xCHM for Mac

Name: xCHM
Rating: 4.1 (10 reviews)
Author: Razvan Cojocaru

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xCHM Analysis

AI Assisted Content · June 11, 2026

Not written by CNET Staff.

xCHM is a free and open-source application designed for Mac users to view CHM (Compiled HTML Help) files efficiently. This tool enables users to browse through help files and documentation with ease, providing a straightforward interface that supports multi-platform compatibility. Key features include search functionality, table of contents navigation, and support for various text encodings, enhancing accessibility for different users.

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Free

The application is particularly useful for developers and technical writers who frequently work with CHM files. With its simple installation process, xCHM allows users to quickly access and read help documentation without the need for additional software. Its lightweight design ensures that it does not consume significant system resources, making it an ideal choice for users seeking a reliable CHM viewer on Mac.

xCHM for Mac

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Full Specifications

GENERAL

Release: May 6, 2011

Latest update: June 11, 2026

Version: 1.20

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Platform: Mac

Operating System

Mac OS X 10.3.9
Mac OS X
Mac OS X 10.4
Mac OS X 10.2
Mac OS X 10.3

Additional Requirements: Mac OS X 10.2 or higher (Universal)

POPULARITY

Total Downloads: 6,287

Downloads Last Week: 0

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Last Updated

User Reviews

4.1/5

10 User Votes

Free and very good
jeremyjjbrownMarch 10, 2012
Pros
Free and lightweight
Cons
Can not change the text color scheme. I like light text on a dark background. It's minor but it would be nice to have.
Summary
chm is my favorite ebook format and xchm works great.
Does the job stated!
qacheeJune 2, 2011
Pros
NIce and easy to use
Cons
None found yet!
Summary
Excellent for reading CHM files
shornby1May 1, 2011
Pros
Light and minimalist
Cons
No update for four years
Summary
No support for all styled text
RorqualApril 15, 2007
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com. I have some .chm files where xchm doesn't render italic, red coloured, or other styled text, while Chamonix does it just fine. These are technical books where these text enhancements are essential for comprehension, so xchm promptly went to the trash. Also, no support for page up/page down keys is very annoying.
Slow and awfull UI
zfil_dotmacAugust 13, 2006
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com. Just quickly tried this and I'm really not convinced, it's quite slow (on an iBook G4 800) and the UI is just awfull. Instead I really recommend Chamonix that work well and it's speedy
Best CHM-Viewer on Mac OS X
Ulrich KappMarch 21, 2006
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com. Even if it is not a Cocoa application and maybe it lacks some "nice to have"-features. But xCHM is the only one CHM Viewer that works without any crashes or other fatal errors on my configuration (PM G4/PCI Graphic, 1,5 GB RAM, Mac OS X 10.4.5). - AND it is free! Well done!!
Great!
jorge.laranjoJuly 28, 2004
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com. The best chm reader for the Mac OS X! I love the search feature!
Just works
solid1January 21, 2004
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com. Oh, Microsoft, yet another non-standard, disguising under the W3C-cover. But this reeader is just in Time and it just works. Thank you
Nice!
GP_RacerJanuary 7, 2004
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com. I'm simply awash in .chm where I work (we're a PC Shop) and I've been looking for something like this for some time. I had been using Tubby to decompile the files into thier html sub-parts. While I won't get rid of Tubby I will certainly keep xCHM too. This version of xCHM is pretty slow and the interface needs a few more tweeks (as the author says in the readme) but IT WORKS. Simply drag said .chm onto xCHM and there ya go, complete with bookmarking!
nice
danielleJanuary 7, 2004
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com. Very good for a first release. Thank you to the developer for porting this to OS X. The UI is slow and clunky but hopefully that'll be tweaked in a future release. It doesn't seem to run on Jaguar (won't launch).

Developer’s Description

By Razvan Cojocaru

Compiled HTML (CHM) viewer

xCHM is a program for reading Compiled HTML files that lots of Windows programs use for Help files. Also lots of e-books and other documentation comes in this format (such as the Java class library docs and the PHP docs.) Previously, there was no way to open these on a Mac without using a utility to decompress them into a million tiny .html files and read them in a browser.

This is a binary for the xCHM open source program which was originally written for Linux. Thanks to the fact that it was written using wxWindows, it was fairly easy to compile to run natively on OS X. I just tweaked the code to make it a bit more Mac friendly, and created an easily double-clickable application bundle for it. It still has some un-Mac like warts, but it works pretty well. I plan on trying to fix some of the problems and submit my changes back to the original developer.

Note that X11 is NOT required. This program runs natively (well, it's Carbon.)

xCHM for Mac

xCHM Analysis

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xCHM for Mac

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User Reviews

Free and very good

Does the job stated!

Excellent for reading CHM files

No support for all styled text

Slow and awfull UI

Best CHM-Viewer on Mac OS X

Great!

Just works

Nice!

nice

Developer’s Description