Whisky

Whisky is a SwiftUI-based Wine wrapper for running compatible Windows applications and games on Apple Silicon Macs. It organizes Wine environments into bottles and exposes configuration tools through a native Mac interface.

Maintenance status

Whisky is no longer actively maintained. The official notice says WhiskyWine will receive no further updates or upgrades to Wine 8 and later, and application-specific fixes, including Steam fixes, will not be produced. The repository was archived in May 2025. Earlier compatibility reports and setup guides are historical evidence rather than a guarantee that a current game, launcher or operating-system update will work. The notice leaves open occasional fixes if macOS breaks the main app, but that is not a commitment to ongoing support.

Features

• Create and manage separate bottles for Windows application environments.
• Run supported Windows EXE or MSI installers inside a chosen bottle.
• Pin programs and adjust bottle Windows-version and display settings.
• Configure available graphics translation and synchronization options.
• Open Wine Configuration, the Registry Editor and Control Panel tools.
• Inspect logs and use supported debugging or command-line workflows.

Installation and first use

Install with brew install --cask whisky, or extract the official Whisky.zip and move Whisky.app into Applications. Launch it and follow its setup workflow for Rosetta and WhiskyWine components. Their installation is separate from the small application ZIP and depends on available downloads and Apple's Rosetta licensing.

Create a bottle with the plus button, choose its name and Windows version, then use Run to select an authorized Windows EXE or MSI installer. The official guide prefers 64-bit programs. Separate bottles can help keep different games' dependencies and settings from interfering. A bottle is a Wine environment, not a complete Windows virtual machine or an included Windows license. Required game files, runtime libraries, store accounts and licenses are obtained separately.

Requirements and compatibility

The official app and current Homebrew cask require an Apple Silicon M-series Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Intel Macs are not supported by this package. Rosetta translates relevant Intel code; it does not make this an Intel-Mac application. The cask declares no additional formula dependency or explicit cask conflict, while the in-app setup still requires runtime components.

Whisky's runtime was based on CrossOver 22.1.1 and Apple's Game Porting Toolkit, with components including D3DMetal, DXVK and MoltenVK. Compatibility, performance and graphics features vary by application and hardware. The AVX-advertising setting added in 2.3.4 requires macOS Sequoia or later, while the DirectX raytracing toggle requires M3 or newer hardware. Those toggles do not guarantee a particular game will run. Do not assume modern anti-cheat, DRM, launcher updates or every Windows application is supported.

This project is a macOS wrapper, with no official Windows or Linux client established. No universal RAM or installed-space minimum was established. The official 2.3.5 Whisky.zip is 5,019,598 bytes; it excludes separately downloaded runtime components, bottle contents and games, and is not installed size.

Cost, accounts and licensing

Whisky's application source is free software under GNU GPL version 3 or later. Wine-related components, Apple's components and games have their own license terms. Creating a local bottle does not require a Whisky account; individual stores or programs may require accounts or payment. Whisky does not include a CrossOver commercial license or a game subscription.

The image is an official historical README Mac example of bottle configuration. It illustrates the controls and is not a freshly captured 2.3.5 session or proof of current game compatibility.

Sources: Official maintenance notice, Tagged README and requirements, Setup guide, 2.3.5 release, Source license declaration.