Core features¶
Start with the normal PowerPC application. It connects, transfers files, captures the screen, and provides the complete application module set listed below without installing anything in the classic Mac's Extensions folder.
The alpha bundle includes the NOW Extension, but installing it is optional. It is for deeper Mirror features: it lets NOW observe and interact while another classic application is drawing, tracking a drag, showing a menu, or holding the machine inside a modal loop. Installing it does not replace the application or unlock ordinary connection, file, screen, console, process, hardware, or software features.
Feature coverage¶
The application table is complete by construction: it combines every cross-module product feature declared in the catalog with every module in the published module reference. The second table separates the deeper Mirror outcomes added by the bundled Extension.
Application features¶
| Feature | Without the Extension | Extension required? | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set up a PowerPC Mac from the host | Available; the Extension is an optional package selection. | No | Tested locally and mounted in Mac OS 9.1 QEMU; classic-browser download and first hardware connection remain unverified. |
| Capture or stream the classic Mac screen | Available. | No | Current; streaming and large transfers have documented limits. |
| Browse, transfer, and manage files | Available. | No | Current; resume and large transfers have documented limits. |
| Use iCloud Drive, Photos, and Contacts | Available. | No | Experimental; each macOS service requires an explicit grant. |
| Inspect and manage running applications | Available. | No | Current; state-changing requests settle through typed results. |
| Open Mirror and inspect its application-level shell | Basic shell only. | No | Experimental; interactive requests take priority over queued background refreshes, but the hardware latency target is not yet verified. |
| Run classic-side console commands | Available. | No | Current; the connected guest advertises its own command set. |
| Chat through a model configured on the modern Mac | Available. | No | Experimental; provider credentials remain on the modern Mac. |
| Translate modern web pages for classic browsers | Available from the host Direct listener. | No | Experimental; deterministic rendering is tested, while classic-browser metal verification and guest-local relay remain open. |
| Build and run classic software with a guest-owned toolchain | Available on the PowerPC guest. | No | Experimental; the host-home MPW build/run loop is metal-verified and typed tests, retry settlement, and guarded guest-home promotion are emulator-verified. CodeKitten acceptance and the new hardening receipts on metal remain open. |
| Inspect classic Mac hardware | Available. | No | Current; unsupported and unavailable probes remain explicit. |
| Run bounded diagnostics | Available. | No | Experimental; each diagnostic states its cost before it runs. |
| Inspect classic network and link state | Available. | No | Current; listener configuration remains in Connections. |
| Inventory classic applications and system software | Available. | No | Current; availability depends on what the connected guest serves. |
| Control MCP transports and inspect agent activity | Available. | No | Experimental; running a transport is not itself a guest access grant. |
| Review bounded host and guest logs | Available. | No | Current; entries retain machine, operation, time, and reason where known. |
| Manage connections and preferences | Available. | No | Current; the listener is plaintext and intended for trusted networks. |
Extension-backed Mirror features¶
| Feature | Without the Extension | Extension required? | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|
| See whether the Extension is active and compatible | Reports that the Extension is not installed. | No | Current diagnostic for an optional component. |
| See live windows and menus from other applications | Not available. | Yes | Experimental; absence and stale observations remain visible. |
| Recognize standard controls, list items, and menu items | Not available. | Yes | Experimental; custom and unsupported controls remain explicit. |
| Reconstruct application interiors from drawing activity | Not available. | Yes | Experimental and high risk; off by default and armed for an exact target only. |
| Interact with windows, menus, controls, text, and selections | Not available through process-local Mirror actions. | Yes | Experimental; success requires application-owned confirmation. |
| Follow short-lived interface changes | Changes between scene reads may be missed. | Yes | Experimental; changes prompt a coalesced refresh, while periodic refresh remains the fallback. |
| Stay reachable while an application is in a modal or tracking loop | The normal guest connection may pause until the loop exits. | Yes | Experimental and emulator-verified; not a blanket hardware claim. |
| Carry a drag through classic tracking loops | Not available as a held remote drag session. | Yes | Experimental; builds and native tests pass, but it is not machine-verified. |
| Show a classic cursor following remote actions | The action can still occur, but the remote cursor is not drawn. | Yes | Experimental and emulator-verified; physical mouse movement takes priority. |
Current is the default alpha availability and is not a separate release tag. Experimental rows are available for evaluation but do not carry the same release confidence. Emulator-verified or tested rows have not necessarily been observed on physical hardware.
Decide whether to install it¶
- Skip it when you want any application feature in the first table, including iCloud, Chat, Diagnostics, MCP, Logs, and the ordinary Mirror shell.
- Install it when you are deliberately evaluating the Extension-required Mirror rows in the matrix and can recover by booting with Extensions disabled.
- Leave structured drawing capture off unless you are working on that experimental path; it remains the highest-risk Extension feature.
The application reports whether the Extension is absent, active, incompatible, or waiting for a restart. It also reports the capabilities the installed build actually negotiated; the matrix does not override that live state.
How it fits together¶
The Extension runs only the small amount of work that must occur inside another classic process. The normal application remains the network endpoint and reads the Extension's bounded state later. Removing the Extension returns NOW to the application-only coverage shown above.
For installation and recovery, see Install the NOW Extension. Developers looking for the P0–P8 contract and capability-bit mapping should use Resident components; those implementation details are deliberately not the primary user-facing feature list.