Darwin (operating system)
| Darwin | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Apple |
| Written in | C, C++, Objective-C, assembly language |
| OS family | Unix-like, FreeBSD, BSD |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Currently open source with proprietary components, previously open source |
| Initial release | November 15, 2000 |
| Latest release | 25.5.0 / June 9, 2026 |
| Latest preview | 27.0.0 / June 8, 2026 |
| Repository | github |
| Supported platforms | Current: 64-bit ARM, x86-64 Historical: PowerPC (32-bit and 64-bit), IA-32, 32-bit ARM (32-bit ARM support is closed-source) |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (XNU) |
| Influenced by | NeXTSTEP, FreeBSD, BSD, Mach |
| Default user interface | Command-line interface (Unix shell) |
| License | Mostly Apple Public Source License (APSL), with closed-source drivers |
| Official website | opensource |
| Part of a series on |
| macOS |
|---|
Darwin is the core Unix-like operating system of macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS, iPadOS, audioOS, visionOS, and bridgeOS. It previously existed as an independent open-source operating system, first released by Apple in 2000. It is composed of code derived from NeXTSTEP, FreeBSD and other BSD operating systems, Mach, and other free software projects' code, as well as code developed by Apple. Darwin's unofficial mascot is Hexley the Platypus.
Darwin is mostly POSIX-compatible, but has never, by itself, been certified as compatible with any version of POSIX. Starting with Leopard, macOS has been certified as compatible with the Single UNIX Specification version 3 (SUSv3).