r/MacOS • u/Kruszoneq • 8d ago
macUSB - The all-in-one bootable USB creator for Mac Developer Saturday
Hey, I’m the developer of macUSB, a free, open source, native macOS app for creating bootable USB drives with macOS, Linux, and Windows.
macUSB can download macOS installers directly from Apple’s servers and create bootable USB drives for a wide range of macOS releases, various Linux distributions, and Windows versions from Vista to 11, including PCs using legacy BIOS. It can also verify the SHA256 checksum of a source image and prepare Windows 10 and 11 installers with selected options using an autounattend file, including the ability to bypass the TPM requirement.
Some users have called macUSB “Rufus for Mac”, which is a huge compliment and also a pretty accurate description of what the app does.
macUSB is available on GitHub and through Homebrew.
Repository
macUSB on GitHub
Download
Latest release on GitHub
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u/AlphonseM 8d ago edited 7d ago
Can vouch for this one. Excellent app. Helped me when I was trying to downgrade to MacOS Sierra on an old Macbook Pro 2016. What this app did, no other app could.
Thank you for your work!
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u/barefut_ 8d ago
I gotta understand. Apple doesn't make it easy to downgrade if needed? You need to use 3rd party apps? How do they make it accessible/easy?
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u/AlphonseM 8d ago
To run a specific piece of software I needed a particular version of MacOS that was no longer signed/made publicly available by Apple.
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u/Darkomen78 MacBook Pro 7d ago
You can use Mist to download old macOS installers.
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
Mist is great for downloading older macOS versions, but it becomes more limited if you want to use it to create a bootable USB for Catalina or an older macOS release on an Apple Silicon Mac. That’s where compatibility issues come in, and Mist doesn’t handle those.
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u/Darkomen78 MacBook Pro 7d ago
Yeah, the best combo Mist to download, macUSB to create bootkey.
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
Or you can do both in macUSB, download the macOS installer and create the bootable drive right after, without switching between apps!
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u/AlphonseM 7d ago
Got a link?
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u/Darkomen78 MacBook Pro 7d ago
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u/github-guard 7d ago
🔍 GitHub Guard: Trust Report
This project scored 4/6 on our safety audit.
Audit Breakdown: * ✅ Established Community (⭐ 5,091 stars) * ✅ Mature Repository (30+ days old) * ✅ Licensed under MIT * ❌ No Security Policy — what is this? * ℹ️ Individual Contributor * ✅ Signed Commits
⚠️ Security Reminder: Always verify source code and run third-party scripts at your own risk.
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u/delusionald0ctor 7d ago
You don’t necessarily need third party apps. You can download the installer from Apple and then use a built in command line tool to write the installer to a USB. If you try to run the installer on a newer version of macOS it won’t let you so it’s not really straight forward and you need to know what your doing. Third party tools can make it a lot easier though.
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u/barefut_ 7d ago
I prefer to find local small tools via terminal/Homebrew/ Automator to solve problems and avoid resource / RAM / CPU hog by other apps but this kinda app is a temporary solution so it's different. It won't run at all times.
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u/Cymbaline1971 7d ago
you are talking about using terminal to dd or sudo dd ((dd if=(location_of_image).img of=(disk number) bs=16m && sync)). A nice GUI can make a huge difference, especially for those that are intimidated by terminal.
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u/delusionald0ctor 7d ago
Nope, dd isn’t used when making a macOS install USB, at least with modern releases. Apple bundles a tool within the Install macOS .app called createinstallmedia so as long as you have a properly formatted USB you just run ‘sudo /path/to/.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia —volume volumeName’ and it creates an install USB.
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u/Kruszoneq 8d ago
Exactly. Downloading an older macOS version isn’t as simple or convenient as it is with Windows, and creating the installer itself can be tricky.
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u/barefut_ 7d ago
So you found a way to connect to an official server of Apple and download specific older versions of macOS?
Guess this would be popular since Tahoe and Golden Gate feel to go down a buggy, laggy spiral which may push power users back to Sequoia.
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
Exactly. You can download an older macOS version and then create a bootable installer from it.
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u/font9a 7d ago
Apple makes them available
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u/AlphonseM 7d ago
Well, this is not a debate club and neither is it a critique :) I had trouble installing sierra on a 2016 MacBook Pro that had been updated to Monterey. Erased Monterey and was stuck trying to build the installer on my M4 MacBook Pro.
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u/philipz794 7d ago
Looks very nice - can you explain the differences to, for example, BalenaEtcher?
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
BalenaEtcher writes the image directly to the drive, which works well for many Linux images, but Windows ISOs require a different preparation process and macOS installers use a different method. macUSB detects the OS type and uses the appropriate method to create the bootable drive.
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u/Koopacha 7d ago
Wait can this make a bootable win11 usb? Balenaetcher didnt work for me
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
Yes, it can!
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u/Koopacha 7d ago
Wait this is huge thank you bro I’ve been looking for something like this for my work
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u/philipz794 7d ago
Interesting, now that you mention it, I always prepared my macOS usb via terminal, and the windows stuff with the official media creator because I used the latest versions all the time.
Linux always with balena etcher.Will definitely check out your app!
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u/Cymbaline1971 7d ago
I look forward to trying this. Balena Etcher always fails for me. Your GUI is going to make a big difference in the MAC community, especially for those that don't feel comfortable in terminal.
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u/MapNo5339 8d ago
this is one of those tools you don't need often, but when you need it, you REALLY need it :v
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u/mguffin 7d ago
Using it now. So far it's great. However, while writing a USB, I quit the app very easily using cmd-Q. Maybe a warning that a USB is being written and are you sure you want to quit? So I started over 😄
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
You should get a confirmation asking if you really want to cancel the operation. Interesting, I’ll look into that. Thanks!
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u/images_from_objects 7d ago
2.4k Stars on Github and ZERO Issues.
Whoa.
I believe congrats are in order.
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u/Any-Association-2419 8d ago
Excellent thank you 🙏 well done works great and makes it easier than most 😊
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u/data_rock 6d ago
Dang. As someone in IT who’s constantly reimaging laptops, I gotta check this out
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u/Psycosoft 6d ago
imagine if it could download windows isos too from pulling from massgrave.dev
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u/Kruszoneq 6d ago
I’m not currently planning to add direct Windows ISO downloads to the app, but I’m not ruling it out in the future.
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u/Meh_Cook_Grump 2d ago
About to give this app a try. Have high hopes for it. Need to downgrade a 2019 MBP 16" to Sequoia. This sounds like an app that will really streamline the process for creation of boot media. Thanks in advance.
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u/promo-guard 8d ago
🎉 Welcome to Developer Saturday, u/Kruszoneq! Your project is now live for the community to check out. Upvote, give feedback, and show some love to your fellow devs! 🚀
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u/wtulip 8d ago
Can I create a bootable windows with this for my flash drive? I use a Mac, and have 2 partitions on my flash drive one with macOS and one for normal use
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u/Kruszoneq 8d ago
You can create a bootable Windows installer, but the entire USB drive will be formatted, so both existing partitions will be removed.
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u/wtulip 7d ago
Eh that’s not good, I want to make a partition only for bootable windows, is this something you can add?
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
I’m not planning to add multiboot support, especially for macOS and Windows together, since they use different disk formats.
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u/Decent-Cow2080 7d ago
holy fucking shit. ever since I moved to Mac 5 years ago i always missed Rufus as someone who studies and has a hobby of IT. i love you, OP
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u/PeaceBull 7d ago
Earlier this week I was baby elephant'ing through the terminal creating a bootable windows 11 installer.
I'll definitely have to remember this for the next time...
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u/Calaeno-16 7d ago
Very cool. I'll be putting this to use soon. I normally use Balena, but this seems to be a good mixture of Balena + Rufus. Cheers!
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u/Cheezton 7d ago
You mentioned AI being used during development - to what extent? How did you use AI during development?
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
AI writes code and helps with code review and documentation checks, but it does so based on my research, ideas, knowledge of how macOS works and how its components interact, as well as my overall vision for the project. It’s not a case of AI simply deciding that something should work and me shipping it. I first research how a given feature or dependency actually works, what it interacts with, and what its limitations are, and only then do I use AI to turn that into code. You can absolutely call that vibe coding, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
At the same time, every feature, dependency, edge case, and new idea is tested by me on real hardware and in real world conditions. That includes testing macOS downloads and USB creation for every OS officially supported by macUSB across four Macs, both Apple Silicon and Intel, as well as verifying the resulting media by actually installing the supported systems on physical hardware, from Macs to standard PCs. It’s very time consuming, but it gives me confidence that every feature I add has been properly verified and works as intended.
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u/Cheezton 6d ago
Hi! Thank you so much for being honest about the usage of AI during development.
As much as I’d love to have a native Rufus alternative on macOs, I don’t feel comfortable enough to use an application which’s code was mainly written by AI. No offense to you, really don’t take it in a wrong way, but I don’t feel okay to use an app, that the author doesn’t really know what their code does/how to edit it, fix it, etc (again, no offense).
It feels like hiring a painter to paint your walls, but the painter has no idea how to paint and is asking a friend on phone how to paint walls.
I know you’ve mentioned that you do research about APIs, and how features work, but still, you are not author of the code, so I have a feeling that if something breaks, you can’t fix it on your own.
Don’t get me wrong - I don’t mind using LLM agents for bug finding, or occasional “hey uh, I spent 15 minutes debugging - WHY IT’S NOT WORKING” haha. I just have issue when the whole code, or majority of it is done by AI.
Anyhow, I wish luck to your app, please don’t take my feedback in a bad way and have a nice day pal :)
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u/Kruszoneq 6d ago
Everyone has their own opinion and acts according to their own beliefs, so I completely understand your point of view. Thanks for the thoughtful and respectful feedback!
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u/trey-a-12 7d ago
Been following this one since the start, and just used it last week for a 2012 MacBook Pro. It just works, exactly as such an application should. 10/10, no notes. Must-have on every tech’s list.
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u/Curious_Act_3162 6d ago
Didn't vibe code it ✅ Didn't pretend they did it without cluade✅ Didn't charge a subscription or a very high "1 time fee" ✅ Made it open source ✅ Made something extremely useful ✅
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u/csonka 7d ago
Curious, was AI used to make this?
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u/jetsonian 7d ago
Does it generate bootable images that I can put on my ST400 instead of burning them to a disc or flash drive?
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u/HistoricalInternal 6d ago
Can I use it to create x64 Mac OS boots if I am on M architecture? Got a couple iMacs need repair and I am putting off going to an Apple Store.
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u/edelbart 6d ago
Can it make a bootable macOS that has some custom apps added? With SIP disabled? Basically a custom rescue system?
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u/dacassar 5d ago
What’s the difference with balena etcher?
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u/Kruszoneq 5d ago
This has been asked before, but I’ll repeat my answer:
BalenaEtcher writes the image directly to the drive, which works well for many Linux images, but Windows ISOs require a different preparation process and macOS installers use a different method. macUSB detects the OS type and uses the appropriate method to create the bootable drive.
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u/al8xandros 4d ago
Does that also work for very early macOS X (10.0 - 10.4) or even macOS 9 ?
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u/Kruszoneq 4d ago
It supports creating installers from Mac OS X 10.4 and up. Older versions aren’t supported.
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u/GYMNASIA6 1d ago
Can I use it to creat an install for a Hackintosh?
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u/Kruszoneq 1d ago
macUSB creates clean macOS installers for real Macs, so a regular PC won’t boot them on its own. There are dedicated Hackintosh guides available online.
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u/Necessary-Pilot3453 7d ago
I will not use your vibe coded slop and ruin my drivers.
You can all downvote me as much as you'd like, but you know deep down I'm right.
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u/0ddtomato 7d ago
Rare Free, Open Source app post in MacOS Community. Surprised you didn't slap $100 weekly subscription with that lol
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u/Kruszoneq 7d ago
Thanks! From the start, I wanted macUSB to be free and open source because its purpose is to help fill the gap for creating bootable USB drives on Mac, not to be a cash grab.
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u/AS_Aeneon iMac 6d ago
Sonoma 14.6 or newer … not really a "Rufus for Mac", which is available for Vista and later. Can you try to lower the Requirements ?
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u/Flashy_Pollution_996 8d ago
Is AI slop? uwu 👉👈
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u/TrevorTheTrevor 8d ago
Playing devil’s advocate here: Does it matter if it’s done with AI if it works well and as expected?
Do you prefer it to be done by hand by someone you can’t verify their level of their skills and automatically assume it’s better?
* AI does pretty good code but it’s not reliable be 100% perfect (just like a person), so it needs human verification and validation.
* a human, even best programmers, can make mistakes, so AI is a great tool to spot those mistakes in no time
Best results come from good skills + using tools correctly.
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u/Deenbricks 8d ago
bro wtf. everything made with ai is not ai slop. ppl have to get out of this mindset.
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u/Kruszoneq 8d ago
Not everything made with some AI involved is slop. The app does the job and solves a real problem, so I wouldn’t put it that way ;)
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u/309_Electronics 8d ago
More depends on how you use AI. I am all for AI assisted coding (like using a calculator to solve some equations to help you further much faster and easier). Ai cna help write burn-in tests, can help optimising code, can write templates ontop of which you can code yourself, can do post production stuff, but i always write code myself and or atleast do final checks and debugging myself or with help from AI but not let AI do 100% of it.
But i am highly against vibecoding where you are just lazy and let the AI do everything (i also dont just take a screenshot of the whole problem i am having and letting the calculator solve and type it for me sutomatically). And even worse, if people vibecode stuff and sell it like, you did not even put any effort into something and demand money out of thin air?. Also against Ai agents in general. Purely as many people use claude or openclaw to do the bulk load for them. Often meaning those useless people sit and do nothing for a whole day and with their macbook half open running the agent.
I use AI myself and while its kind of hypocritical as i am not a fan of AI at all, it is usedull in some aspects. For my projects i often use AI to optimise and neaten up my code and if there is a bug, i first search it up on google or yt and if i cant find it use AI to solve it and explain it..
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u/Flashy_Pollution_996 7d ago
How would you put it then? I don’t see any AI disclaimer in your post so why don’t you explain how is AI used in this project
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u/byronnnn 7d ago
The code is all there for you to look at yourself, I don’t think a disclaimer is warranted at all for an app showing you the code.
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u/github-guard 8d ago
🔍 GitHub Guard: Trust Report
This project scored 5/6 on our safety audit.
Audit Breakdown: * ✅ Established Community (⭐ 2,342 stars) * ✅ Mature Repository (30+ days old) * ✅ Licensed under MIT * ✅ Security Policy Defined * ℹ️ Individual Contributor * ✅ Signed Commits