Layout by Zaweba on Mac and Linux
Layout by Zaweba has a Mac and Linux port built on the same engine as the Windows app, with packages produced by GitHub Actions.
Page layout software has long been tied to particular platforms. Designers on Linux in particular have had few choices for professional print work. Layout by Zaweba now has a version for Mac and Linux as well as Windows, built on the same engine, so the same documents can be laid out whichever computer you use.
How the Mac and Linux version was made
The port was made on 31 October 2026. It uses Avalonia for its interface, a framework that runs on Mac and Linux, and it shares its engine with the Windows version. The engine is the part that does the real work: laying out text, composing paragraphs, drawing frames and pictures, and writing files out. Sharing it means the Mac and Linux version isn't a separate, simpler program, but the same layout core with a different window round it.
The packages for Mac and Linux are built by GitHub Actions, an automated build service, which compiles and packages each release in the same way every time.
What the shared engine means for your documents
Because the engine is shared, a document is laid out by the same code on each system. That is the part that matters most for a layout app, since it decides where every line breaks and every frame sits.
Layout by Zaweba is a professional page layout app for magazines, books, brochures, catalogues, posters and packaging. It offers spreads, parent pages, detailed typography, CMYK and spot colour, live preflight, books with contents and an index, and print ready PDF, EPUB and slide export. It works offline with no account, and it is free software under the EULA.
Things to watch when moving between systems
Fonts are the main thing to check. Each computer has its own installed fonts, and a document that uses a font on one machine needs that font on the other. If a font is missing, Layout highlights the substitution and live preflight counts it as a problem. Install the same fonts on each machine you use, or package the job, which collects fonts where their licences allow into a Fonts folder that the packaged document loads from.
Linked pictures need to come too. Keep pictures in a folder beside the document and move the folder with it, or package the job, so links don't go missing when you change computer.
Paths differ between systems. A link to a picture on a Windows drive letter won't exist on a Mac. The Links panel will show anything missing, and relink can point it to the right place.
Who the Mac and Linux version is for
It suits designers who work on a Mac but want a layout app with no account, studios with a mix of computers who want one tool across them all, and Linux users who need print ready output with CMYK, spot colours and preflight. It also suits schools, clubs and charities with older or mixed hardware, who would rather not pay for a layout program on each machine.
Getting started on Mac or Linux
Begin with a small job to get to know the app: a poster or a short brochure. Set up styles, place some pictures, check the result with live preflight and export a PDF. The skills carry straight across from the Windows version, and so do the documents, as long as their fonts and pictures travel with them.
