Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What is Rosetta?
- Thread starter Sweetsugar
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Warning: huge simplifications ahead!
All the software running now on the Intel based Macs will not run on the Macs with the new M1 chip.
Therefore Apple made a translation layer. This layer makes it possible to run the Intel based software on the M1 chip by translating the 'Intel' code to the 'M1 code'.
Apple calls this translation layer 'Rosetta 2'.
Last edited:
Thank you so much.
You are welcome.
I found this link with more information:
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple_silicon/about_the_rosetta_translation_environment
Also worth noting that Rosetta is a background process, you as the user do not interact with it. If macOS identifies it as needing to be translated it will just do it.
Correct, the 1st run will take longer but thereafter should appear to run just as it normally would.
It was a Steve Jobs lover in the first years of marriage. He called once a computer Lisa..she got mad...an told him she would tell whole campus they only have sex on prime numbers days of the month and something about his preference ...so afhter long discussion he convinced her he would gonna award her naming a software who always goes from behind any other application while in transaction. (confidence on this...few people know about it)
Just Google 'Rosetta stone' instead of telling fantasy stories
You don't need to. It comes automatically with Big Sur on an M1 computer. You don't have to do anything.
I just got the M1 with Big Sur, and downloaded an app from the App Store that I had purchased previously, and got a pop-up saying that I needed Rosetta to run it and asked if I wanted to install it. Wasn't sure what it was, so I guess I'll install it if I want to run this (and potentially other) Intel-based app.
Does this only run once per app? Does it translate the app once and its done now? I keep seeing things mentioned when testing x86 games that is running in Rosetta. Is it always running and translating on the fly, or just, in a way, recompiling it type of thing?
It’s a one time translation. All of the internet stories talking about emulation or “running in Rosetta” are misinformed.
Yes. I have read that in other threads too. It seems that in some cases (depending on the version of Big Sur) Rosetta has to be downloaded separately. This is a one time thing. Just install it as the message says. After that you won't notice that it is there anymore.
Last edited:
Most of the time it runs just once, at installation or the first time an app is loaded. However, it is capable of just-in-time translation.