Does anyone know how to simply force an app to open using Rosetta 2? For example, I have Adobe universal apps on a M2 Mac that use a GMetrix plugin that isn’t designed for M2 macs. Right now, each student has to manually go into the Adobe app’s Get Info window and check the “open using Rosetta 2” checkbox. I want to automate this so that they no longer have to do it.
Question
Force Apps To Open Using Rosetta 2
+6
This might have you answer but I’m not sure since I’ve never run into it before.
+6Yeah, I was trying to find a way to do it natively in MacOS and not have to have a script download a third-party program.
Gotcha, I don’t have much experience with that but I had found that forum so I thought I would share. If I run into anything in my trips and travels around the internet I will let you know. Good Luck!
+26I’m not entirely sure that you can automate this natively. The “Open using Rosetta” checkbox isn’t exposed through a plist, defaults domain, or any command‑line flag, so macOS doesn’t give you a built‑in way to toggle it. You might be able to script a wrapper command that launches the app under Rosetta, but that’s not the same as checking the box, and it would require users to run something manually anyway. At that point it’s more friction than just using the native Get Info method, and you mentioned you want to avoid commands in the first place.
Also, you’ll want to start planning to retire the Adobe Intel‑only plugin or the universal app workflow. Rosetta is being deprecated in September, and once it’s gone, there won’t be a supported way to run Intel‑only components on Apple Silicon at all.
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