Darling
darlinghq.org
Spec sheet
- Purpose
- Darling is a translation layer for running macOS software on Linux.Read 7 Oct 2026 · darlinghq.org
- License
- Darling is free and open-source software distributed under the GNU GPL version 3.Read 7 Oct 2026 · darlinghq.org
- App installation
- The documentation describes installing apps from DMG images, archives, and PKG files, while noting limitations mainly due to the lack of a GUI.Read 7 Oct 2026 · docs.darlinghq.org
- Command-line compatibility
- The project lists Homebrew, Xcode command-line tools, and Python 3.11 among software tested to work.Read 7 Oct 2026 · docs.darlinghq.org
- Community
- The project links to a community Discord and a bug tracker.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Community packages
- Community packages are maintained independently and are not maintained or vetted by the Darling core team.Read 7 Oct 2026 · docs.darlinghq.org
- Contributing
- The project invites contributors to read its documentation and blog and join it on GitHub.Read 7 Oct 2026 · darlinghq.org
- Environment
- Darling implements a Darwin environment that includes Mach, dyld, and launchd.Read 7 Oct 2026 · darlinghq.org
- Frameworks
- Darling reimplements frameworks including Foundation, AppKit, CoreAudio, and CoreFoundation.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Graphical apps
- The website describes support for simple graphical applications as basic and experimental.Read 7 Oct 2026 · darlinghq.org
- GUI support
- Darling has experimental support for graphical Cocoa applications, but the documentation says most GUI applications do not work.Read 7 Oct 2026 · docs.darlinghq.org
- Installation formats
- Darling documentation describes installing software from DMG images, archives, and PKG files; package installation has limitations, including no support for MPKG files.Read 7 Oct 2026 · docs.darlinghq.org
- Linux requirements
- The build instructions require a 64-bit x86 Linux distribution, Linux 5.0 or higher, and at least 4 GB of RAM.Read 7 Oct 2026 · docs.darlinghq.org
- Main interface
- The Darling shell is currently the primary way to use and interact with Darling.Read 7 Oct 2026 · docs.darlinghq.org
- No hardware emulator
- Darling says it runs macOS software directly without using a hardware emulator.Read 7 Oct 2026 · darlinghq.org
- Open source
- Darling is free and open-source software distributed under the GNU GPL version 3.Read 7 Oct 2026 · darlinghq.org
- Package limitation
- Darling does not support installing MPKG files yet.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Prefix storage
- Darling uses overlayfs for prefixes and says NFS and eCryptfs are unsupported for that storage.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Runtime
- Darling runs macOS software directly without using a hardware emulator.Read 7 Oct 2026 · darlinghq.org
Where Specifiction places it
- Game Compatibility Layers#18 of 277.2
