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The :'''Macintosh'This page is about software that emulates Classic Mac OS systems on other non-native hardware.'' {{for|emulators that support current macOS (formerly Mac OS X and OS X)|macOS}}{{for|emulators that run on macOS (/ˈmækɪntɒʃ/ ''MAK-in-tosh''; branded as '''previously MacOS X)|Emulators on macOS}}:''' since 1998) is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. since January 1984. The original Macintosh was the first mass-market personal computer For other emulators that featured a graphical user interface, built-in screen and mouse, eschewing the command-line interface and/or BASIC interpreter that has been the mainstay with home computers since the late 70s. Apple sold the Macintosh alongside its popular run on Classic Mac OS [[Apple II LineEmulators on Legacy systems#Classic Mac OS|Apple IIEmulators on Classic Mac OS]] family of computers for almost ten years before they were discontinued in 1993.''
Macintosh computers came with their own in-house operating system called Mac OS since their introduction, initially known as The '''[[wikipedia:Macintosh System Software|Macintosh]]''' and later as '''Mac OS'''; Mac OS Xis a family of personal computers designed, which had different underpinnings to its predecessormanufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. since January 1984. The original Macintosh was introduced for PowerPC Macs the first mass-market personal computer that featured a graphical user interface, built-in 2000 screen, and is still in active development to this daymouse, albeit now supporting x86 (eschewing the command-line interface and ARM especially with /or BASIC interpreter that had been the mainstay for home computers since the late '70s. Apple offered the Macintosh alongside its mobile derivative popular [[iOS emulatorsApple II Line|iOSApple II]])family of computers for almost ten years before those were discontinued in 1993.
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{{Infobox console
|title = Apple Macintosh
|logo = Macintosh.jpeg|developer = [[:AppleInc.|AppleComputer, Inc.]]|type = [[:Category:Computers|Home computerComputers]]
|release = 1984
|discontinued = 2001|introductory price = {{Inflation|USD|2495|1984}}|predecessor = [[Apple Lisa emulators|Lisa]], [[:Apple IILine|Apple ][]]|successor = [[MacOS]]
|emulated = {{✓}}
}}
Throughout its history the Macintosh has spanned four CPU instruction set architectures that represent the four commonly known generations. From its launch in 1984 up until 1996, Apple sold Macintoshes with the Motorola 68k family of CPUs. In the early 90s, Apple partnered with Motorola and IBM to combine IBM's POWER with Motorola's 88k to produce the PowerPC (PPC) architecture they used in Macs from 1994-2007, naming some of them accordingly as Power Macintosh. They switched to x86 in 2007, justifying it with the explanation that PPC failed to be competitive with Intel's Pentium M series. And in 2020 have started a transition from x86 to ARM, further integrating with its more popular iOS mobile spinoff.
Macintosh computers have always included a platform-exclusive operating system that never had a consistent name.<ref group=N> It used to be called System or System Software until version 7.6, when it was renamed Mac OS in 1997. Version 10 was named Mac OS X (Ten, not Ex) in 2000, and when version 10.8 was released in 2012, it was shortened to OS X. When version 10.12 was released in 2016 it was rebranded as macOS to match the style of their other OSes at the time: iOS, iPadOS, tvOS and watchOS. They kept using the 10.x versioning until the release of macOS 11 Big Sur in 2020, and continue to increment every year.</ref> An important divide relevant for Mac emulation is "Old World" vs. "New World" motherboard ROMs, with Old World used for System 1-7 on 68k/PPC targets, and New World generally used for Mac OS 8-10 PPC targets, since New World ROMs were stored with the OS, they are available legally from Apple for free online in OS updates. A quick way to distinguish an Old World from a New World Mac is that all New World Macs have onboard USB ports, while no Old World Macs do. Mac OS 8.5 dropped support for 68k CPUs. Mac OS X, which has UNIX underpinnings different from its predecessor, was introduced in 1999 requiring a PowerPC G3 at minimum,<ref group=N>With the exception of one orphaned early G3 laptop. Though that didn't stop some users from programming OS X bootloaders for most PCI-based Macs, especially those with G3/G4 upgrades.</ref> and ported to x86 in 2006. With version 11 in 2020, macOS is now being ported to ARM (like its mobile cousin [[iOS emulators|iOS]]).
A ton of Macintosh emulators have appeared over the years, some early in the system's release (mostly for competing m68k microcomputers) and others as late as a few years ago. As a PC platform in its own right with its own userbase and varying degrees of unique software and hardware features, most major emulators of other platforms maintain a macOS port, or are ported to macOS by external collaborators, in addition to a number of emulators originating on the Mac over the years. It should be noted that we do not aim to be the last word on Mac emulation; there's a community called E-Maculation that covers this more thoroughly, as they offer builds for many of the emulators shown here on their forums. We'll either be further ahead or severely behind.
<references group=N/>
==Emulators==
===68k===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Operating SystemPlatform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="6"|[[Mini vMac]]|Multi-platform|[http:PC //www.gryphel.com/c/minivmac/index.html 3.5.8]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}}x86
|-
|[[https://basilisk.cebix.net Basilisk II]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|[https://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5282 19-01-2024 (Win)]<br/>[https://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6580 23-02-2024 (Linux)]<br/>[https://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7361 29-12-2023 (Mac OS X)]<br/>[https://github.com/kanjitalk755/macemu/ git]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}|-|Mini vMac<br/><small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/minivmac/ minivmac_libretro]</small>|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|[https://www.gryphel.com/c/minivmac/beta.html 37.00(beta)]<br/>[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]<br/>[https://www.gryphel.com/c/minivmac/download.html 36.04]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}|-|[[MAME]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|<abbr title="Latest development version">git artifacts</abbr><ref group=N2>[https://nightly.link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-windows/master CI-Windows] [https://nightly.link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-linux/master CI-Linux] [https://nightly.link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-macos/master CI-Macos]</ref></br>[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]<br/>[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}[https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/apple/mac128.cpp#L1518 *]|Multi-platform|[[Clock Signal]]|align=left|{{Icon|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}|[https://github.com/cebixTomHarte/CLK/releases {{clkVer}}]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{?}}|-|<abbr title="PC Emulator">PCE</abbr>|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|[http://www.hampa.ch/pce/macemu 1download.html 0 R5.2.2]|{{✓}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[[Ardi Executor]]
|Microsoft align=left|{{Icon|DOS|Linux|NextStep|Windows, Linux, Mac OS X }}|[https://githubwww.emaculation.com/ctmdoku.php/executor 2.1.17]|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[[vMac]]|Multi-platformalign=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
|[http://www.vmac.org/ 0.19]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Mobile / ARM
|-
|Mini vMac
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS}}
|[https://www.gryphel.com/c/minivmac/ports.html Ports]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Consoles
|-
|Mini vMac
|align=left|{{Icon|Pyra|3DS}}
|[https://pyra-handheld.com/repo/apps/33 36.04]<br/>[https://www.gryphel.com/c/minivmac/ports.html Ports]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|Basilisk II
|align=left|{{Icon|PSP}}
|[https://github.com/PSP-Archive/Basilisk-II-PSP/releases git]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}
|}
<references group=N2/>
;Basilisk II
:An emulator targeting the "Mac Classic" and "Mac II" lines, capable of booting System 6.0.7 to OS 8.1 depending on ROM. The successor to Basilisk, a similar emulator for Linux and BeOS, it works by providing replacement drivers for components that would normally be hardware (a sort of HLE approach). Aside from the usual Windows, macOS, and Linux ports, Basilisk II also received an acclaimed (homebrew) PSP port.
;Mini vMac
:The successor to vMac, an older emulator. Targets the Macintosh Plus (capable of booting Systems 3 to 7.5.5), but can be built targeting other models (128K, 512Ke, SE, SE FDHD, Classic, or [buggy] II).
;[[MAME]]
:To say it's a multi-system emulator would be an understatement. It covers a wide range of electronic history, with its namesake being arcade machines. Just typing in "Macintosh" will list basically everything Mac-related like the original Macintosh 128K (labelled as Working) and the Macintosh II (which is OK). [https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/0f028a8bd2afcb32ccdab0291eb3a798a98a1afc/src/mame/machine/mac.cpp#L14 See the full list here.]
;Clock Signal
:A multi-system emulator with full-hardware [[Emulation Accuracy#Cycle accuracy|cycle-accurate]] emulation of the Macintosh Plus.
;PCE <small>(PC Emulator)</small>
:A multi-system emulator. Computers it targets include the Macintosh Plus, SE and Classic. Stables used to release every two years but stopped in 2013. A snapshot exists for December 2018 however, which suggests that the project isn't completely dead.
;[[Ardi Executor]]
:A formerly payware compatibility layer targeting System 1 to 6. Requires no ROM images or other copyrighted Apple code, as it instead translates Macintosh API calls into equivalent Win32 or POSIX API calls similarly to [[Wine]]. Compatibility is limited however, and as such some games and applications which depend on Mac System Extensions may not work properly.
===PowerPC===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Operating SystemPlatform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="6"|[[SheepShaver]]|Multi-platform|[https://github.com/cebixPC /macemu 2.4]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}}x86
|-
|[[PearPC]https://sheepshaver.cebix.net SheepShaver]|FreeBSD, align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux, Microsoft Windows|macOS}}|[https://githubwww.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5325 25-02-2024 (Win)]<br/>[https://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6553 23-02-2024 (Linux)]<br/>[https://www.emaculation.com/sebastianbiallasforum/pearpc 0viewtopic.6php?t=7360 29-12-2023 (Mac OS X)]<br/>[https://github.0com/kanjitalk755/macemu/ git]|{{✗✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗✓}}
|-
|[[Classic Environment]]|Mac OS X align=left|{{Icon|macOS}} (PPC)
|Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger"
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}|-|[[QEMU]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|{{QEMUVer}} |{{✓}}||{{✓}} ||{{~}}[https://www.emaculation.com/doku.php/qemu *]
|-
|[[RosettaMAME]]|Mac OS X (Intel)align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|Mac OS X 10<abbr title="Latest development version">git artifacts</abbr><ref group=N3>[https://nightly.link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-windows/master CI-Windows] [https://nightly.6link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-linux/master CI-Linux] [https://nightly.8 (Intel)link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-macos/master CI-Macos]</ref></br>[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]<br/>[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} [https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/apple/macpdm.cpp#L1195 *]|-|[[DingusPPC]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|[https://github.com/dingusdev/dingusppc git]|{{✓}}||{{✓}} ||WIP
|-
|}
<references group=N3/>
;SheepShaver
:An open-source "run-time environment" that includes a PowerPC emulator for non-PowerPC host systems. Originally commercial software named ShapeShifter, it is the companion app of the 68k Mac emulator Basilisk II. It boots System 7.5.2 through (due to a lack of MMU emulation) OS 9.0.4, runs most Mac applications at full speed on any modern PC, and can interface with and copy files to and from host hardware. It hasn't seen significant development in a while, not to mention that it is riddled with hacks and workarounds, which accounts for why some applications such as the default bundled Internet Explorer flat-out crash. Like Basilisk and vMac, it needs a firmware image from a working Mac.
;PearPC
:This emulator had been developed since 2004, and is capable of booting OS X 10.1-10.4, but not prior Mac OSs, nor OS X's Classic environment. It once had lots of developer momentum, but activity and interest declined significantly following Apple's 2005 transition to Intel processors. It was the subject of controversy when a closed-source emulator, CherryOS, was revealed to have used [[source code|code]] stolen from PearPC. PearPC lacks a GUI (even the "Change CD" button is removed in the most recent builds), so using a frontend may be necessary. Sound is not emulated unless you use a buggy and now outdated fork.
;[[QEMU]]
:Best known for its use as an x86 hypervisor, QEMU also emulates a wide range of CPU architectures. In 2015, a Google Summer of Code event brought PowerPC Macintosh support from a curiosity to a possibility and it now supports [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T0kkk8WpQ-eWBIdxBnXWCfeyClVVLJyXvvF2NED2U6Q/view a specific range of versions] as of 2017. Like PearPC, QEMU is run from a shell.
;DingusPPC
:Experimental emulator early in development.
==Resources==
* [https://www.emaculation.com/doku.php '''E-Maculation'''] - This links to their wiki, but they also have a forum that's "super busy." They provide setup guides and builds when the emulators themselves don't.
* [http://macintoshgarden.org/guides#Selecting_an_Emulator Macintosh Garden] (They feature many abandonware games. This page shows guides with links to installing any of the three covered emulators, two for the 68K line called ''Basilisk II'' & ''Mini vMac''; and one for the PowerPC called ''SheepShaver''.)
* [https://www.macintoshrepository.org/ Macintosh Repository] A page with tons of software for the Macintosh and other Apple computers, including games and much more.
* [https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/2886439?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=0 Pathways into Emulators - A Guide to Pre-Halo Bungie Games] (www.bungie.net forums. Mar 17 2011. Includes guide links for running ''Basilisk II'' on Windows, mac OS and Linux.)
* [https://infinitemac.org/ InfiniteMac]/[https://github.com/mihaip/infinite-mac Github] A project based on Basilisk II, SheepShaver and Mini vMac which makes several Macintosh and Early MacOS versions available on any web browser.
===ComparisonsNotes==<references group=;Sheepshaver: Hasn't seen significant development in a while, yet runs most if not all Mac OS applications in full speed on any Windows PC. It can interface with and copy files to and from host hardware, but suffers from the lack of memory management unit support, not to mention that it is riddled with hacks and workarounds, which accounts for why some applications such as the default bundled Internet Explorer crashes flat-out, and can only run up to 9.0.4. Like Basilisk and vMac, it needs a firmware image from a working Mac.;Executor: Unlike most other Mac OS emulators, Executor operates more or less like Wine in that it translates API calls to equivalent calls in its host OS and negates the need for any copyrighted ROM file, saving people the legal trouble of hunting for firmware. However, it lacks any kind of networking support and is also riddled with compatibility issues.N2 />
{{Apple}}
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Apple computers]]
[[Category:68000-based]]
[[Category:PowerPC-based]]
