Mac OS 9 for OS X/macOS
Run classic Mac OS apps in macOS | A similar system that runs System 7 | How to use it | Customization | What it contains | Acknowledgments | Support and contributions
Under macOS (formerly named OS X), software written for the "classic" Mac OS (i.e. versions 6 through 9) can only be run through software that emulates Macintosh hardware from the 1980s and 1990s. The most advanced of these emulator programs is SheepShaver. SheepShaver is no longer supported by its original author, Gwenolé Beauchesne, but updates are available from an active support forum at E-Maculation, and the program is actively maintained by a programmer who uses the name kanjitalk755.
This page provides a fully functional SheepShaver system that runs Mac OS 9.0.4 (US English version). Unlike other SheepShaver-based systems, it makes it relatively easy to exchange files between SheepShaver and macOS, and makes it easy to print from Mac OS applications to macOS printers, or to create PDF files on the macOS desktop. It requires macOS 10.12 Sierra or later.
Note: For the sake of clarity, some features in this app refer to "OS X" but the app runs only under macOS 10.12 Sierra or later, not under earlier versions that were named "OS X."
