Apple began transitioning to 64-bit hardware and software technology for Mac over a decade ago, and all modern Macs now include powerful 64-bit processors that can run advanced 64-bit apps. These apps can access dramatically more memory, enable faster system performance, and take advantage of technologies that define today's Mac experience.

Apple has been working with developers to transition their apps, and in 2018 Apple informed them that macOS Mojave would be the last version of macOS to run 32-bit apps. Starting with macOS Catalina, 32-bit apps are no longer compatible with macOS.

If you get an alert about a 32-bit app

Open Mac App 32 Bit Mode Download

You will see one of these alerts when attempting to open a 32-bit app:

MacOS has been 64-bit for years, but also supports 32-bit apps. That’s going to change soon, although Apple hasn’t announced an exact date yet. PSA: All Apps Submitted to Mac App Store Must. In this clip, you'll learn how to import open apps in 32-bit mode on an Apple computer running Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). For more information, including a complete demonstration of the process and detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this home-computing how-to. The only way to run these programs on macOS Catalina is to install a virtual environment and either run macOS Mojave or earlier in it or run Windows on your Mac (if the app you want to use works on Windows of course). This enables you to open applications in 32 bit mode on a Mac. There are various virtual environments you can use for this but.

[app name] needs to be updated.
The developer of this app needs to update it to work with this version of macOS. Contact the developer for more information.

[app name] is not optimized for your Mac and needs to be updated.
This app will not work with future versions of macOS and needs to be updated to improve compatibility. Contact the developer for more information.

When installing macOS, you may see a list of recently used apps that are 32-bit. You can review this list before deciding to continue installation. You may also see a prohibitory symbol over the icon of each 32-bit app in the Finder, letting you know that the app will not open.

Run In 32 Bit Mode

For all 32-bit apps, please contact the developer of the app to learn whether an updated version of their software is available or planned.