# Highball

> Windows games for Mac gamers — Runs Windows games on Apple Silicon and tells you if yours will work.

- Page: https://tesign.com/en/item/highball/
- JSON: https://tesign.com/en/item/highball/index.json
- Korean Markdown: https://tesign.com/item/highball/index.md
- Generated: 2026-09-17 01:56 UTC

## Numbers

- 723 stars — checked on GitHub 2026-09-15 19:34 UTC (+4 observed since the check)
- 7-day +55 observed via GH Archive (as of 2026-09-16 21:00 UTC)
- 24h +2 ★ · 30d +70 ★ (as of 2026-09-16 21:00 UTC)
- 5 Show HN points — observed 2026-09-13 14:07 UTC
- Star total = the value last checked on GitHub (stars_checked_at) + increases observed via GH Archive since. The 24h · 7d · 30d gains are GH Archive hourly events summed to the reference time (as_of). No score of ours.

## AT A GLANCE

- LICENSE: GPL-3.0 (copyleft) — https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0.html
- USAGE: Use freely. Release your source if you redistribute (copyleft).
- OPEN SOURCE: YES
- LANGUAGE: Swift
- PLATFORM: macos · cli
- CATEGORY: GAMES
- Tags: macos · wine · gaming · apple-silicon
- How to start: Install to use
- SOURCES: Show HN https://github.com/gauthierpiarrette/highball · GitHub https://github.com/gauthierpiarrette/highball
- INSTALL: https://gauthierpiarrette.github.io/highball

## ACTIVITY

- Last commit: 2026-09-15 18:18 UTC
- Latest release: v0.9.21 (2026-09-15) · pre-release
- Contributors: 3
- Open issues (incl. PRs): 35
- Made by: an individual
- Checked on GitHub: 2026-09-15 19:34 UTC

## Signals and evidence

- CROSS-SIGNAL · Show HN + GitHub

## TESIGN TAKE

The real product is the CC0 compatibility database behind the app.

## WHY IT MATTERS

Tools that run Windows games on a Mac make you pick a Wine build yourself, and you only learn whether a game works after installing it. Highball sets up Wine, DXMT, D3DMetal and DXVK, connects a Steam or Epic library, and pulls per-game renderer verdicts and the anti-cheat blocklist from an open CC0 database before you download anything. App and CLI are GPL-3.0, the data is CC0, and the README rules out a paid tier. Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer only, and still in beta.

## BUILD FROM THIS

- A personal check of Mac compatibility before buying a game
- A runtime for a Windows-only program on an office Mac
- Your own lookup page built on the CC0 compatibility data

## WHO IT'S FOR

- Mac gamer — wants to know a Windows-only game will run before buying
- Former Whisky user — looking for a replacement
- Mac user — one Windows-only work program left to run

## START IN 5 MINUTES

```
$ brew install --cask gauthierpiarrette/highball/highball
# Or drag Highball.dmg from Releases into Applications and press Get started
# Apple Silicon · macOS 14+ · the first run downloads the engine and takes a while
```

## CAVEATS

- Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer only
- Beta; the first run can take 15 to 25 minutes
- D3DMetal requires accepting Apple's separate license

## RECEIPT

- FIRST SEEN BY TESIGN: 2026-09-13 07:43 UTC
- AT SOURCE: 2026-08-23 20:35 UTC
- KEPT: 2026-09-14 02:41 UTC
- Published on TESIGN: 2026-09-14 02:41 UTC
- Text last updated: 2026-09-15 04:36 UTC

## How to read this

- This file was produced by the same build, from the same data, as the tesign.com item page. The text is editorial; the numbers are stored observations.
- null in the JSON means not observed — never zero. The Markdown writes [unconfirmed] for it.
- Star total = the value last checked on GitHub (stars_checked_at) + increases observed via GH Archive since. The 24h · 7d · 30d gains are GH Archive hourly events summed to the reference time (as_of). No score of ours.
- A summary, not legal advice.

[Image] https://tesign.com/img/highball-e55160646d.webp