HyperZebra

It combines an environment for importing, browsing, editing, and running HyperCard stacks with a compatibility environment for running classic Mac applications.

macOS (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows (64-bit), Linux, and other systems that run Java. The macOS and Windows packages include a Java runtime, so no separate Java installation is needed. On Linux and other systems, use the jar package with Java 17 or later.

Yes. HyperZebra is free to download and use. Its source code is published on GitHub under the MIT License. Stacks and classic Mac applications have their own terms of use and distribution.

HyperZebra starts with a launcher. Choose “Open File…” or drop a stack or an application onto the window. You can reopen files from the history and add frequently used ones to the dock at the bottom.

Choose the interface language in the settings: English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, and Simplified or Traditional Chinese. Cards and application screens can also be zoomed.

“HyperZebra Help,” available from the launcher’s Help menu, explains stack import, editing, the HyperTalk extensions, and the Mac application compatibility environment in English and Japanese.

Some classic Mac files have a resource fork that holds program code, pictures, sounds, or other information separately from the regular data. Preserve it when moving files, including to Windows or Linux. Without it, a file may fail to open or some of its contents may be missing.

HyperZebra supports MacBinary, BinHex, and resource information stored in ._filename sidecar files.

You can import HyperCard-format stacks, display their cards and pictures, and edit them. Japanese and other non-English stacks are read with their text encoding detected. HyperTalk and external commands (XCMDs and XFCNs) are supported, but compatibility is not complete and depends on the features a stack uses.

When you open a HyperCard stack, it is converted into a HyperZebra stack and saved as a single .hzb file beside the original. Open that file for later work. It opens with a double-click and can be copied or sent like any other document. .hzb files made by earlier versions still open.

You can also export in HyperCard format, but HyperZebra-only features such as color do not carry over. Keep both the original stack and the working .hzb file.

• Color painting with layers
• Editable shapes such as rectangles, ellipses, polygons, curves, and text, with color, gradients, opacity, and rotation; SVG files can be imported as shapes
• Panels, which group parts and can hold their own data and scripts
• Fields that show their contents as tables or outlines
• HyperTalk arrays and dictionaries, web text retrieval, JSON, and regular expressions
• A resource editor for icons, cursors, sounds, and other resources

The script editor points out errors as you type, includes a command and function reference, and has a debugger that can pause execution and inspect variables. Stepping through a script helps connect each statement to what happens on screen.

You can make picture books, quizzes, and simple games. There is no feature for turning a stack into a standalone application or exporting it to the web.

HyperZebra emulates 68K and PowerPC CPU instructions and handles the Mac Toolbox and system-library calls that applications make (windows, menus, drawing, sound, file operations, and more) on the host OS. Unlike conventional Mac emulators, it does not boot a complete classic Mac OS.

No. HyperZebra provides the Mac services needed to run applications without booting a complete classic Mac OS installation. Some applications may still require additional extensions or libraries.

The compatibility layer targets 68K and PowerPC applications made for Mac OS 9 and earlier. Compatibility varies with the application, its version, and the features used. Applications that require unsupported system services or direct hardware access may have problems starting, displaying content, or responding to input. Even when an application starts, check features such as editing and saving individually.

Applications that require Mac OS X do not run. Many system extensions also cannot run because of how they interact with the system.

Classic Mac OS itself is not running. To accommodate software that checks the OS version, HyperZebra reports “9.2.2,” the final version of Mac OS 9, when applications ask. This is a compatibility response; it does not mean that Mac OS 9.2.2 has been booted.

Use Application Settings to adjust screen size, color depth, zoom, and execution speed. Settings are saved per application, so games and productivity applications can use different configurations. Restart an application after changing settings that take effect at launch.

HyperZebra includes compatibility implementations of QuickDraw 3D, RAVE, and OpenGL 1.2.1 for classic Mac 3D games that use them. Rendering is performed in software inside HyperZebra. Compatibility and speed depend on the game’s features and the performance of the host computer.

Movie playback depends on the format. Some movies use built-in decoders; others use FFmpeg on the host OS or QuickTime (version 4 and earlier) inside the compatibility environment. See the application’s help for details.

Text and pictures can be exchanged through the host OS clipboard. Supported text and image files can also be converted, with settings for saving UTF-8 text and PNG images. Application-specific document formats depend on the application.

You can open supported disk images, including Disk Copy formats and HFS, HFS Plus, MFS, and ISO volumes. Applications can access their contents as read-only disks. Extract the contents to a folder if you need to modify them.

Drop a StuffIt, Compact Pro, or LHA archive onto the launcher, and HyperZebra expands it by running a classic expander application, included with HyperZebra, inside the compatibility environment.

Some supported extensions and control panels can be used. HyperZebra has a virtual “System Folder” for extensions and preference files. Whether a particular component works depends on the system services it requires.

Yes. Place supported classic Mac font suitcases in the “Fonts” folder inside the virtual “System Folder.” Bitmap fonts and TrueType fonts contained in suitcases are supported. Preserve the resource forks when copying old fonts.

You can change the appearance of windows, scrollbars, and buttons with Kaleidoscope.

I started from the HyperCard clone I had been developing around 2012 and asked AI to continue its development. AI has carried out 100% of that subsequent development.

I started with GPT-5.6 Sol, then mainly used Opus5 and Opus5.5. I used the ChatGPT Plus and Claude Max5 plans.

I kept asking AI to implement features as I thought of them. For larger features, I mainly broke the work into pieces the AI could implement and had it work through them in order. To improve compatibility, I also had AI run a large number of HyperCard stacks and classic Mac applications.

It is published in the GitHub repository under the MIT License. HyperZebra is written in Java and builds with the JDK alone.