Docs
Setup guides, dependency fixes, and troubleshooting for Crosswire. If something is missing or wrong, open an issue.
Installing a game or app
Click Install Windows App in the toolbar, or drag a Windows .exe straight onto the window. Crosswire runs the installer (or adopts a portable executable), detects what the app needs, and adds it to your Library by name. From there it launches with one click.
Crosswire handles runtimes
Most apps that fail to launch on other tools are missing a Windows runtime. Crosswire detects the common ones automatically while it installs an app and offers to add them, so you don't go hunting for components. The runtimes it recognizes include:
| Runtime | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Visual C++ 2008–2022 | Covers most software, going back to 2008. |
| .NET Framework 4.x | Most .NET desktop apps. |
| DirectX 9 components | Older DirectX 9 games that ask for them. |
| Core fonts | Standard Windows fonts many apps expect. |
| XACT audio | Sound in some older games. |
| PhysX | Games that use NVIDIA PhysX physics. |
Known titles, set up automatically. For a growing set of recognized games, Crosswire applies the exact setup that title needs the moment you install it. No manual steps.
Running & managing apps
Click an app in your Library to launch it (or use the arrow keys and Return). Open an app's page for more: run a specific program it installed, Launch with Diagnostics to capture a log when something misbehaves, or Uninstall to remove it and its files. Right-clicking an app in the Library gives you the same actions.
Settings
The gear in the toolbar opens Settings. Crosswire keeps the compatibility layer and runtimes managed for you, so there's little to configure beyond update preferences.
Rosetta
On Apple Silicon, Windows software runs through Rosetta. Crosswire checks whether Rosetta is installed at launch and walks you through installing it if not, so you don't need to set it up beforehand.
If the prompt doesn't appear and apps fail to launch, install it manually with softwareupdate --install-rosetta in Terminal.
Portable apps
Apps with no installer (a folder with an .exe and some DLLs) work fine. Install it the same way: drop the .exe onto the window or pick it from the Install dialog, and Crosswire adds it to your Library once it runs.
Uninstalling Crosswire
Use the built-in uninstaller: Settings → Advanced → Uninstall Crosswire…, also available from the Crosswire menu in the menu bar. It stops anything still running, removes the data Crosswire can regenerate, then asks you separately before touching the Windows apps you installed. Finally it reveals Crosswire in Finder so you can drag it to the Trash to finish.
Your installed apps are kept unless you explicitly opt in. They can be very large and they hold your save data, so removing them is always a separate, deliberate choice.
Dragging Crosswire to the Trash removes the app itself and nothing else. macOS gives an app no uninstall hook, so no code runs when you delete it and Crosswire never gets the chance to clean up. This is true of every Mac app, which is why the uninstaller exists.
Cleaning up after dragging it to the Trash
If you already deleted the app, these are left behind. Remove them by hand if you want them gone:
~/Library/Application Support/app.Crosswire.Crosswire— includingApps, where your installed Windows apps live~/Library/Containers/app.Crosswire.Crosswire— older installs kept apps here~/Library/Caches/app.Crosswire.Crosswire~/Library/Logs/app.Crosswire.Crosswire~/Library/Saved Application State/app.Crosswire.Crosswire.savedState
If you have used Crosswire for a while, you may have both of the first two. Newer versions keep installed apps in Application Support; older ones kept them in Containers. Check both.
Finder shows the Containers folder as Crosswire, not app.Crosswire.Crosswire, because it substitutes the app's display name. The path you type is not the name you see. To get there, open Finder and choose Go → Go to Folder…, then paste the path.
Your installed Windows apps live under these folders, so removing them by hand removes those apps and their save data as well.
Common issues
The app won't open
Crosswire offers the common runtimes while installing, so this is usually handled. If an app still won't launch, reinstall it so detection runs again, or open the app's page and choose Launch with Diagnostics to capture a log. Then open an issue with the app name and that log.
Black screen on launch
Quit and relaunch the app once. If it persists, lower the in-game resolution, and use Launch with Diagnostics from the app's page so the log can be attached to a report.
App installed but doesn't appear
Some installers place the program in an unexpected spot. Reinstall and let the installer finish completely; for a portable .exe, it appears in your Library after it runs the first time.
Gatekeeper blocks Crosswire on first launch
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the Security section, and click Open Anyway next to Crosswire, then confirm. (On macOS 14 you could right-click the app and choose Open, but Apple removed that shortcut in macOS 15 Sequoia.) You only need to do this once. Crosswire isn’t notarized by Apple yet.