If you need to install Rosetta on your Mac

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

You'll be asked to install Rosetta the first time you open an app that needs Rosetta. Click Install, then enter your username and password to allow the installation process to proceed.

If you click Not Now, you'll be asked to proceed with the installation the next time you open an app that needs Rosetta.

If Rosetta has already been installed, you won't be 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 specifically for Mac computers that have 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 enquire 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 labelled Kind:
   • Application (Intel) means the app only supports Intel processors and requires 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 labelled 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 recognise an add-on you've installed for the app, you can close the app, select this setting and try again.