AGS Editor on Apple Silicon macOS

Automated setup to run the Adventure Game Studio editor (AGSEditor.exe, v3.6.2) on Apple Silicon Macs via a 32-bit-capable Wine engine.

The popular "just winetricks dotnet46" instructions don't work on current Macs — Homebrew's Wine is wow64-only and can't run 32-bit .NET apps. This repo automates the full working recipe.

Quick start

git clone <this-repo> && cd ags-mac-setup
./install.sh        # downloads & sets everything up (~400 MB, one time)
./run-ags.sh        # launches the editor

Requirements: Apple Silicon Mac, Homebrew, and an internet connection. install.sh handles Rosetta 2, the Wine engine, .NET, the VC++ runtime, and AGS itself. It's safe to re-run — completed steps are skipped.

What it installs

Component	Where	Why
Rosetta 2 + winetricks, cabextract, sevenzip	system / Homebrew	prerequisites
CrossOver-based Wine (WineskinCX 21.2, wine32on64)	~/wine-cx/	the only Wine that runs 32-bit .NET on Apple Silicon
win32 Wine prefix (Win7 mode, Mono removed)	~/.wine-agscx/	AGS is a 32-bit app; Mono crashes it
.NET Framework runtime + real mscoree.dll shim	inside prefix	AGS is a .NET 4.5 WinForms app
Visual C++ 2015–2022 runtime (msvcp140.dll)	inside prefix	required by the native AGS.Native.dll
AGS 3.6.2.19 editor	C:\AGS\ in prefix	the editor itself

Why the standard guides fail

The AGS Editor is a 32-bit .NET 4.5 WinForms app with a native C++ core.

• Homebrew Wine 10/11 is wow64-only — it refuses a 32-bit prefix and its wow64 layer deadlocks 32-bit .NET JIT code (nested exception on signal stack): the editor starts but never shows a window.
• Wine-Mono crashes in AGS.Native.dll; you need the real Microsoft .NET.
• winetricks dotnet* can't finish on these engines (the .NET 4.0 base needs .msu Windows-Update packages Wine can't install).

The fix is a CrossOver-based engine with real 32-bit support (wine32on64), in a real win32 prefix, plus the VC++ runtime that the native core needs — the piece other guides miss.

For the full manual walkthrough and a troubleshooting table, see RUNNING-AGS-ON-MAC.md.

Notes

• Your editor lives at C:\AGS\... inside the prefix (~/.wine-agscx/drive_c/AGS/), so game projects you create there are stored inside the prefix too.
• Uninstall = delete ~/.wine-agscx, ~/wine-cx, and ~/.cache/ags-mac-setup.

Tested on macOS (Apple M1 Max), June 2026, AGS Editor 3.6.2.