---
id: post/demiliani-com/14131
type: post
title: "AL Language extension and macOS: what’s next?"
summary: The AL Language extension for Business Central currently runs through Apple's Rosetta 2 emulation on Apple Silicon Macs, but Apple plans to discontinue Rosetta by late 2027. Microsoft is working on a solution that will make the extension cross-platform native by automatically downloading the appropriate runtime for each system architecture.
tier: community
language: en
tags:
  - al language extension
  - macos
  - apple silicon
  - rosetta 2
  - cross-platform development
  - runtime architecture
system: development
review:
  state: reviewed
  by: opus
  at: "2026-10-07T23:47:34.466Z"
  flags: []
generated:
  at: "2026-10-07T22:42:12.892Z"
  pipeline: 0.2.0
  prompts:
    extract-post: 1
  input_hash: 19bc4141be5370bb5eba3bd3b3beeaec3b135446b3988b8fdd323719fcd4ad32
evidence:
  - kind: blog
    url: https://demiliani.com/2026/08/17/al-language-extension-and-macos-whats-next/
    title: "AL Language extension and macOS: what’s next?"
    date: "2026-08-17"
    commit: null
    t: null
    quote: null
  - kind: blog
    url: https://demiliani.com/2026/08/17/al-language-extension-and-macos-whats-next/
    title: "AL Language extension and macOS: what’s next?"
    date: "2026-08-17"
    commit: null
    t: null
    quote: support for Rosetta 2 is planned to be mostly discontinued by late 2027.
links:
  learn: []
  objects: []
  features: []
  topics: []
  localizations: []
  videos: []
  posts: []
  guidelines: []
post_id: "14131"
source_id: demiliani-com
source_name: Stefano Demiliani
url: https://demiliani.com/2026/08/17/al-language-extension-and-macos-whats-next/
published_at: "2026-08-17T12:47:00.000Z"
author: Stefano Demiliani
full_text: false
words: 1073
quotes:
  - text: support for Rosetta 2 is planned to be mostly discontinued by late 2027.
    why_it_matters: This deadline is the critical driver for Microsoft's urgency in providing native ARM64 support for the AL extension
code_objects_mentioned: []
systems:
  - development
versions_mentioned:
  - macOS 27
  - macOS 28
  - macOS Tahoe
preview:
  embeddable: true
  frame_url: https://demiliani.com/2026/08/17/al-language-extension-and-macos-whats-next/embed/
  image: https://demiliani.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/rosettadeprecation.jpg
  image_alt: null
  image_w: 719
  image_h: 484
  site_name: Stefano Demiliani
  favicon: https://demiliani.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/sd_wordpress_logo.png?w=32
  probed_at: "2026-10-07T11:50:18.057Z"
---

# AL Language extension and macOS: what’s next?

[Read the post](https://demiliani.com/2026/08/17/al-language-extension-and-macos-whats-next/) · Stefano Demiliani (Stefano Demiliani, MVP) · 2026-08-17 · 1073 words · tier community · reviewed (checked by Opus)

> The AL Language extension for Business Central currently runs through Apple's Rosetta 2 emulation on Apple Silicon Macs, but Apple plans to discontinue Rosetta by late 2027. Microsoft is working on a solution that will make the extension cross-platform native by automatically downloading the appropriate runtime for each system architecture.

## Key points

- AL extension uses Rosetta 2 emulation (Intel code translated to ARM) on Apple Silicon Macs, causing performance overhead
- Apple announced Rosetta 2 will be largely discontinued in macOS 28 (fall 2027), making current AL extensions non-functional
- Microsoft plans to release a lightweight extension that automatically downloads the correct native runtime for the user's system architecture
- Native runtime support will improve performance, reduce extension size, and provide future-proof architecture detection

## Quotes

- "support for Rosetta 2 is planned to be mostly discontinued by late 2027." (This deadline is the critical driver for Microsoft's urgency in providing native ARM64 support for the AL extension)

## Context

- Features: Rosetta 2 emulation layer, automatic runtime download, native architecture support, AL compiler cross-platform compatibility, lightweight extension packaging, architecture auto-detection
- Versions: macOS 27, macOS 28, macOS Tahoe

Source: Stefano Demiliani, community blog. Summary, key points and quotes are derived (CONTENT-NOTICE.md); read the original for the full text.