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