Removing Rosetta 2 From Your Mac

At times I’ve needed to confirm: is this macOS app native for Apple silicon or does it require Rosetta 2?

The easiest way? In Finder, do a Get Info then look at the app’s Kind:

• Application (Universal) = native for Apple silicon.
• Application (Intel) = works on both Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs, but needs Rosetta 2.

But if you want to be certain, take these steps to completely remove Rosetta 2 from your Mac:

1. Obtain a list of files and/or directories and LaunchAgents with: pkgutil --files com.apple.pkg.RosettaUpdateAuto.
2. Save that list in a way you can readily access it once you put your Mac into Recovery Mode.
3. Boot your Mac into Recovery Mode.
4. Open Terminal in Recovery Mode.
5. In Terminal type in this command – csrutil disable – press Return, then confirm to temporarily disable System Integrity Protection (SIP).
6. Reboot your Mac.
7. In Finder, delete these folders (access with Go > Go to Folder):
   • /Library/Apple/usr/share/rosetta
   • /Library/Apple/usr/libexec
8. Reboot to Recovery Mode again, then open Terminal.
9. Run csrutil enable and confirm to re-enable SIP.
10. Done! ☑️

Once you remove Rosetta 2, launch the desired app:

• If you launch an Application (Universal) app on Apple silicon, it will launch as expected.
• If you launch an Application (Intel) app, macOS will prompt you to re-install Rosetta.

🍏🖥️

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