macUSB

The all-in-one bootable USB creator for Mac

macUSB is a guided macOS app for creating bootable USB media on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs using local files or the built-in macOS downloader.

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☕ Support the Project

macUSB is and will always remain completely free. Every update and feature is available to everyone.
If the project helps you, you can support ongoing development:

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📥 How to Download macUSB

Choose one installation method:

1. GitHub Releases: Download latest release
2. Homebrew:

brew install --cask macusb

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🔍 Why macUSB Exists

Creating bootable USB installers for macOS Catalina and older on modern Macs, especially Apple Silicon models, can be challenging because legacy installer workflows often conflict with newer system requirements. macUSB was created to make this process guided and reliable through solutions developed and verified during practical troubleshooting.

Thanks to user feedback, macUSB has grown beyond legacy macOS installer creation to include an integrated macOS downloader and support for creating bootable Linux and Windows media, evolving into an all-in-one tool for bootable USB workflows on Mac.

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✅ Key Features

• Built-in Downloader: discover and download macOS installers, including available Public Beta releases, from Apple servers.
• Local source support: create bootable USB media from local installers and disk images.
• Checksum insight: calculate SHA-256 checksums for recognized .iso, .cdr, and .dmg source images.
• Apple Silicon legacy support: automatic compatibility handling for older macOS installers during USB creation.
• Automatic media prep: partition and format checks with conversion when required.[^1]
• Linux and Windows support: create bootable USB media from supported Linux and Windows .iso images, with optional Windows setup automation.

[^1]: When creating macOS bootable media, APFS-formatted targets are not converted automatically. If the selected drive uses APFS, macUSB requires manual reformatting in Disk Utility before continuing.

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⚡ Quick Start

[!WARNING] Creating bootable media erases all data on the selected USB drive.

1. Install macUSB using one of the methods listed in How to Download macUSB.
2. Open macUSB and either:
   • choose a local source, or
   • use the built-in Downloader to fetch a macOS installer from Apple.
3. Select the target USB drive and review the operation details.
4. Start the process and monitor bootable media creation stage by stage.
5. Use the final result screen for next steps.

[!IMPORTANT] For reliable media creation, enable Allow in the Background and Full Disk Access for macUSB in System Settings. Without them, creation workflows may fail.

Allow in the Background General → Login Items & Extensions

Full Disk Access Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access

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🧭 Workflow Details

Click any screenshot to open full size.

macOS Installer Review the selected macOS version, target USB drive, and creation steps before starting.

Linux Image Linux workflow includes guidance for the expected unreadable-disk prompt shown by macOS during creation.

Windows Installer Windows workflow includes optional setup configuration for selected Windows restrictions and first-run setup choices.

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🌐 Downloader Workflow

Click any screenshot to open full size.

1. Installer List Browse macOS installers available from Apple servers.

2. Download Progress Track download and preparation progress in real time.

3. Download Summary Review the final status and use the installer in the creation flow.

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⚙️ Requirements

Host Computer

• Architecture: Apple Silicon or Intel.
• System: macOS 14.6 Sonoma or newer.
• Free disk space:
  • Downloader stage: up to 45 GB, depending on the selected macOS version.
  • macOS USB creation stage: up to 20 GB, depending on the selected source and system version.

USB Media

• For macOS installers: at least 16 GB; 32 GB minimum for Sequoia and newer.
• For Windows/Linux images: 1 GB or more, depending on the size of the selected .iso image.
• Performance: USB 3.0+ is recommended.

[!NOTE] External HDD/SSD support is disabled by default on every app launch to improve safety and reduce the risk of accidental target selection. You can enable it in Options → Enable external drives support.

Source Inputs

Accepted local source formats:

• For macOS: .dmg, .cdr, .iso, and .app
• For Windows/Linux: .iso

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💿 Supported macOS Installers

macOS versions recognized and supported for USB creation:

System	Version	Supported
macOS Golden Gate[^2]	27	✅
macOS Tahoe	26	✅
macOS Sequoia	15	✅
macOS Sonoma	14	✅
macOS Ventura	13	✅
macOS Monterey	12	✅
macOS Big Sur	11	✅
macOS Catalina	10.15	✅
macOS Mojave	10.14	✅
macOS High Sierra	10.13	✅
macOS Sierra[^3]	10.12	✅
OS X El Capitan	10.11	✅
OS X Yosemite	10.10	✅
OS X Mavericks[^4]	10.9	✅
OS X Mountain Lion	10.8	✅
OS X Lion	10.7	✅
Mac OS X Snow Leopard	10.6	✅
Mac OS X Leopard	10.5	✅
Mac OS X Tiger[^5]	10.4	✅

[^2]: USB creation is supported on Apple Silicon only. [^3]: Only 10.12.6 is supported. [^4]: Fully verified with the image from Mavericks Forever. Other sources may fail. [^5]: Single-DVD images are auto-detected. For Multi-DVD images, only the first disc is recognized correctly. Other discs may appear as unrecognized or be identified incorrectly. To use them, force detection manually from Options → Skip file analysis → Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 (Multi DVD).

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🪟 Windows Support

macUSB recognizes Windows .iso images from Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 onward and automatically detects their edition and architecture.

Bootable USB creation is supported from Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 R2 onward.

Available boot modes depend on the Windows version:

• Legacy BIOS only: Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Legacy BIOS or UEFI: Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2012 R2 through 2022.
• UEFI only: Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025.

For legacy BIOS support, macUSB installs the macUSBoot bootloader on the prepared media.

For Windows 10 and Windows 11, macUSB can optionally prepare an autounattend.xml file. It can configure selected OOBE options, skip the Microsoft account requirement, and bypass Windows 11 hardware checks during setup.

Regardless of the selected boot mode, macUSB formats the target as MBR with FAT32. Because FAT32 has a 4 GB per-file limit, some modern Windows images may require extra preparation. If install.wim exceeds that limit, macUSB automatically splits it into smaller .swm parts using wimlib.

[!IMPORTANT] wimlib is required only when the selected Windows image needs install.wim splitting. It is not bundled with macUSB and must be installed separately by the user. The simplest way to install it is with Homebrew:

brew install wimlib

macUSB automatically checks whether wimlib-imagex is available when this step is required.

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🐧 Linux Support

macUSB also supports creating bootable USB media from Linux .iso images.

When a Linux image is recognized, macUSB detects the distribution, version, and architecture automatically. ARM builds are labeled directly in the detected name, for example Linux - Ubuntu 26.04 (ARM).

If a selected file is a valid Linux image but is not recognized automatically, you can force Linux mode manually from Options → Skip file analysis → Linux.

Linux-based .img images can also be written from Tools → Write Raw Linux Image (.img)…. This raw-image path is separate from the officially boot-tested Linux .iso support matrix.

Linux support has been tested with 19 distributions using the latest available releases as of April 30, 2026, with boot behavior verified on real hardware.[^6]

[^6]: Validated distributions: Ubuntu, Kali Linux, NixOS, Garuda Linux, openSUSE Leap, Gentoo, Rocky Linux, Linux Mint, Fedora Workstation, Manjaro, Zorin OS, CachyOS, AlmaLinux, Debian, Arch Linux, MX Linux, Pop!_OS, EndeavourOS, and elementary OS. Boot behavior was verified on a MacBook Air 2017, a Dell OptiPlex 5040 with UEFI, and an Asus F52Q with Legacy BIOS.

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🧩 PowerPC Notes

If you are reviving a PowerPC Mac, the project website includes a dedicated Open Firmware guide based on real boot testing of PowerPC USB workflows created with macUSB.

Validated scenarios include:

• Mac OS X Tiger and Mac OS X Leopard boot scenarios,
• Single DVD editions, and for Tiger also the Multi-DVD path,
• Open Firmware boot commands verified in real hardware tests, including an iMac G5.

Use the step-by-step guide for setup and boot instructions.

PowerPC USB boot behavior can vary by model. During validation testing, USB boot was confirmed on an iMac G5, while an iBook G4 (2003) detected the USB device but did not boot from it successfully.

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🌍 Available Languages

The interface follows system language automatically:

• 🇵🇱 Polish (PL)
• 🇺🇸 English (EN)
• 🇩🇪 German (DE)
• 🇯🇵 Japanese (JA)
• 🇫🇷 French (FR)
• 🇪🇸 Spanish (ES)
• 🇧🇷 Portuguese (PT-BR)
• 🇨🇳 Simplified Chinese (ZH-Hans)
• 🇷🇺 Russian (RU)
• 🇮🇹 Italian (IT)
• 🇺🇦 Ukrainian (UK)
• 🇻🇳 Vietnamese (VI)
• 🇹🇷 Turkish (TR)

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🛠️ Troubleshooting

If you encounter a problem or have a question, please open an issue.

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⚖️ License

Licensed under the MIT License.

Copyright © 2025-2026 Krystian Pierz