How to use the macOS Creator

Written By: Jadon Lyon

Comments: 0

Difficulty

Very easy

Steps

Time Required

3 - 10 minutes

Introduction

I have been working on a script for the past few months that will make a USB Drive for macOS easier than ever. This short guide will show you how to use it.

Parts

USB Flash Drive

Step 1

Let's first grab a copy of the tool.
macOS Creator - Github

Step 2

Open the folder that contains the script.
Open spotlight and search for Terminal
Then, drag the script into the terminal window

Step 3

You may get an error like this Permission Denied
To fix this, simply type chmod +x and drag the script back into the terminal window.
This is due to some issue with bin-bash not communicating with bin-zsh, which is a bug that will be fixed in the future

Step 4

Once running, you will be greeted to the welcome window.
Let's begin with the easiest way to create a bootable installer. Type (1) and then press the return key. This will automatically check your Applications folder for valid macOS Installers.
At any point, you can press the return key and cancel the operation
Throughout almost the whole script - Y=Yes, return=No/Cancel

Step 5

We will be using macOS Catalina for this tutorial, but this script works with any macOS Installer except for Mac OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion
The script will check your Applications folder, once it finds a valid macOS Installer, it will ask if you want to proceed
If you do not have any macOS Installer in your Applications folder, then you will get a notification like the one in the picture, we cover this more in detail in Step 8

Step 6

Once again, type (Y) and then the return key
You will then have to provide a drive path
This is easy, simply plug in the drive you wish to use, and drag it from your desktop into the terminal window
Press the return key
The drive name does not matter, it will be changed after the creation.

Step 7

You will need to enter your password in order to continue. Press the return key when finished
Terminal will not show your password as you type it
The tool will then begin to create the installer.
Once finished, the script will close automatically, and the drive will be ready for use

Step 8

If something fails, the macOS Creator has multiple steps to find a solution. Let's begin if the macOS Creator can't find any valid macOS Installers.
If you have a macOS Installer, then review the troubleshooting guide by typing (1) and the return.

Step 9

If you do not have a valid macOS Installer, you can download one from either Apple's servers or the Internet Archive.
This time, type (2) and then return
You will see a list of available macOS Installers

Step 10

If you do not see the macOS versions you wish to download, simply type (9) and then return to see the next page.
To select a macOS Version, the number it corresponds to, and then press the return key.
For example, to download macOS Ventura, type (9) to see the next page, and then type (1) and then return to download.

Step 11

In order to download, you must type in your password and then press the return key.
The macOS Creator will then download the macOS Installer to your /tmp folder, so it will not take up extra space on your Mac.
Once finished, follow the on-screen instructions to install