource thisroot.sh\nsource geant4.sh\npopd 2>&1 >/dev/null\n' "$prefix" >> $outfile
+    printf 'if [ -f "%s/../ratpac/ratpac.sh" ]; then\nsource %s/../ratpac/ratpac.sh\nfi\n' "$prefix" "$prefix" >> $outfile
+    printf 'if [ -f "%s/../pyrat/bin/activate" ]; then\nsource %s/../pyrat/bin/activate\nfi\n' "$prefix" "$prefix" >> $outfile
     echo "Done"
 
     if [ "${install_selection[hdf5]}" = true ]
@@ -175,9 +217,10 @@ function help()
     declare -A help_options=(["only"]="Only install the following packages" \
         ["skip"]="Skip the following packages" \
         ["gpu"]="Enable GPU support for tensorflow" \
-        ["mac"]="Enable Mac support for tensorflow" \
+        ["mac"]="Enable Mac support" \
+        ["arm64"]="Enable arm64 architecure support" \
         ["noclean"]="Do not clean up after install")
-    for element in $@
+    for element in "$@"
     do
         if [[ $element =~ "-h" ]];
         then
@@ -187,7 +230,7 @@ function help()
             printf "\n\nOptions\n"
             for key in "${!help_options[@]}"
             do
-                printf "%-20s%-20s\n" --$key "${help_options[$key]}"
+                printf "%-20s%-20s\n" "--$key" "${help_options[$key]}"
             done
             exit 0
         fi
@@ -197,19 +240,19 @@ function help()
 function getnproc()
 {
     local nproc=1
-    for element in $@
+    for element in "$@"
     do
         if [[ $element =~ "-j" ]];
         then
-            nproc=$(echo $element | sed -e 's/-j//g')
+            nproc=${element/-j/}
         fi
     done
-    echo $nproc
+    echo "$nproc"
 }
 
 function command_exists()
 {
-    if (command -v $1 > /dev/null )
+    if (command -v "$1" > /dev/null )
     then
         true
     else
@@ -223,37 +266,43 @@ function check_deps()
     # Before trying to install anything, confirm a list of dependencies
     echo "Checking list of dependencies ..."
     cmds=(gcc openssl curl)
-    for c in ${cmds[@]}
+    for c in "${cmds[@]}"
     do
-        if command_exists $c
+        if command_exists "$c"
         then
-            printf "%-30s%-20s\n" $c "Installed"
+            printf "%-30s%-20s\n" "$c" "Installed"
         else
-            printf "%-30s%-20s\n" $c "NOT AVAILABLE"
+            printf "%-30s%-20s\n" "$c" "NOT AVAILABLE"
             bool=false
         fi
     done
-    # Check libraries with ldd
-    echo "Checking for libraries ..."
+    # Check libraries with ldd if not using macOS
     libraries=(libX11 libXpm libXft libffi libXext libQt libOpenGL)
-    for lb in ${libraries[@]}
-    do
-        if check_lib $lb
-        then
-            printf "%-30s%-20s\n" $lb "Installed"
-        else
-            printf "%-30s%-20s\n" $lb "NOT AVAILABLE"
-            bool=false
-        fi
-    done
-    echo "Dependencies look to be in check"
+    if [ "${options[enable_mac]}" = true ]
+    then
+        echo "MacOS install. Required libaries will not be checked."
+        echo "Please ensure " "${libraries[@]}" "are installed on your system."
+    else
+        echo "Checking for libraries ..."
+        for lb in "${libraries[@]}"
+        do
+            if check_lib "$lb"
+            then
+                printf "%-30s%-20s\n" "$lb" "Installed"
+            else
+                printf "%-30s%-20s\n" "$lb" "NOT AVAILABLE"
+                bool=false
+            fi
+        done
+        echo "Dependencies look to be in check"
+    fi
 
     $bool
 }
 
 function check_lib()
 {
-    if (ldconfig -p | grep -q $1)
+    if (ldconfig -p | grep -q "$1")
     then
         true
     else
@@ -264,7 +313,7 @@ function check_lib()
 function skip_check()
 {
     bool=false
-    for elem in $@
+    for elem in "$@"
     do
         if [[ $elem = "--skip-checks" ]];
         then
@@ -278,40 +327,84 @@ function skip_check()
 ## Installation commands
 function install_cmake()
 {
+    trap 'handle_error "cmake install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing cmake..."
     git clone https://github.com/Kitware/CMake.git --single-branch --branch v3.22.0 cmake_src
     mkdir -p cmake_build
-    cd cmake_build
-    ../cmake_src/bootstrap --prefix=../local \
-        && make -j${options[procuse]} \
-        && make install
+    cd cmake_build || exit 1
+    ../cmake_src/bootstrap --prefix=../local --parallel="${options[procuse]}"
+    echo make -j"${options[procuse]}"
+    make -j"${options[procuse]}"
+    make install
     cd ../
     # Check if cmake was successful, if so clean-up, otherwise exit
-    if test -f ${options[prefix]}/bin/cmake
+    if test -f "${options[prefix]}"/bin/cmake
     then
-        printf "Cmake install successful\n"
+        printf "CMake install successful\n"
     else
-        printf "Cmake install failed ... check logs\n"
+        printf "CMake install failed ... check logs\n"
         exit 1
     fi
     if [ "${options[cleanup]}" = true ]
     then
         rm -rf cmake_src cmake_build
     fi
+    
+}
+
+function install_xerces()
+{
+    trap 'handle_error "xerces install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing xerces..."
+    wget https://archive.apache.org/dist/xerces/c/3/sources/xerces-c-3.2.5.tar.gz
+    tar xzf xerces-c-3.2.5.tar.gz
+    cd xerces-c-3.2.5 || exit 1
+    mkdir -p build
+    cd build || exit 1
+    cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -Dtranscoder=iconv .. \
+        && make -j"${options[procuse]}" \
+        && make install
+    cd ../..
+    # Check if build was successful, if so clean-up, otherwise exit
+    if test -d "${options[prefix]}"/include/xercesc
+    then
+        printf "Xerces install successful\n"
+    else
+        printf "Xerces install failed ... check logs\n"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if [ "${options[cleanup]}" = true ]
+    then
+        rm -rf xerces-c-3.2.5.tar.gz xerces-c-3.2.5
+    fi
 }
 
 function install_root()
 {
-    git clone https://github.com/root-project/root.git --depth 1 --single-branch --branch ${options[root_branch]} root_src
+    trap 'handle_error "root install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing ROOT..."
+    if ${options[enable_mac]}
+    then    
+        git clone https://github.com/root-project/root.git --depth 1 --single-branch --branch "${options[root_branch_mac]}" root_src
+    else
+        git clone https://github.com/root-project/root.git --depth 1 --single-branch --branch "${options[root_branch]}" root_src
+    fi
     mkdir -p root_build
-    cd root_build
-    cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${options[prefix]} -D xrootd=OFF -D roofit=OFF -D minuit2=ON \
-          -D CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17 -D CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED=ON \
+    cd root_build || exit 1
+    GLEW=""
+    MINUIT="ON"
+    if ${options[enable_mac]}
+    then    
+        GLEW="-D builtin_glew=ON"
+        MINUIT="OFF"
+    fi
+    cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" -D xrootd=OFF -D roofit=OFF -D minuit2="${MINUIT}" -D CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17 "${GLEW}"\
             ../root_src \
-        && make -j${options[procuse]} \
+        && make -j"${options[procuse]}" \
         && make install
     cd ../
     # Check if root was successful, if so clean-up, otherwise exit
-    if test -f ${options[prefix]}/bin/root
+    if test -f "${options[prefix]}"/bin/root
     then
         printf "Root install successful\n"
     else
@@ -326,19 +419,42 @@ function install_root()
 
 function install_geant4()
 {
-    git clone https://github.com/geant4/geant4.git --depth 1 --single-branch --branch ${options[geant_branch]} geant_src
+    trap 'handle_error "geant4 install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing Geant4..."
+    git clone https://github.com/geant4/geant4.git --depth 1 --single-branch --branch "${options[geant_branch]}" geant_src
     mkdir -p geant_build
-    cd geant_build
-    cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${options[prefix]} ../geant_src -DGEANT4_BUILD_EXPAT=OFF \
+    cd geant_build || exit 1
+    LIBSUFFIX="so"
+    if [ "${options[enable_mac]}" = true ]
+    then
+        LIBSUFFIX="dylib"
+    fi
+    if [ -f "${options[prefix]}"/lib/libxerces-c.${LIBSUFFIX} ]
+    then
+        cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib \
+        ../geant_src -DGEANT4_BUILD_EXPAT=OFF \
         -DGEANT4_BUILD_MULTITHREADED=OFF -DGEANT4_USE_QT=ON -DGEANT4_INSTALL_DATA=ON \
         -DGEANT4_BUILD_TLS_MODEL=global-dynamic \
         -DGEANT4_INSTALL_DATA_TIMEOUT=15000 -DGEANT4_USE_GDML=ON \
-        -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17 -DCXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED=ON \
-        && make -j${options[procuse]} \
+        -DXercesC_INCLUDE_DIR="${options[prefix]}"/include -DXercesC_LIBRARY_RELEASE="${options[prefix]}"/lib/libxerces-c."${LIBSUFFIX}" 
+    else
+        cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib \
+        ../geant_src -DGEANT4_BUILD_EXPAT=OFF \
+        -DGEANT4_BUILD_MULTITHREADED=OFF -DGEANT4_USE_QT=ON -DGEANT4_INSTALL_DATA=ON \
+        -DGEANT4_BUILD_TLS_MODEL=global-dynamic \
+        -DGEANT4_INSTALL_DATA_TIMEOUT=15000 -DGEANT4_USE_GDML=ON
+    fi
+    # cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib \
+    #     ../geant_src -DGEANT4_BUILD_EXPAT=OFF \
+    #     -DGEANT4_BUILD_MULTITHREADED=OFF -DGEANT4_USE_QT=ON -DGEANT4_INSTALL_DATA=ON \
+    #     -DGEANT4_BUILD_TLS_MODEL=global-dynamic \
+    #     -DGEANT4_INSTALL_DATA_TIMEOUT=15000 -DGEANT4_USE_GDML=ON \
+        # -DXercesC_INCLUDE_DIR="${options[prefix]}"/include -DXercesC_LIBRARY_RELEASE="${options[prefix]}"/lib/libxerces-c."${LIBSUFFIX}" 
+    make -j"${options[procuse]}" \
         && make install
     cd ../
     # Check if g4 was successful, if so clean-up, otherwise exit
-    if test -f ${options[prefix]}/bin/geant4-config
+    if test -f "${options[prefix]}"/bin/geant4-config
     then
         printf "G4 install successful\n"
     else
@@ -353,22 +469,41 @@ function install_geant4()
 
 function install_cry()
 {
+    trap 'handle_error "CRY install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing CRY..."
     # Install CRY for cosmogenics
     curl https://nuclear.llnl.gov/simulation/cry_v1.7.tar.gz --output cry.tar.gz
     tar xzvf cry.tar.gz
-    cd cry_v1.7
+    cd cry_v1.7 || exit 1
     # Lets hack things up a bit to get a shared library
-    sed -i 's/^M$//' src/Makefile
-    sed -i '25 i \\t$(CXX) -shared $(OBJ) -o ../lib/libCRY.so' src/Makefile
-    sed -i 's/\-Wall/\-Wall \-fPIC/g' src/Makefile
+    # macs have a different format for sed
+    if [ "${options[enable_mac]}" = true ]
+    then
+        sed -i '' 's/\r$//' src/Makefile
+        sed -i '' '25i\
+	$(CXX) -shared $(OBJ) -o ../lib/libCRY.so' src/Makefile
+        sed -i '' 's/\-Wall/\-Wall \-fPIC/g' src/Makefile
+    else
+        sed -i 's/\r$//' src/Makefile
+        sed -i '25 i \\t$(CXX) -shared $(OBJ) -o ../lib/libCRY.so' src/Makefile
+        sed -i 's/\-Wall/\-Wall \-fPIC/g' src/Makefile
+    fi
+    LD_LIBRARY_PATH="${options[prefix]}"/../cry_v1.7/lib:"$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
     make -j1 # Race condition using multiple threads
-    mkdir -p ${options[prefix]}/data/cry
-    mv data/* ${options[prefix]}/data/cry
+    mkdir -p "${options[prefix]}"/data/cry
+    mv data/* "${options[prefix]}"/data/cry
     # "Make install"
-    mv lib/libCRY.so ${options[prefix]}/lib
-    mkdir -p ${options[prefix]}/include/cry
-    cp src/*.h ${options[prefix]}/include/cry
+    mv lib/libCRY.so "${options[prefix]}"/lib
+    mkdir -p "${options[prefix]}"/include/cry
+    cp src/*.h "${options[prefix]}"/include/cry
     cd ../
+    if test -f "${options[prefix]}"/lib/libCRY.so
+    then
+        printf "CRY install successful\n"
+    else
+        printf "CRY install failed ... check logs\n"
+        exit 1
+    fi
     if [ "${options[cleanup]}" = true ]
     then
         rm -r cry_v1.7 cry.tar.gz
@@ -377,6 +512,8 @@ function install_cry()
 
 function install_tensorflow()
 {
+    trap 'handle_error "tensorflow install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing Tensorflow..."
     # Tensorflow: https://www.tensorflow.org/install/lang_c
     # CPU only or GPU support, listen for the --gpu command? Also if macos?
     # Updated 2021-08-10
@@ -394,15 +531,27 @@ function install_tensorflow()
         tfurl=$macCPU
     fi
     curl $tfurl --output tensorflow.tar.gz
-    tar -C ${options[prefix]} -xzf tensorflow.tar.gz
+    tar -C "${options[prefix]}" -xzf tensorflow.tar.gz
 
     git clone https://github.com/serizba/cppflow.git
-    cp -r cppflow/include/cppflow ${options[prefix]}/include
-    rm -rf tensorflow.tar.gz cppflow
+    cp -r cppflow/include/cppflow "${options[prefix]}"/include
+    if test -d "${options[prefix]}"/include/tensorflow && test -d "${options[prefix]}"/include/cppflow
+    then
+        printf "Tensorflow install successful\n"
+    else
+        printf "Tensorflow install failed ... check logs\n"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if [ "${options[cleanup]}" = true ]
+    then
+        rm -rf tensorflow.tar.gz cppflow
+    fi
 }
 
 function install_torch()
 {
+    trap 'handle_error "torch install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing torch..."
     # PyTorch library found at pytorch.org/get-started/locally
     # Use the GUI there to reveal the specific links
     # Updated 2021-08-10
@@ -422,38 +571,85 @@ function install_torch()
 
     curl $tfurl --output torch.zip
     unzip torch.zip -d torch
-    cp -r torch/libtorch/* ${options[prefix]}
-    rm -rf torch.zip torch
+    cp -r torch/libtorch/* "${options[prefix]}"
+    if test -d "${options[prefix]}"/include/torch
+    then
+        printf "Torch install successful\n"
+    else
+        printf "Torch install failed ... check logs\n"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if [ "${options[cleanup]}" = true ]
+    then
+        rm -rf torch.zip torch
+    fi
 }
 
 function install_ratpac()
 {
+    # FIXME: need a solution to remove requirement to edit ratpac files with sed for mac installs 
+    trap 'handle_error "ratpac install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing ratpac..."
     # Install rat-pac
-    source ${options[prefix]}/bin/thisroot.sh
-    source ${options[prefix]}/bin/geant4.sh
-    if [[ -f "${options[prefix]}/lib/libCRY.so" ]];
+    source "${options[prefix]}"/bin/thisroot.sh
+    source "${options[prefix]}"/bin/geant4.sh
+    if [[ -f "${options[prefix]}"/lib/libCRY.so ]];
     then
-        export CRYLIB=${options[prefix]}/lib
-        export CRYINCLUDE=${options[prefix]}/include/cry
-        export CRYDATA=${options[prefix]}/data/cry
+        export CRYLIB="${options[prefix]}"/lib
+        export CRYINCLUDE="${options[prefix]}"/include/cry
+        export CRYDATA="${options[prefix]}"/data/cry
     fi
     rm -rf ratpac
-    git clone ${options[ratpac_repository]} ratpac
-    cd ratpac
-    make -j${options[procuse]} && source ./ratpac.sh
-    # Check if ratpac was successful, if so clean-up, otherwise exit
-    if test -f build/bin/rat
+    git clone "${options[ratpac_repository]}" ratpac
+    cd ratpac || exit 1
+    if [ "${options[enable_arm64]}" = true ]
+    then
+        sed -i '' 's/x86_64/arm64/g' CMakeLists.txt
+    fi
+    if [ "${options[enable_mac]}" = true ]
+    then
+        sed -i '' 's/.*Wno-terminate.*//g' CMakeLists.txt
+        sed -i '' 's/\.so/.dylib/g' config/RatpacConfig.cmake.in
+        sed -i '' "36 i\\
+set(CMAKE_LIBRARY_PATH \${CMAKE_LIBRARY_PATH} ${options[prefix]}/lib)\\
+include_directories(${options[prefix]}/include)" CMakeLists.txt
+        sed -i '' '11 i\
+#include <RAT/Processor.hh>' src/core/include/RAT/ProcAllocator.hh
+    fi
+    # avoid using default Makefile as it lacks portability for different OSs
+    # make -j"${options[procuse]}" && source ./ratpac.sh
+    mkdir -p build
+    cd build || exit 1
+    LIBSUFFIX="so"
+    if [ "${options[enable_mac]}" = true ]
+    then
+        LIBSUFFIX="dylib"
+    fi
+    if [ -f "${options[prefix]}"/lib/libxerces-c.${LIBSUFFIX} ]
+    then
+        cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" -DXercesC_INCLUDE_DIR="${options[prefix]}"/include -DXercesC_LIBRARY_RELEASE="${options[prefix]}"/lib/libxerces-c."${LIBSUFFIX}" ..
+    else
+        cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" ..
+    fi
+    # cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=../install .. \
+    # -DXercesC_INCLUDE_DIR="${options[prefix]}"/include -DXercesC_LIBRARY_RELEASE="${options[prefix]}"/lib/libxerces-c."${LIBSUFFIX}" \
+   
+    make && make install && cd .. && source ./ratpac.sh
+    # Check if ratpac was successful, otherwise exit
+    if test -f install/bin/rat
     then
         printf "Ratpac install successful\n"
     else
         printf "Ratpac install failed ... check logs\n"
         exit 1
     fi
-    cd ../
+    cd ..
 }
 
 function install_chroma()
 {
+    trap 'handle_error "chroma install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing chroma..."
     # Geant-4 pybind, special chroma branch
     #virtualenv pyrat
     #source pyrat/bin/activate
@@ -470,12 +666,22 @@ function install_chroma()
     ## For now, just install zeromq
     git clone --depth 1 -b v4.3.5 https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq.git libzmq_src
     mkdir -p libzmq_build
-    pushd libzmq_build
-    cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${options[prefix]} ../libzmq_src
-    make -j${options[procuse]} install
-    popd
-    rm -rf libzmq_src libzmq_build
+    pushd libzmq_build || exit 1
+    cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib ../libzmq_src
+    make -j"${options[procuse]}" install
+    popd || exit 1
 
+    if test -f "${options[prefix]}"/lib/libzmq.a
+    then
+        printf "Chroma install successful\n"
+    else
+        printf "Chroma install failed ... check logs\n"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if [ "${options[cleanup]}" = true ]
+    then
+        rm -rf libzmq_src libzmq_build
+    fi
 
 }
 
@@ -504,25 +710,26 @@ function install_hdf5()
 
 function install_nlopt()
 {
+    trap 'handle_error "nlopt install" $LINENO' ERR
+    echo "Installing nlopt..."
     git clone https://github.com/stevengj/nlopt.git
-    pushd nlopt
-    cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${options[prefix]} . -Bbuild
+    pushd nlopt || exit 1
+    cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${options[prefix]}" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib . -Bbuild
     cmake --build build --target install
-    popd
-    rm -rf nlopt
-}
-
-
-## Main function with checks
-if skip_check $@
-then
-    install $@
-else
-    if check_deps
+    popd || exit 1
+    if test -f "${options[prefix]}"/include/nlopt.h
     then
-        install $@
+        printf "Nlopt install successful\n"
     else
-        printf "\033[31mPlease install system dependencies as indicated above.\033[0m\n"
-        printf "\033[31mYou can skip these checks by passing the --skip-checks flag.\033[0m\n"
+        printf "Nlopt install failed ... check logs\n"
+        exit 1
     fi
-fi
+    if [ "${options[cleanup]}" = true ]
+    then
+        rm -rf nlopt
+    fi
+}
+
+
+## Main function
+install "$@"