Darling – Run Mac apps on Linux (darlinghq.org)

Article summary

Darling is a translation layer that allows running macOS software on Linux without using a hardware emulator. It implements a complete Darwin environment and aims to fully integrate apps into the Linux desktop experience. The project has basic experimental support for running simple graphical applications. Darling is free and open-source software, developed openly on GitHub and distributed under the GNU GPL license version 3.

Main themes

• Darling project
• macOS on Linux
• GUI support
• iOS development
• Wine comparison
• Application portability
• Community engagement

What commenters say

• Some commenters are skeptical about the project's progress, citing the long time it has taken to achieve basic GUI support.
• Others argue that the project is still active and has potential for growth, with some even using it for specific use cases like building iOS apps on Linux.
• There are concerns about the potential for Apple to revoke developer accounts for non-compliance if Darling is used to build iOS apps.
• The use of Darling for iOS development is seen as a way to avoid the costs and maintenance of Mac hardware, but some argue that the costs are not significant enough to justify the effort.
• Some commenters believe that Wine is a more mature and better option for running Windows software on Linux, while others see Darling as a more promising approach due to its focus on macOS and Unix-like systems.
• There are also discussions about the challenges of implementing complex Cocoa apps and the potential for Darling to resolve application portability issues for Linux.
• The project's reliance on Discord for community engagement is seen as a drawback by some, who prefer not to agree to Discord's terms of service and data collecting policies.