Negatron - a MAME Desktop Frontend at its best

Update 30 January 2026: Negatron is back and fully working on ARM Macs - download the best MAME frontend for MacOS here.

https://github.com/xinyingho/Negatron/releases/tag/negatron1.0.2

No need for you to join the Dark Side of Negatron - Modena (Default) is bright.

MAME frontends for MacOS have always been scarce. I was surprised to learn about this Negatron MAME Desktop Frontend being available (actually since 2015!) for MacOS as well. Already after my first tests, I was impressed from its capabilities. This review tries to point to the outstanding functions, especially for MacOS users. This is a rewrite of my old 2020 post.

Version tested: 1.0.2 of January 2026 

Github Frontend: https://github.com/xinyingho/Negatron

Github NegaMAME: https://github.com/xinyingho/NegaMAME (a dedicated MAME fork)

The software is updated regularly by its developer XinYingHo.

That's why it is by far the best MAME frontend you can get for MacOS: 

• Integration into official MAME is excellent in my testing. As I now also integrated my MAME setup into Homebrew for automatic updates, I would not want to opt for the special MAME version called NegaMAME (explained below). You can configure virtually everything in the UI, so it‘s advisable to make backups of your .ini files beforehand.
• The interface is very customizable, even more than QMC2, and the different artwork and manuals you can add to each system is also unmatched by QMC2. Video preview also just works. See the ‚OMG‘ sections below 😉.
• Negatron also has a smart integration of Software Lists, far better than MAMEUI and QMC2 (is broken since quire some time). I still have to look into this further.
• Updates of MAME are recognized during the next Negatron launch, and it also updates its own databases with the new version.
• New - SDL3 Input Mapping: With the implementation of SDL3, the entire User Interface is mapped to joypad support. 
• Information from the developer: https://github.com/xinyingho/Negatron/blob/master/README.md

All in all, Negatron seems to be a worthy successor of QMC2. Give it a try, you will not be disappointed.

Read further for all the details.

New - SDL3 Input Mapping: For all of you that already read this article (quite impressive statistics), the brand new thing is SDL3, which enables full control of Negatron via a joypad. As I use Playstation joypads, this is the Playstation example out of the box (see the Negatron manual for very detailed information):

Playstation settings work out of the box.

I will still mainly work with the mouse, however, when switching between games, the extensive joypad support and further individual tweaking could prove handy.

Tech Basics - Java and VLC under the hood

Negatron relies on Java and VLC. For those who care: Negatron is licensed under GPL 3.0, which is one of the best licenses for free software. Own compiles require a Java framework, as explained by the developer.

Legacy Information - no longer applicable: Negatron Cross-Platform Pack in MacOS (currently unavailable)
That one requires you to have VLC and JDK installed. With version 0.100 of Negatron, I successfully managed that. If you have homebrew up and running, the best way to install the JDK via
brew cask install oracle-jdk
Important note: the cross-platform pack does not make use of the directory Username/Application support/Negatron, but saves everything into the Negatron folder. I quite like this approach, since this allows me to move the app easier, including to Linux or Windows.

Manual - what an impressive documentation!

Already the documentation reveals how much efforts the developer has put into everything. You find a lot about about MAME history and its fundamental structure. The documentation of the Software Lists is invaluable. The 44 pages manual is even embedded into the frontend. May I strongly recommend you to browse through this manual, you will find a lot of interesting facts.

Desktop Frontends vs. Multimedia Frontends

The documentation also explains that Negatron falls into the Desktop Frontend category, like e.g. also QMC2 does. It relies mainly on mouse navigation and provides you with a lot of configuration options. On the other hand, Multimedia Frontends, such as Attract Mode, provides for limited configuration options and joystick controls. With Negatron and AttractModePlus, you now have two extremely capable frontends of both kinds in MacOS. But with the new navigation capabilities with the joypad, as explained above, the app tries to also cover the requirements of users that rely on joypads.  

Extras, Extras, Extras

A MAME Desktop Frontend will only reveal its huge advantage after you have installed all the Extras that are out there for MAME, and for which you find all these subdirectories in every official MAME distribution. So do care about artworkpreview, cabinets, marquees, pcbs, snaps, vidosnaps etc. - because Negatron, once properly configured, will display them all in a very neat way.

 
And you will see: Suddenly, when browsing through your games list, you will find out about games you never would have found out just by its name. This is where MAME Desktop Frontends are great - in exploring new games, their looks in real life and their history. This is why all these Extras matter.
Folders vs .zip: Both MAME and Negatron treat folders and .zip files the same way. For example, it does not matter whether you have a folder called cabinets or a compressed cabinets.zip file - as long as the names are identical, the programs will automagically find the content. So as long as you do not manipulate Extras content, you will be better of with .zip files.

Exception - Artwork: Since the Artwork files are zipped themselves, you need to keep them as a folder.

By the way: The internal MAME UI Frontend can do a lot for you - however in a far less polished way than here in Negatron.

MAME UI handles Extras well. But Negatron is next level.

Note - for the time being, keep mame.ini and other .ini files in the mame root directory, avoid the ini subdirectory!
As described in more detail below,  Negatron directly writes into your MAME .ini files. So it is always recommended to keep your valuable .ini files as backup at a safe place (this is anyways recommended when moving from MAME version to MAME version).

First Startup

At first startup, Negatron does a lot of smart self-configuration based on the location of your MAME binary and the designated directories. As long as you follow the classical folder hierarchy of MAME, Negtron can configure a lot by itself.

Activate Enhanced Preferences. While Negatron does a lot for you, you are better off to activate the enhanced preferences. Then you can look in very much detail into the folder configuration of your extras, so that all these gems pop up correctly.

By clicking the Configuration Icon (red rectangle above), you activate the Advanced Options.

Even further Advanced Options within 4 tabs in newest Negatron. The detail of the folders configuration is unmatched. Take your time, it's worth the one-time effort.

Looks and Performance

From a MacOS UI perspective, the looks of Negatron are well done (in my opinion better than QMC2). Performance is good, startup times are acceptable. The app itself is snappy. You can find the cache in the /Library/Application Support/Negatron/Cache folder. Negatron does not provide an application menu in MacOS (according to the documentation, a deliberate decision), and pressing the close button closes the app.

So just let me present you with screenshots in all its glory - click to enlarge!

OMG moment #1: Very clean presentation of main machine and sub-machines on the left, external views of the machine on the right.

OMG moment #2 (old screenshot): Depending on your configuration, all possible and impossible in-game details are presented.

OMG moment #3 (old screenshot): Dive into ridiculous detail, not only mainboard, but also single components are discussed and photos presented, if available. Huge!

 

Next, a very clean .dat presentation, as you can expect from a MAME frontend.

Negatron also supports command.dat, e.g. for fighting games - place command.dat in the dats folder, and supported games display another tab

OMG experience #4: Read game-specific manuals, if available, otherwise the 44 pages Negatron manual. Neat!

Folder Views

Negatron also inherits this MAME specialty. You need to define your folders directory in the Advanced Options (apparent choice: folders) and get the relevant files from here:

https://www.progettosnaps.net/support/

For example, the command.dat file provides for a dedicated list of all games that provide for entries.

By pressing the left + symbol, the Folder View window opens in the right pane. Here you can choose e.g. command.ini, and all games that contain an entry in this list appear. Very handy.

MAME Software Lists 

The implementation of Software Lists is smart. Showed with the Philips Videopac implementation of MAME - my very first game console:

Step 1: search for "Philips Videopac" and choose the G7000 console -> right mouse click (alternatively click the hammer icon on the low left for machine configuration)

Step 2: In the right "Machine Configuration" window, choose "List..."

Step 3: You are now in the Software List of Videopac, I search for "demon" and get my beloved Demon Attack game, including artwork -> if you have boxart artwork, press the 3D button right down (see screenshot)

OMG moment #5: You can display boxard in 3D, if you provide front and back.

Relationship between Negatron and MAME

It is crucial to understand how a frontend plays together with MAME. Some frontends are designed in a way that they are very hard to use in parallel to other frontends. 

But be warned again: If you change an option in the Global Settings of Negatron, these settings are written into the original .ini files! So be sure to keep a backup of your .ini files in place.

NegaMAME - What is it?

The documentation recommends usage of its MAME derivative called NegaMAME. As its developer XinYingHo explains:

"NegaMAME, you need it for emulated machines with dynamic configuration properties e.g. any computers like IBM PCs, Apple II, Amstrad or Atari ST. But also some consoles, for instance, when you select the Mega Drive and then Sonic&Knuckles in the software list, a second cartridge slot will only appear with NegaMAME, not vanilla MAME. This is about emulating the famous lock-on connector to combine S&K with Sonic 3 for instance."

Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments.