The MacOS-X version of VMD is built using the XFree86 version of the X-Windows system. In order to run VMD on MacOS-X, it is currently necessary to have XFree86 4.0.2 (or newer) installed prior to running VMD. We recommend that MacOS-X users also install the XonX project's quartz-capable X server which allows one to use XFree86 side-by-side with the native windowing system.

We plan to allow future versions of VMD to run without the need for an X-Windows installation, using more of the native MacOS-X windowing system and with hardware OpenGL acceleration. This effort will take time however and will be done in several stages.

VMD MacOS-X XFree 4.0.2 Installation Notes: