EQ8 on macOS 27 and 28: what Mac quilters need to know

The short answer

Apple has said macOS 27 is the last version with general Rosetta support. EQ8 for Mac relies on Rosetta today, and EQ has said it plans to have a solution in place before macOS 28. Whatever happens, Quarter Inch will open your EQ8 projects on your Mac, your iPad or any browser, so your quilts are never tied to one computer.

Nothing changes overnight. Here’s what those sentences mean, and a few calm things you can do now.

• macOS 27 arrived on September 14, 2026. Electric Quilt recommends waiting to upgrade until it has finished testing EQ8 with it.
• macOS 28 is the one that matters most for EQ8. Apple hasn’t given a date. Electric Quilt’s support site calls it the fall 2027 release.
• Your .pj8 project files are yours. Back them up now, whatever you decide.

Rosetta, in plain words

Macs used to have Intel processors. In 2020 Apple began moving to its own chips, which it calls Apple silicon (the M-series chips). Apps written for Intel processors can’t run on Apple silicon by themselves, so Apple built a translator called Rosetta. In Apple’s words, Rosetta “works in the background to automatically translate your Intel-based apps for use with Apple silicon.”

You never open Rosetta yourself. The first time you open an Intel app, your Mac asks whether to install it. Electric Quilt’s support site says you need Rosetta to run EQ8 on a Mac with an M-series chip, and that if you choose “Not Now” at that prompt, EQ8 will not work.

If your Mac has an Intel processor, Rosetta doesn’t come into it: Intel apps run on it directly. And Apple’s compatibility page for macOS 27 is for Macs with Apple silicon; it doesn’t list Intel Macs.

What Apple has announced

On September 1, 2026, Apple told developers it is “concluding this transition”, as it had announced at WWDC the year before. Its support page now says Rosetta is available on any Mac with Apple silicon using macOS 27 or earlier. From macOS 28, the next major release, Rosetta will remain only for certain older, unmaintained games. The macOS 27 release notes put it plainly:

Two details from the same notes are worth knowing. If you had Rosetta before, it isn’t automatically put back after you upgrade to macOS 27, so your Mac may ask again the first time you open EQ8. And in macOS 27, an app’s Get Info window marks Intel apps that won’t run in macOS 28.

What Electric Quilt has said

Electric Quilt has published a support page about macOS 28, last updated May 22, 2026. Its plan, in its own words, is that it:

It hasn’t said what form that solution will take. It asks EQ8 owners to watch its email newsletters for updates. That’s a real commitment from the company that makes EQ8, and it’s the most important thing to follow.

About macOS 27, Electric Quilt’s page (updated September 14, 2026) says: “We recommend waiting to update your computer to macOS 27 (Golden Gate)” until its testing is done. If it finds a problem, it will make a free update, though that “can sometimes take a month or two.” Its general advice for Mac owners is to check its site, or contact it, before updating macOS.

How to check your Mac

Which version of macOS you have

From the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen, choose About This Mac. The window shows the name and version number of your macOS. It also shows Chip on a Mac with Apple silicon, or Processor on a Mac with an Intel processor.

Whether EQ8 runs under Rosetta

1. In the Finder, open your Applications folder and click EQ8 once to select it.
2. Choose File > Get Info.
3. Look at Kind. “Application (Intel)” means the app is made for Intel processors, so on a Mac with Apple silicon it runs through Rosetta. “Application (Universal)” or “Application (Apple silicon)” means it runs natively.

On macOS 27 you can also see every Intel app at once: choose Apple menu > System Settings > General > About, then click Details next to “Intel-based Apps”.

What to do now

1. Back up your EQ8 projects. Copy your .pj8 files to an external drive or cloud storage, and keep the copy somewhere other than your Mac. Our guide to opening and backing up .pj8 files shows where EQ8 keeps them.
2. Don’t rush the upgrade. If EQ8 matters to you, follow Electric Quilt’s advice and wait on macOS 27 until it says testing is done. If you’re staying on macOS 26 Tahoe for now, Electric Quilt recommends updating to Tahoe 26.6.
3. Keep EQ8 up to date. Electric Quilt lists the current version on its EQ8 Updates page. For Mac, that’s version 3.2.0.7, released November 10, 2023.
4. If you do upgrade and your Mac asks to install Rosetta, click Install. EQ8 needs it on a Mac with Apple silicon until Electric Quilt ships its solution.
5. Follow Electric Quilt’s own updates. Its macOS 28 page, its macOS 27 page and its email newsletter are where it will say what happens next. We’ll update this guide when it does.

Where Quarter Inch fits

We’re building Quarter Inch, quilt design software for Mac, iPad and the web. It isn’t released yet. When it is, it will open your EQ8 projects on your Mac, your iPad or any browser, and show you a plain-English report of exactly what came across. Opening and viewing your EQ8 quilts will be free, and Quarter Inch will never change your original files.

You don’t have to stop using EQ8. It defined quilt design software, and plenty of us learned on it. Use both. If you’d like a second home for your quilts, the Switching from EQ8 page explains how moving will work.

Quarter Inch is independent and not affiliated with The Electric Quilt Company.