diff --git a/apps/client/src/components/app_context.ts b/apps/client/src/components/app_context.ts
index f7a5dfb1e..cdaf1b137 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/components/app_context.ts
+++ b/apps/client/src/components/app_context.ts
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ export type CommandMappings = {
     openAboutDialog: CommandData;
     hideFloatingButtons: {};
     hideLeftPane: CommandData;
+    showRosettaWarning: CommandData;
     showLeftPane: CommandData;
     hoistNote: CommandData & { noteId: string };
     leaveProtectedSession: CommandData;
diff --git a/apps/client/src/desktop.ts b/apps/client/src/desktop.ts
index 1a0f7e8a9..e762aa65b 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/desktop.ts
+++ b/apps/client/src/desktop.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import electronContextMenu from "./menus/electron_context_menu.js";
 import glob from "./services/glob.js";
 import { t } from "./services/i18n.js";
 import options from "./services/options.js";
+import server from "./services/server.js";
 import type ElectronRemote from "@electron/remote";
 import type Electron from "electron";
 import "./stylesheets/bootstrap.scss";
@@ -22,7 +23,10 @@ bundleService.getWidgetBundlesByParent().then(async (widgetBundles) => {
     const DesktopLayout = (await import("./layouts/desktop_layout.js")).default;
 
     appContext.setLayout(new DesktopLayout(widgetBundles));
-    appContext.start().catch((e) => {
+    appContext.start().then(() => {
+        // Check for Rosetta 2 after the app has fully started
+        checkRosetta2Warning();
+    }).catch((e) => {
         toastService.showPersistent({
             title: t("toast.critical-error.title"),
             icon: "alert",
@@ -114,3 +118,18 @@ function initDarkOrLightMode(style: CSSStyleDeclaration) {
     const { nativeTheme } = utils.dynamicRequire("@electron/remote") as typeof ElectronRemote;
     nativeTheme.themeSource = themeSource;
 }
+
+async function checkRosetta2Warning() {
+    if (!utils.isElectron()) return;
+
+    try {
+        // Check if running under Rosetta 2 by calling the server
+        const response = await server.get("api/system-info/rosetta-check") as { isRunningUnderRosetta2: boolean };
+        if (response.isRunningUnderRosetta2) {
+            // Trigger the Rosetta 2 warning dialog
+            appContext.triggerCommand("showRosettaWarning", {});
+        }
+    } catch (error) {
+        console.warn("Could not check Rosetta 2 status:", error);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/apps/client/src/layouts/layout_commons.ts b/apps/client/src/layouts/layout_commons.ts
index d9559cde2..9c0716c4f 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/layouts/layout_commons.ts
+++ b/apps/client/src/layouts/layout_commons.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import ConfirmDialog from "../widgets/dialogs/confirm.js";
 import RevisionsDialog from "../widgets/dialogs/revisions.js";
 import DeleteNotesDialog from "../widgets/dialogs/delete_notes.js";
 import InfoDialog from "../widgets/dialogs/info.js";
+import RosettaWarningDialog from "../widgets/dialogs/rosetta_warning.js";
 
 export function applyModals(rootContainer: RootContainer) {
     rootContainer
@@ -45,4 +46,5 @@ export function applyModals(rootContainer: RootContainer) {
         .child(new InfoDialog())
         .child(new ConfirmDialog())
         .child(new PromptDialog())
+        .child(new RosettaWarningDialog())
 }
diff --git a/apps/client/src/widgets/dialogs/rosetta_warning.ts b/apps/client/src/widgets/dialogs/rosetta_warning.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1cd067869
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/client/src/widgets/dialogs/rosetta_warning.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import BasicWidget from "../basic_widget.js";
+import { Modal } from "bootstrap";
+import utils from "../../services/utils.js";
+
+const TPL = /*html*/`
+<div class="rosetta-warning-dialog modal mx-auto" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" style="z-index: 2000;">
+    <div class="modal-dialog modal-lg" role="document">
+        <div class="modal-content">
+            <div class="modal-header bg-danger text-white">
+                <h4 class="modal-title">
+                    <i class="bx bx-error-circle"></i>
+                    Performance Warning: Running Under Rosetta 2
+                </h4>
+                <button type="button" class="btn-close btn-close-white" data-bs-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"></button>
+            </div>
+            <div class="modal-body">
+                <div class="alert alert-danger" role="alert">
+                    <h5><strong>You are running the x64 version on Apple Silicon!</strong></h5>
+                    <p>TriliumNext is currently running through Apple's Rosetta 2 translation layer, which causes significant performance degradation.</p>
+                </div>
+
+                <h6><strong>What does this mean?</strong></h6>
+                <ul>
+                    <li>The application will be <strong>much slower</strong> than native performance</li>
+                    <li>Operations may take 10-15 seconds that should take 1-2 seconds</li>
+                    <li>Battery life will be reduced</li>
+                    <li>The application may feel unresponsive</li>
+                </ul>
+
+                <h6><strong>How to fix this:</strong></h6>
+                <ol>
+                    <li>Download the <strong>ARM64</strong> version of TriliumNext from the releases page</li>
+                    <li>Look for a filename ending in <code>-macos-arm64.dmg</code></li>
+                    <li>Uninstall the current version and install the ARM64 version</li>
+                </ol>
+
+                <div class="alert alert-info" role="alert">
+                    <strong>Note:</strong> Your data will be preserved during this process.
+                </div>
+            </div>
+            <div class="modal-footer">
+                <button class="download-correct-version-button btn btn-primary btn-lg">
+                    <i class="bx bx-download"></i>
+                    Download ARM64 Version
+                </button>
+                <button class="continue-anyway-button btn btn-secondary" data-bs-dismiss="modal">
+                    Continue Anyway
+                </button>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+</div>`;
+
+export default class RosettaWarningDialog extends BasicWidget {
+    private modal!: Modal;
+    private $downloadButton!: JQuery<HTMLElement>;
+    private $continueButton!: JQuery<HTMLElement>;
+
+    doRender() {
+        this.$widget = $(TPL);
+        this.modal = Modal.getOrCreateInstance(this.$widget[0]);
+        this.$downloadButton = this.$widget.find(".download-correct-version-button");
+        this.$continueButton = this.$widget.find(".continue-anyway-button");
+
+        this.$downloadButton.on("click", () => {
+            // Open the releases page where users can download the correct version
+            if (utils.isElectron()) {
+                const { shell } = utils.dynamicRequire("electron");
+                shell.openExternal("https://github.com/TriliumNext/Notes/releases/latest");
+            } else {
+                window.open("https://github.com/TriliumNext/Notes/releases/latest", "_blank");
+            }
+        });
+
+        // Auto-focus the download button when shown
+        this.$widget.on("shown.bs.modal", () => {
+            this.$downloadButton.trigger("focus");
+        });
+    }
+
+    showRosettaWarningEvent() {
+        this.modal.show();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/apps/server/src/routes/api/system_info.ts b/apps/server/src/routes/api/system_info.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4d49f4ca2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/server/src/routes/api/system_info.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+import { isRunningUnderRosetta2 } from "../../services/utils.js";
+import type { Request, Response } from "express";
+
+function rosettaCheck(req: Request, res: Response) {
+    res.json({
+        isRunningUnderRosetta2: isRunningUnderRosetta2()
+    });
+}
+
+export default {
+    rosettaCheck
+};
diff --git a/apps/server/src/routes/routes.ts b/apps/server/src/routes/routes.ts
index b988ecb11..eee979859 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/routes/routes.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/routes/routes.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ import ollamaRoute from "./api/ollama.js";
 import openaiRoute from "./api/openai.js";
 import anthropicRoute from "./api/anthropic.js";
 import llmRoute from "./api/llm.js";
+import systemInfoRoute from "./api/system_info.js";
 
 import etapiAuthRoutes from "../etapi/auth.js";
 import etapiAppInfoRoutes from "../etapi/app_info.js";
@@ -238,6 +239,7 @@ function register(app: express.Application) {
     apiRoute(PST, "/api/recent-notes", recentNotesRoute.addRecentNote);
     apiRoute(GET, "/api/app-info", appInfoRoute.getAppInfo);
     apiRoute(GET, "/api/metrics", metricsRoute.getMetrics);
+    apiRoute(GET, "/api/system-info/rosetta-check", systemInfoRoute.rosettaCheck);
 
     // docker health check
     route(GET, "/api/health-check", [], () => ({ status: "ok" }), apiResultHandler);
diff --git a/apps/server/src/services/utils.ts b/apps/server/src/services/utils.ts
index 89aad1bbb..c02a325d8 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/services/utils.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/services/utils.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,34 @@ export const isElectron = !!process.versions["electron"];
 
 export const isDev = !!(process.env.TRILIUM_ENV && process.env.TRILIUM_ENV === "dev");
 
+/**
+ * Detects if the application is running under Rosetta 2 translation on Apple Silicon.
+ * This happens when an x64 version of the app is run on an M1/M2/M3 Mac.
+ * Uses the macOS sysctl.proc_translated to properly detect translation.
+ * @returns true if running under Rosetta 2, false otherwise
+ */
+export const isRunningUnderRosetta2 = () => {
+    if (!isMac) return false;
+
+    try {
+        // Use child_process to check sysctl.proc_translated
+        // This is the proper way to detect Rosetta 2 translation
+        const { execSync } = require("child_process");
+        const result = execSync("sysctl -n sysctl.proc_translated 2>/dev/null", {
+            encoding: "utf8",
+            timeout: 1000
+        }).trim();
+
+        // 1 means the process is being translated by Rosetta 2
+        // 0 means native execution
+        // If the sysctl doesn't exist (on Intel Macs), this will return empty/error
+        return result === "1";
+    } catch (error) {
+        // If sysctl fails or doesn't exist (Intel Macs), not running under Rosetta 2
+        return false;
+    }
+};
+
 export function newEntityId() {
     return randomString(12);
 }
@@ -395,6 +423,7 @@ export default {
     isElectron,
     isEmptyOrWhitespace,
     isMac,
+    isRunningUnderRosetta2,
     isStringNote,
     isWindows,
     md5,