If you need to install Rosetta on your Mac

Rosetta 2 is available only for Mac computers with Apple silicon.

You're asked to install Rosetta the first time you open an app that needs Rosetta. Click Install, then enter your user name and password to allow installation to proceed.

If you click Not Now, you will be asked again the next time you open an app that needs Rosetta.

If Rosetta is already installed, you are not asked to install it again.

Rosetta is not an app that you open or interact with. Rosetta works automatically in the background whenever you use an app that was built only for Mac computers with an Intel processor. It translates the app for use with Apple silicon.

In most cases, you won't notice any difference in the performance of an app that needs Rosetta. But you should contact the app developer to inquire about a version that can natively use the full power and performance of Apple silicon.

To identify apps that need Rosetta or can use Rosetta:

1. Select an app in the Finder.
2. From the File menu in the menu bar, choose Get Info.
3. See the information labeled Kind:
   • Application (Intel) means the app supports only Intel processors and needs Rosetta to work on a Mac with Apple silicon.
   • Application (Universal) means the app supports both Apple silicon and Intel processors, and uses Apple silicon by default. Universal apps don't need Rosetta.

For apps labeled Application (Universal), the Info window includes the setting “Open using Rosetta.” This setting enables a universal app such as a web browser to use plug-ins, extensions, or other add-ons that haven't been updated to support Apple silicon. If a universal app doesn't recognize an add-on that you installed for the app, you can quit the app, select this setting, and try again.