macOS Rosetta transition (end of life)

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Last updated July 20, 2026

About Rosetta

Rosetta 2 enables a Mac with Apple silicon (e.g. an M5, M4 etc processor) to use apps that have been built for a Mac with an Intel processor.

You can tell which apps currently use Rosetta by viewing the application or process within Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor on macOS, then reviewing the Kind column. Apps written for Apple silicon will say Apple and those using Rosetta will say Intel.

Screenshot showing the PaperCut User Client process in Activity Monitor, showing that it's an Intel app

Using Rosetta

If you don’t already have Rosetta installed, you’ll be asked if you want to install Rosetta automatically when you launch a PaperCut client or application. See If you need to install Rosetta from Apple.

Rosetta will still be available and supported in macOS 26 (Tahoe) and macOS 27 (Golden Gate). Following Apple’s previous yearly release cycle we’d expect macOS 27 to be released around September 2026.

macOS 27 (Golden Gate) beta versions

The behavior of Rosetta has changed in early versions of macOS 27 (note this is still in beta, so this can change at any point!).

Rosetta gets removed (see beta release notes) when upgrading to macOS 27, even you had it installed previously.
The automatic prompt 'You need to install Rosetta, do you want to install it now' was removed from the first version of macOS 27, but has been restored in recent versions. Note that the prompt will only appear for user-initiated apps, for example launching the User client by double clicking the app. System services, for example the Print Provider, Application Server, Secondary server etc, will not prompt for Rosetta installation.

As a result, apps requiring Rosetta may fail to run after upgrading to macOS 27.

Rosetta can be reinstalled either by accepting the 'Install Rosetta' prompt, or by running the Terminal command: softwareupdate --install-rosetta --agree-to-license

See Known Issue PO-4407 (for PaperCut NG/MF components) and CORE-2865 (for PaperCut Pocket/Hive components) for more information and workarounds.

Note that we have successfully tested Apple Silicon and Rosetta 2 with all PaperCut apps - including PaperCut NG/MF Application Server, Mobility Print Server, PaperCut Print Deploy Server, PaperCut Print Provider, PaperCut User Client, PaperCut Print Deploy Client, PaperCut Pocket client / Edge Node software and PaperCut Hive client / Edge Node software.

End of life for Rosetta

Apple announced last year that they plan to phase out support for Rosetta in late 2027, as documented on their About the Rosetta translation environment article.

Note that there are two strands of support ending around “Intel”.

macOS Tahoe (version 26) will be the last release for Intel-based Mac computers. That means that version of macOS 27 will not be compatible with Intel-based Macs. However, Rosetta will still be supported on macOS 27 (Golden Gate) when released at the end of this year, and support for Rosetta ends with macOS 28.

macOS version	Compatibility
macOS 26 (Tahoe)	Compatible with Intel-based Macs Rosetta fully supported
macOS 27 (Golden Gate)	Not compatible with Intel-based Macs Rosetta fully supported
macOS 28	Not compatible with Intel-based Macs Most apps no longer supported with Rosetta (Apple mentions "Rosetta functionality will be available only for certain older, unmaintained games").

Notifications and tools

Apple have added warning notifications in the beta releases of macOS 26.4, and continued the warning notifications in the macOS 27 betas.

These notifications have wording along the lines of “Support Ending for Intel-based Apps. This version of [application] will not open in a future release of macOS. Learn how to update to an Apple silicon version”, or “App Update Required. This version of [application] will not open in macOS 27, the next major release. An Apple silicon update may be available on the developer’s website”.

See Apple’s Using Intel-based apps on a Mac with Apple silicon article for more information. Apple have mentioned that sys admins can control the notification experience on managed devices - see the Tahoe 26.4 beta release notes for more information.

Screenshot showing the macOS notification popup alerting the user to an Intel-based app

In the beta versions of macOS 27, you can also find Intel-based applications which require Rosetta, listed under System Settings > General > About > macOS > Details. Note that this will only show ‘user’ based apps like the PCClient app, but will not show agents that run in the background like the Application Server or Print Provider services etc.

Screenshot showing the System Settings screen listing Intel-Based apps

PaperCut product component details

PaperCut is updating our software to run natively on Apple Silicon without requiring Rosetta, ensuring continued compatibility with macOS 27 and future Apple releases. We are also investigating ways to help customers more easily identify printer drivers that depend on Rosetta so they can plan any required updates ahead of time.

We will continue to update this page with our progress and share timelines and product availability as they become available.

PaperCut component (on macOS)	Status of the component (compatibility with macOS without using Rosetta)	Details
PaperCut NG/MF Application Server	⚠️ Planned
PaperCut NG/MF Site Server	⚠️ Planned
Print Provider (secondary server or direct print monitor)	⚠️ Planned
PaperCut NG/MF user client	⚠️ Planned
PaperCut NG/MF standard release station	⚠️ Planned
PaperCut Pocket/Hive print client	⚠️ Planned
PaperCut Pocket/Hive Edge Node	⚠️ Planned
Mobility Print Server	⚠️ Planned
Mobility Print Client	⚠️ Planned
Print Deploy Server	⚠️ Planned
Print Deploy Client	⚠️ Planned
Print Deploy Cloner	⚠️ Planned
Job Ticketing	🏵️ Rosetta required	Re-installation of Rosetta will be required to run the Job Ticketing server on macOS 27. See Using Rosetta for more.
Universal Print Connector (server side)	☑️ N/A	Windows only - see Universal Print Connector requirements.
GhostScript manual installation	✅ Ready	3rd party installer - a universal binary compatible with Intel and ARM. See Setting up GhostScript for Mobility Print or Setting up Print Archiving for more information on installation.

How to check macOS 27 printer driver compatibility

Some macOS print queues rely on background components (filters or backend binaries) that are architecture-specific. If your manufacturer built these binaries strictly for older Intel processors, they will completely stop working on Apple Silicon Macs that don’t run Rosetta 2.

(Note: In testing macOS 27 Beta 3, this results in a “Filter Failed” error when printing, though Apple’s error messaging may change in the final release).

To easily audit your fleet and find out which Print Queues and PPDs are impacted, we have built a diagnostic script. Here is how to run it:

Download the tool: Download our bash script and save it to your Mac’s Downloads folder as papercut_rosetta_audit.sh
Make it executable: Open the Terminal app and run the following command to grant execution permissions:
chmod +x ~/Downloads/papercut_rosetta_audit.sh
Run the audit: Execute the script with administrator privileges (you will be prompted for your Mac password):
sudo ~/Downloads/papercut_rosetta_audit.sh
Review your results: The scan may take a minute or two. Once finished, a file named rosetta_print_audit_report.csv will be saved directly to your Desktop. Open this in your preferred spreadsheet app and look for any items flagged as INTEL (ROSETTA DEPENDENT) in the Architecture Status column.

Next Steps: What to do if you find incompatible drivers

If your CSV report flags any of your active queues or PPDs as INTEL (ROSETTA DEPENDENT), here is exactly how to keep your users printing seamlessly.

Check for Manufacturer Updates Head directly to your printer manufacturer’s support website and download their latest macOS driver packages. It is highly likely that their most recent releases have already been updated to include Apple Silicon native Universal binaries.

Use the macOS 27 Safety Net If a vendor’s latest drivers are still not Apple Silicon ready, you have a temporary fallback. After upgrading to macOS 27 (Golden Gate), you can manually re-enable Rosetta to keep those specific legacy print queues functioning. Simply open the Terminal app and run the following command:
softwareupdate --install-rosetta --agree-to-license

Prepare for macOS 28 Treat re-enabling Rosetta as a temporary bridge rather than a permanent solution. It is very likely that manufacturers will release fully compatible drivers over the next year, which is critical because Apple will completely remove all support for Rosetta in macOS 28.

Category: Reference Articles

Subcategory: Installing, Uninstalling and Migrating