Project Milk Drop as a native Apple Silicon program without Rosetta2?

Questions
1

The new version of Project Milk Syphon from Aud 2025, I believe the release notes say that it was updated for Apple Silicon, or perhaps MSL. But when I open it, it wants to run in the Rosetta translation layer. I prefer not to install Rosetta (so I can easily see which apps require it).

Would supporting native M1 be a large undertaking in regards to changing the code? And is the code available online, such that i could give it a look and try to answer my own question? Thank you.

Or maybe it is just the installer, from this message.

image
image932×432 63.4 KB

2

I believe ProjectMilkSyphon is adapted from ProjectM

https://github.com/projectM-visualizer/projectm

Since it is a free app and built off other existing codebases, I doubt it will be completely rewritten for Metal. Maybe someone will vibe code that together one day, but I can’t imagine that being worth a thousand dev hours when you could just install Rosetta and be done with it…. (imho)

3

I guess I shared the wrong links. In the VDMX 6.2 release blog, it was mentioned:

ProjectMilkSyphon is now updated for Metal, with new features including favorites, history, playlists, and direct audio capture from other applications. Use with any Syphon enabled app.

For it to be updated to metal, I don’t fully understand, but I would assume it would also be updated for ARM64. I would look in the code myself, but I don’t know where to look for it.

It’s definitely a ProjectM front-end, I work with that project. i.e. https://github.com/projectM-visualizer/projectm/issues/924

1 Like
4

I talked to one of the ProjectM developers and they agreed that this Rosetta2 error might just be the installer, and it might be a setting in info.plist

This might make more sense to the devloper, and have an obvious solution. I tried to dig into it and I’m going to dump my notes with the hope of cirling back around to it.

  • Check the app binary architectures:
    lipo -archs /path/to/YourApp.app/Contents/MacOS/YourAppBinary

  • Check if it’s truly universal:
    file /path/to/YourApp.app/Contents/MacOS/YourAppBinary

Virustotal has a neat feature where it will show you a bunch of info about an executable. I wasn’t able to dig into ProjectMilkSyphon 3.9 beyond this, because I have an Apple Silicon Mac.

Notes:

1 Like
5

I was able to install it on my M1 Mac without Rosetta2. I had to manually extract it and copy it to Applications. This is a universal app, I think the installer is looking for an Architecture value in the info.plist.

<options hostArchitectures="arm64,x86_64" />

The second of the articles I shared above is probably the best source for this.

Also in 3.9 there might have been a hiccup with notarization.

6

Good to know. Thanks for sharing. If you have any details you want to share about it, shoot an email to support at vidvox and maybe they can fix it before on the next.

7

There’s a new build of PMS included in this version of VDMX6 that should fix this:

1 Like
8

Grabbing the new version 1.0.1 from here

I get his warning which I think is the quarantine bit from stuff downloaded from online. I still don’t understand what Apple is doing with this, for signed packages.

image
image502×506 48.6 KB

I can go here to move along

image
image956×380 30.7 KB

then I can get here

image
image498×632 73 KB

And I still get the Rosetta error. Which is a huge bummer cuz I uninstalled my working copy to test this out. And now I have to remember how I got it working :/

image
image1222×870 99.6 KB

9

Wait, 1.0.1 isnt’ right I might have downloaded the legacy app

10

Ah, cuz the dates on the page are backwards?

image
image1248×322 30.3 KB

11

I downloaded the VDMX 1.2.7 .DMG I installed VDMX by clicking the .PKG. After that installed I made sure to not remove the .DMG file. I went into the Extras folder. The version of ProjectMilkSyphon there is from may 29, 2025. For giggles I tried clickin on it, this is what a rosetta2 warning looks like.

Actually it just says Rosetta, IDK if that is relevant.

image
image1612×700 128 KB

12

The correct version was in that VDMX installer extras folder (in 1.2.13). You are still downloading an older version.

This is the latest:
https://www.vidvox.net/download/ProjectMilkSyphon_3.10.dmg

13

@ProjectileObjects

I have no idea how the email thread that I have been corresponding on suddenly bounces?!

image
image1314×504 25.2 KB

Also, when I run the installer, see screenshot for VDMX package version and date of projectmilksyphone pkg. The application does not install in /Applicaitons.

2026-04-28_01.44.24
2026-04-28_01.44.241344×490 106 KB

For whatever reason it appears to be landing here?
/Users/<user>/<random dir that things should not be installed to>/ProjectMilkSyphon3.9/component.pkg/ProjectMilkSyphon.app/Contents/MacOS/ProjectMilkSyphon

despite

$ pkgutil --pkg-info com.vidvox.projectmilksyphon
package-id: com.vidvox.projectmilksyphon
version: 3.8.0
volume: /
location: Applications
install-time: 1766891646

Perhaps I installed the previous version there when I was manually fixing the package signing? I deleted that by going to /Applications in Finder, and right clicking and move to trash.

Is projectMilkSyphon config stored somwhere else perhaps? On Windows there is the registry, but I thought things on Macos were pretty contained to the app bundle / package whatever.

Sorry this is such a PITA. I’m actually just trying to offer feedback. Other than my weird philosphy of not installing Rosetta, which let’s me see some system configs that ya’ll might not see; I don’t really have any demands of ya’ll to fix my problems. :victory_hand:

14

I switched up and was responding to email thread established by these forum posts.

That was my fault. Sleepy mistake.

15

It installs normally to my application folder.