DAMBE for MAC

Please cite:

Xia X. 2018. DAMBE7: New and improved tools for data analysis in molecular biology and evolution. Molecular Biology and Evolution 35:1550–1552.

I have tested DAMBE on an M2 MAC and DAMBE runs smoothly:

1. Download DAMBEX.msi
2. Download Whisky and unzip it.
3. (Let me know if the Whisky link above becomes unavailable)
4. Move Whisky to your Applications folder
5. Double-click Whisky to open it.
6. Press the plus button in the top right-hand corner to create a "bottle" (i.e., a Windows environment) for running DAMBE
7. Give your bottle a name (e.g., DAMBE), and select the Windows version you want (Both Windows 10 or 11 are fine.)
8. Hit Create and wait for a few seconds. When your bottle is ready, it'll appear in the list on the left-hand side
9. Press the Run... button in the bottom right
10. Navigate to the DAMBE.msi file you just downloaded. Select DAMBE.msi and press Open to install DAMBE.
11. You should now see DAMBE with a green arrow above it. If you don't see it, click "Installed Programs", choose DAMBE in the list.
12. When you see "DAMBE" with a green arrow above, double-click "DAMBE" and wait for 10 seconds (only for the first time) during which there seems no response, but DAMBE will eventually start.
13. You might wish to know more about Whisky.

For older Intel-based computers running macOS from Version 10.12 to Version 14.8 (tested on Monterey and Sonoma):

Installing DAMBE by using the Porting Kit (Free):

1. Download DAMBEX.msi. Save it in an easily accessible folder (Downloads, Desktop, etc.).
2. Install Porting Kit
1. Download Porting Kit
2. Double-click Porting Kit and drag Porting Kit.app into Applications
3. Launch Porting Kit to initialize.
4. You will be presented with a long list of environments. Choose any recent one with "64-bit" in it.
5. If prompted, allow installation of helper tools (Wine engines, XQuartz, fonts). You may allow Porting Kit to access your Download folder.
3. Install and run DAMBE via Porting Kit

Open Porting Kit. On the left panel are listed "All apps", "Installed", etc.



Click "Add Applications", and Select DAMBEX.msi that you downloaded to install.



Enter "DAMBE" when asked to give a name of the installation. Click "Next".



Porting Kit will ask you to choose the Engine and the operating system. You should choose an engine with "64Bit" in it. Any 64-bit engine should work, but I chose the one close to the top:



Click "Next" and "Install". This takes about 20-30 minutes. In the middle of if, you may be presented the following dialog. You should click "Quit". If you clicked "Install Software", click "Cancel".



You will come to the following DAMBE installation dialog:



Because the DAMBE installation package includes multiple .exe files, you will be asked to choose the main .exe file. Choose DAMBE.exe:



This will bring you to the "Success" dialog:



After the installation, PortingKit will show an clickable icon labelled "DAMBE".

Click DAMBE → the program will start (after a short delay).

Test key functions of DAMBE to verify proper operation.

4. Optional: Run DAMBE without opening Porting Kit
1. Right-click the installed DAMBE in Porting Kit → Export App (or Create Shortcut)
2. Place the exported .app in /Applications
3. Double-click to launch DAMBE independently of Porting Kit.

I could generate a package that you can click to install. However, that would require an Apple developer ID ($99/year). As I am developing software for free distribution, it does not make sense for me to pay Apple just to gain the right of providing a free service.