Contribution Guidelines

Sharing compatibility information

• Share your personal experience
• Report developer support
• Native, Rosetta, and Emulation Support

Editing applications

• Edit an application's details
• Edit an application's bundle ID
• Edit an application's iTunes ID

Additional application attributes

• Flag an app as 32-bit architecture on macOS
• Flag an app as being developed with Catalyst on macOS
• Flag an app as having been discontinued

Sharing compatibility information

RoaringApps is built on the power of community collaboration. Our compatibility database relies on users like you who take the time to share their real-world experiences with different applications across various platforms and devices. By contributing your insights, you help create a comprehensive, up-to-date resource that assists other users in making informed software choices.

Every report, whether it's about an app that works perfectly or one with known challenges, adds valuable context that can't be found in official documentation. Together, we can create a more transparent and helpful software compatibility guide.

Share your personal experience

You can share detailed compatibility information for an app by following these steps:

1. Navigate to the application's page on RoaringApps

2. Look for the Share your experience button

3. In the modal that appears, you'll be guided to provide:

   • Platform : Select the operating system (macOS, iOS, Windows)
   • Chip/CPU : Choose specific hardware like Apple Silicon or Windows on ARM; or
   • OS Release : Select the specific version of the operating system
   • App Version : Enter the version of the application you're using, or select from an existing version.
   • Compatibility Status : Indicate if the app:
     • Works fine
     • Has some problems
     • Doesn't work
   • Notes : Provide additional details about your experience

4. Click Submit to share your compatibility report

Your contribution helps other users understand how applications perform across different platforms and configurations.

Report developer support

In contrast to your own experience, you can also record whether an application's developer officially supports a particular OS release.

To record developer status:

1. Navigate to the application's page on RoaringApps
2. Click the Report developer status button
3. In the modal that appears, you'll be guided to provide:
   • Platform : Select the operating system (macOS, iOS, Windows)
   • Chip/CPU : Choose specific hardware like Apple Silicon or Windows on ARM; or
   • OS Release : Select the specific version of the operating system
   • App Version : Enter the version of the application you're reporting for, or select from an existing version.
   • Developer Support : Indicate if the OS release is supported by the developer.
   • Binary type : If known, and if reporting for Apple Silicon or Windows on ARM, select whether the app runs natively or in emulation (more below).
   • Supported app version(s) : Enter the minimum version required for developer support.
   • Reference URL : Link to developer support site or blog post.

Native, Rosetta, and Emulation Support

When reporting an application's status with Apple Silicon or Windows on ARM, you can also record execution/binary modes:

• Native Support : The application runs directly on the hardware without any translation layer

  • On Apple Silicon: Application compiled specifically for ARM-based Macs
  • On Windows ARM: Application compiled for ARM64 architecture

• Rosetta 2 (Apple) : A translation layer that allows Intel-based (x86_64) Mac applications to run on Apple Silicon Macs

  • Provides near-native performance for many applications
  • Some complex applications may experience performance or compatibility issues

• Emulation (Windows ARM) : Running x86 or x64 applications on ARM-based Windows devices

  • May have significant performance overhead
  • Not all applications will function correctly

Editing applications

Edit an application's details

To edit an application's details, first navigate to the app's individual page on RoaringApps.

• Click the Edit button in the app banner
• Add or edit the relevant app details, including:
• Application name
• Developer
• Application website
• Description
• Supported platforms
• Upload the app's icon (supported formats are: JPEG, PNG)
• Once you have finished editing, click Save.

Edit an application's bundle ID

Bundle IDs are used by RoaringApps for your Mac to match applications in our database with locally installed version. To add or edit an app's bundle ID:

• From the app's individual page on RoaringApps, click the Edit button in the app banner
• Select the Cross references tab
• Enter the relevant bundle ID (note, these are generally in the format com.developer.application)
• If an application has multiple known bundle IDs (e.g. for separate versions), they can be separated by a comma
• Click Save.

Note, depending on which platforms the application supports, both macOS and iOS options may be present.

Edit an application's iTunes ID

iTunes store IDs are used by RoaringApps to show links to the application's App Store or Mac App Store page. To add or edit an app's iTunes ID:

• From the app's individual page on RoaringApps, click the Edit button in the app banner
• Select the Cross references tab
• Enter the relevant iTunes ID (note, these are generally a 9-digit number)
• Click Save.

Note, depending on which platforms the application supports, both macOS and iOS options may be present.

Once a valid iTunes ID has been added, RoaringApps will show an information box linking to the App Store.

Additional application attributes

Flag an app as 32-bit architecture on macOS

From the app's individual page on RoaringApps:

• Click the Edit button in the app banner
• Select the 32-bit option under macOS architecture
• Click Save.

Note, macOS must be selected as a supported platform for the 32/64-bit options to be displayed.

Flag an app as being developed with Catalyst on macOS

From the app's individual page on RoaringApps:

• Click the Edit button in the app banner
• Select the Built with Catalyst option
• Click Save.

Note, macOS must be selected as a supported platform for the option to be displayed.

Flag an app as having been discontinued

From the app's individual page on RoaringApps:

• Click the Edit button in the app banner
• Select the Discontinued/End-of-life option
• Optionally, fill in the additional details, including:
• Date discontinued: The month/year the developer announced the app was no longer supported.
• Last version released
• Last supported OS: For each operating system, the last OS release officially supported by the developer.