System Requirements

Supported platforms

• macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4 and later) or Intel. These are separate downloads, so pick the one for your Mac’s chip. See Installation to check which you have. Not every release has an Intel build. The download page says when one is missing.
• Windows 10 or later, 64-bit (x86_64).
• Linux, 64-bit (x86_64), glibc 2.35 or newer. Tested on Ubuntu 22.04+, Fedora 36+, Arch and Debian 12+.

On macOS 12 or 13, the app installs but won’t open. Update macOS (it’s free) to fix it.

On an Intel Mac

Everything works, with three differences:

• Stacking runs on the processor, not the graphics card, and so does Source Cloning. Stacks take longer, but the picture is the same.
• You’re only offered Intel releases. The Intel build updates itself, but not every release has an Intel build. When one is missing, you keep your version until the next one. Older Intel builds have no updater, so the update dialog gives you a Download button. See Updating.
• Some newer cameras need the Adobe DNG Converter. The Intel build knows fewer cameras. If you shoot a recent camera, install the Adobe DNG Converter, a free download. Macro Studio then uses it for files it can’t read. Without it, those files show only their built-in JPEG preview, or don’t load.

If you have the choice, use an Apple Silicon Mac.

Hardware

	Minimum	Recommended
RAM	Depends on your sensor (see below)	16 GB up to ~24 MP; 32 GB at 40 MP and above
Disk	SSD, with scratch space sized to your stacks (see below)	SSD with 50+ GB free
CPU	Any modern CPU (2015+)	6+ cores
GPU	Not required (falls back to CPU)	Discrete GPU with current drivers (integrated works too)

Memory (RAM)

Your camera’s resolution decides how much memory a stack needs, much more than the number of frames does. A 12-frame stack from a 45 MP camera needs more than a 60-frame stack from a 20 MP one.

Sensor	Workable	Comfortable
16-24 MP	8 GB (reduced-memory mode, slow)	16 GB
40-50 MP	16 GB (often reduced-memory)	32 GB
60 MP+	16 GB, with swap headroom and patience	32 GB or more

What counts is free memory, so closing other apps helps. When memory is short, Macro Studio switches to reduced-memory mode, which is slower. If even that won’t fit, it refuses the stack and says how much memory it needs. Close other apps, or stack fewer frames at once.

Swap / pagefile

Macro Studio counts free swap (the pagefile, on Windows) as well as free memory, so don’t turn swap off. Windows and macOS manage it for you.

Linux often has little or no swap. Macro Studio then suggests a 16 GB swap file. To make one, run these in a terminal. If Macro Studio suggests a bigger size, use that in place of 16G:

sudo swapoff /swapfile 2>/dev/null
sudo fallocate -l 16G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile

On btrfs (the default on Fedora and openSUSE), this doesn’t work. Follow your distribution’s steps for a btrfs swap file instead.

To keep the swap file after a restart, add it to /etc/fstab, unless it’s already listed there:

echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Scratch disk space

The app itself takes a few hundred MB. Stacking also writes temporary files, called scratch files, while it runs. Roughly:

Sensor	Per frame	30 frames	60 frames
20 MP	~155 MB	~7 GB	~11 GB
45 MP	~350 MB	~13 GB	~23 GB
60 MP	~470 MB	~16 GB	~30 GB

If there isn’t room, Macro Studio tells you before it starts, and says how much disk space to free.

Scratch goes to your system’s temporary folder. If your system drive is small, choose a fast local drive in Preferences → Advanced → Scratch folder for stacking. Avoid network and removable drives.

Graphics (GPU)

Stacking uses your graphics card automatically (except on an Intel Mac), and prefers a discrete card if you have both kinds. Integrated graphics, including Apple Silicon, work too. Without a usable graphics card, stacking runs on the processor: same picture, longer wait.

The graphics card needs an OpenCL driver. macOS includes one, and on Windows it comes with your graphics driver, so keep that up to date. On Linux you may need to install your vendor’s OpenCL package.

A stack can also move to the processor on its own, for example when memory is short. You don’t need to do anything.

To take the graphics card out of stacking for troubleshooting, turn on Disable GPU acceleration in Preferences → Advanced.

Licensing

Each license works on up to 3 computers. See Activating your license.

The version you buy is yours to keep. Future major versions may be optional paid upgrades. Your version keeps getting bug fixes and feature improvements for the life of that version line.