Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/mihaip/infinite-mac/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The Infinite Mac browser is the starting point for every session. It presents every classic Macintosh and NeXT system release in a scrollable grid sorted by year, from the mid-1980s through the early 2000s. Each tile renders a miniature bezel that matches the era of the machine — compact Macs for the early years, Platinum-style bezels for System 7, and Pinstripes for Mac OS 9 and beyond. Click any tile to launch that release immediately with sensible defaults, or use the Customize… button on the tile to open the custom configuration dialog first.

Release filters

Notable

The default view. Shows a curated subset of landmark releases — major System Software versions, milestone Mac OS releases, and significant NeXT builds. This is the best place to start if you want a quick overview of the platform’s history.

All

Every disk image in the library, including minor point releases, localized builds, and preview versions. Use this when you need a specific version that does not appear in the Notable list.

NeXT

Filters to NeXT platform releases, powered by the Previous emulator. Includes NeXTStep and OPENSTEP builds.

Mac OS X

Filters to Mac OS X developer previews and early releases, powered by PearPC and DingusPPC.
The filter selection is saved in your browser so that it persists across visits. You can also force a specific filter via the ?filter= query parameter (e.g. ?filter=all, ?filter=notable, ?filter=next, ?filter=macosx).

Launching a disk

Clicking the Run button on any disk tile immediately starts the emulator with:
  • The selected system disk as the boot volume.
  • The Infinite HD disk, which contains a large collection of software representative of that era.
  • The Saved HD disk, a persistent 1 GB volume whose contents are preserved across visits (when your browser supports it).
  • The Macintosh Garden library drawer enabled.
To open a disk in a new browser window instead, middle-click, or hold Cmd (macOS) / Ctrl (Windows/Linux) while clicking Run.

URL structure

Each standard release has a canonical URL in the format /<year>/<disk-name>:
https://infinitemac.org/1984/System%201.0
https://infinitemac.org/1991/System%207.0
https://infinitemac.org/1997/Mac%20OS%208
https://infinitemac.org/1999/Mac%20OS%209.0
You can bookmark or share these URLs directly. The emulator will start immediately when a year/disk path is detected.

Shortcut domains

Popular releases also have dedicated shortcut domains:
DomainRelease
system6.appSystem Software 6
system7.appSystem 7
kanjitalk7.appKanjiTalk 7
macos8.appMac OS 8
macos9.appMac OS 9

The Macintosh Garden library drawer

Every emulator session includes a Macintosh Garden drawer in the sidebar (available when the machine supports file loading). The drawer connects to the Macintosh Garden software archive and lets you browse and install classic Macintosh games and applications without leaving the browser.
1

Open the drawer

Click the Macintosh Garden icon in the emulator chrome to expand the library panel.
2

Search or browse

Use the search box to filter by title, author, year, category, system requirement, or architecture. Supported operators include year:, title:, author:, category:, system:, and architecture:.
3

Load a file

Click any item to see its details and screenshots, then click Load to download it directly into the Downloads folder on “The Outside World” disk inside the emulator.
The Macintosh Garden library drawer is only available on emulators that support the Downloads folder: Basilisk II, SheepShaver, DingusPPC with BlueSCSI Toolbox enabled, and Snow machines that have built-in SCSI support.

The CD-ROM library drawer

The CD-ROMs drawer gives you access to curated disc images that can be mounted into the running emulator at any time — useful for large software packages that are too big to pre-install on Infinite HD.
1

Open the CD-ROMs drawer

Click the CD-ROM icon in the emulator chrome.
2

Browse or filter

Disc images are grouped by category. Use the Filter… box to narrow the list by name.
3

Mount a disc

Click any disc tile to mount it. The disc will appear on the Mac desktop within a few seconds.
4

Load from URL

Click Load from URL… to mount a disc image from a supported external site. Raw .iso, .img, .toast, or .bin files are supported from sites including archive.org, macintoshgarden.org, and macintoshrepository.org.
CD-ROM support is available for most emulators. DingusPPC and PearPC do not support CD-ROMs regardless of configuration. Snow machines also require built-in SCSI support to mount discs; Snow machines without SCSI cannot use CD-ROMs.

Custom configuration

At the bottom of the disk grid, under the current year, sits a Custom tile. Clicking its Run… button opens the custom configuration dialog, which lets you combine any system disk, machine model, RAM size, screen resolution, and external disk images into a bespoke session. You can also reach this dialog directly by navigating to /run. See Custom Configuration for full details.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love