diff --git a/util/runtime.sh b/util/runtime.sh
index 806ef819e..5a49d36c7 100755
--- a/util/runtime.sh
+++ b/util/runtime.sh
@@ -145,6 +145,18 @@ if check_target "$TARGET_DIR"; then
     exit 0
 fi
 
+# overrides
+
+case $OSTYPE in
+    darwin*)
+        if [[ "$RUNTIME" = "wasmtime" ]]; then
+            # must be built with the 'posix-signals-on-macos' feature
+            notice "installing wasmtime on macOS, forcing 'build' mode"
+            MODE="build"
+        fi
+    ;;
+esac
+
 notice "installing $RUNTIME in $TARGET_DIR..."
 BUILD_SCRIPT=$NGX_WASM_DIR/util/runtimes/$RUNTIME.sh
 
diff --git a/util/runtimes/wasmtime.sh b/util/runtimes/wasmtime.sh
index a7eca2ef0..0b906c6a1 100755
--- a/util/runtimes/wasmtime.sh
+++ b/util/runtimes/wasmtime.sh
@@ -108,6 +108,11 @@ build_wasmtime() {
                 cargo_target_dir="target/release"
             fi
 
+            if [ "$(uname -s)" = "Darwin" ]; then
+                # See https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/issues/6785
+                args+="--features wasmtime/posix-signals-on-macos"
+            fi
+
             if [ "$clean" = "clean" -a -d $cargo_target_dir ]; then
                 rm -rf $cargo_target_dir
             fi