Running Ninjatrader Windows app on an Apple Silicon Mac

[Kraken29]

After looking at reviews of many platforms, I chose Ninja Trader and was excited to create my account. I just learned that the application is Windows only. I have a Mac with Apple silicon, so Windows 10 is not supported. I understand I can virtualize and run Windows 11, for ARM, but not all Windows applications support that.

So, I'm wondering if Ninja's application will run on Windows 11 for ARM and if so, if there a free virtualization tool and/or version of Windows for it? I have not run Windows in years, so I'm not up to date on how to do all this.

Thanks for your help...

[NinjaTrader_Erick]

Hello Kraken29 ,

Thank you for your post.

Yes, if you can run Windows, you should be able to install and run NT8 Desktop.

Unfortunately, we would not be able to recommend any virtualization tool.


There are ways to use NinjaTrader on a Mac, however, we do not endorse nor are we affiliated with or recommend these methods.

But for your reference, I will detail them below:

NinjaTrader 8 is a Windows application that rely on .NET Framework to run and .NET Framework is only available on Windows OS and does NOT run on Mac OS.

Although we do not officially support running NinjaTrader on a Mac; we have had many customers running NinjaTrader on Mac hardware.

We have specific installation instructions for Parallels and VMWare Fusion that will allow you to run NinjaTrader on your Mac. Below are specific instructions on the options available for running NinjaTrader on a Mac computer with the virtualization tools. Note that Windows is sold separately from BootCamp, Parallels and VMWare.


Mac Installation - Configuring NinjaTrader for Parallels:

When installing NinjaTrader on a Mac with Parallels, users should ensure that they have followed the following steps prior to installing NinjaTrader:

1. Start Parallels and select your virtual machine.

2. Click on the "Configure" button at the top of the screen.

3. Under "Options", select "Share".

4. Uncheck "Share Mac" in "Share Mac User Folders with Windows".

5. Click "OK" and start the virtual machine.


Mac Installation - Configuring NinjaTrader for VMWare Fusion:

When configuring NinjaTrader on a Mac running VMWare, users should ensure that they have performed the following steps prior to NinjaTrader installation.

1. Launch VMWare and select your virtual machine.

2. Click on the "Settings" button at the bottom of the window.

3. Under "System Settings", select "Sharing".

4. Uncheck "Documents" from the list of "Mirrored Folders".

5. Close the "Settings" window and start the virtual machine.


Mac Installation - Configuring NinjaTrader for Apple Boot Camp:

When setting up NinjaTrader on a Mac with Apple Boot Camp, no special instructions are needed.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

[Kraken29]

Thanks Erick, I have it running now on my Mac. Lots to learn about this app for sure.