Is there a DAQami for Mac?

Measurement Computing (MCC, now part of Digilent) makes the USB-1208FS-Plus, the USB-1608G series, the USB-TC thermocouple modules and many other USB DAQ devices found on lab benches. Its free app for logging them without writing code is DAQami, which only runs on Windows. Distributor listings give its requirements as Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 or Vista, with no macOS version.

On a Mac you have three options.

Option 1: Run Windows in a virtual machine

A virtual machine with USB passthrough lets you install DAQami and MCC’s Windows drivers as usual. This works on an Intel Mac. On Apple Silicon you are running the ARM edition of Windows, so first check that every driver you need supports it.

Either way, USB passthrough can drop or reset the device during long runs, files end up inside the VM, and you maintain a second operating system to read a few channels.

Option 2: Write your own tool on uldaq

MCC publishes an open-source library called uldaq, the Universal Library for Linux and macOS. It builds against libusb, which you can install with Homebrew, and it has Python bindings as well as the C API.

Pick this when acquisition belongs inside your own code, such as a test script, a production fixture or an analysis pipeline. You then write channel setup, live plots, file writing and triggers yourself, plus recovery for when someone bumps the USB cable halfway through a run.

Option 3: DAQAtlas (in development)

DAQAtlas is a native data acquisition app built on uldaq. It is in development, with a beta opening to early testers. The macOS build bundles libuldaq and libusb inside the app, so there is nothing to compile and no Homebrew step. A supported MCC device shows up in the device list a few seconds after you plug it in. Pick channels, set a rate and press Run.

• Hardware-paced scans on devices with an onboard pacer, software-timed polling on devices without one.
• Strip charts, a triggered scope view, FFT spectrum, XY plots, meters and gauges on a dashboard you arrange.
• Recording that runs on its own thread, so a busy screen never costs you samples.
• Export to CSV, MATLAB, NI TDMS, Parquet or HDF5.

It also talks to LabJack, Digilent and SCPI instruments, so an MCC module can record into the same run as the rest of your bench. The supported hardware page has the full list.

Which MCC devices work on a Mac?

Anything uldaq supports, which includes the USB-1208FS-Plus and USB-1408FS-Plus, the USB-1608G and USB-1808 series, the USB-TC and USB-TEMP thermocouple and temperature modules, the USB-2400 series and more. The exception is the USB-231. uldaq doesn’t support it, so DAQAtlas detects it but cannot run it yet.

Tips for MCC hardware on a Mac

• Only one program can hold an MCC device at a time. Quit DAQami, a VM with USB passthrough, or any script that has the device open before you connect from another app.
• Plug high-rate devices straight into the Mac rather than through a crowded hub.
• Thermocouple modules are slow by design. A few samples per second is normal, so don’t chase higher rates on a USB-TC.

If you keep a Windows laptop around only to run DAQami, join the DAQAtlas beta and try your MCC hardware on your Mac. The app also includes simulated devices, so you can build a dashboard before any hardware is plugged in.