App Store links and mas-cli Id's for macOS Installers from Lion to Sequoia

[startergo]

Added new section to the WIKI page:

Spoiler: macos-iso: Automated macOS ISO Creation for Virtualization

macos-iso: Automated macOS ISO Creation for Virtualization
macos-iso provides automated workflows (using GitHub Actions) to create bootable macOS installer ISOs for virtualization and USB use, supporting versions from Lion to Sequoia including Mavericks.

• Uses GitHub Actions to automate ISO creation—no local script or Homebrew install required.
• ISOs are built in the cloud and uploaded to GitHub Container Registry (GHCR) for easy download.
• Supports installer apps from the Mac App Store or Apple.
• Produces ISOs suitable for USB creation or virtual machines (VMware, Parallels, VirtualBox, QEMU, etc).
• Supports both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

For instructions on triggering a build and downloading the resulting ISO, see the macos-iso GitHub page.

 

[Terraaustralis]

You need at least 2GB of RAM to install Mountain Lion.

I have already tried that suggestion Bigwaff. Once the USB stick is inserted into 2007 with 6 GB memory, iMac a ‘No Entry’ symbol is imposed upon the file.
It seems a download from Mist on a APFS OSX effects the files in some way that makes it incompatible with the old Apple extended format. I am guessing. Whatever - it does not work.

 

[startergo]

I have already tried that suggestion Bigwaff. Once the USB stick is inserted into 2007 with 6 GB memory, iMac a ‘No Entry’ symbol is imposed upon the file.
It seems a download from Mist on a APFS OSX effects the files in some way that makes it incompatible with the old Apple extended format. I am guessing. Whatever - it does not work.

try this image:

brew install oras
oras pull ghcr.io/startergo/macos-iso:10.8-mountain-lion-dmg

 

[Terraaustralis]

try this image:

brew install oras
oras pull ghcr.io/startergo/macos-iso:10.8-mountain-lion-dmg

Apologies for late reply startergo. Have managed to download and update Lion, Mountain Lion and Yosamite using the 2007 iMac with 2TB Samsung Evo SATA SSD installed to provide some speed. By various means I have managed to get OSX 10.6.8; OSX 10.7.5; OSX 10.8.5; and OSX 10.10.5, each installed on individual partitions and working properly using Combo updates to upgrade to latest available version.

These are now safely cloned to external HDD for future insurance.

This effort is justified as I periodically use Adobe CS5 to update legacy artwork. Also I need to use my Microtek M1 Scanner and Epson Photo 2400 A3 printer as the drivers are locked into various old systems. The glass-less Microtek M1 scanner has no consumer equal today. Epson scanners are inferior with glass between scanlight and 35mm film.

Snow Leopard and Lion can be updated without any trouble using Apple>Software Updates straight over the internet. These OSX were originally disk based installations. When the Apple installer system was introduced with Mountain Lion, Apple store access became paramout as did a pre-installed system for the new OSX to install over.

From OSX 10.8 forward, Apple Store does not recognise my Apple ID and also requires Safari for automatic Apple Store access. Safari is long deprecated and will not work. Neither will my Apple ID, so using Firefox is no answer. Using non-apple sources for OSX downloads re-introduces the Apple certificate authentication problem as you know.

I Have Home Brew installed on the 2019 iMac so will keep your code in my Notes for future use.

Thank you very much for your valuable contributions.

 

[bogdanw]

Interesting project - macUSB https://github.com/Kruszoneq/macUSB
"macUSB is a one-click tool that transforms your modern Mac (Apple Silicon) into a service machine capable of reviving older Apple computers."
The first release might have some issues with the signature.

 

[startergo]

similar project here:

GitHub - startergo/createinstalliso: Creates a bootable ISO image from a macOS installer application. This image can then be used to install macOS on a physical or virtual machine.

Creates a bootable ISO image from a macOS installer application. This image can then be used to install macOS on a physical or virtual machine. - startergo/createinstalliso

github.com

createinstalliso/README-SWIFT-INTERACTIVE.md at master · startergo/createinstalliso

Creates a bootable ISO image from a macOS installer application. This image can then be used to install macOS on a physical or virtual machine. - startergo/createinstalliso

github.com

 

[Terraaustralis]

Happy New Year bogdaw and startergo.

Just caught up with your posts. You guys are brilliant! My task of refreshing old o/s and installing on 2011 iMac has today been finally completed after two years of technical hurdles. It has been a long journey.

Initially I purchased the 27" 2011 iMac in 2023 in working condition, because I needed old o/s to run software for my Artixscan M1 scanner (There is no professional quality consumer glassless scanner available these days that I know of) - and Epson Photo R2400 printer. After 2 months the graphic card failed. And then the power unit failed. I resurrected the GPU card by baking it. Six weeks later the card failed again and I put the 27" aside to concentrate on making a 2007 24" core duo Extreme do the work for me.
I upgraded the core duo with a 2tb SATA SSD and 6gb RAM and all was good. I had complete, previously cloned o/s Snow Leopard, Lion and Yosamite carefully saved on a couple of old LaCie drives with all applications and my old files. So I could use my scanner and printer with original software.

Meanwhile I vacillated about spending money buying risky used parts for the 2011 imac as the AMD Radeon 6970M was the known product of a partially faulty batch. In the end I made the effort, took a risk and purchased a used GPU and Power board which I have now installed and found good. So far!

I also transferred and installed the 2TB SATA for speed and started cloning the three o/s each onto its own partition. My reason for transferring all three o/s was because I had by now, entirely forgotten which o/s versions did or did not work for each external printer and scanner.

By February 2023 I wanted to clean install o/s over existing clones as glitches were occurring. I found Startego‘s post macOS Installer Links and USB Creation Guide on MacRumours and I persevered with the difficult task of dodging the Apple out of date certificate block which prevented clean installation from DMG.

This story is a complex way of saying a big ‘thank you’ for all the advice you guys have offered on MacRumours concerning boot drives and Legacy o/s transfer with Terminal. Somehow, thanks to you, I have also succeeded in adding Mountain Lion to the o/s selection and today have worked through and tested all the important applications as a prelude to weeding out unnecessary apps and files. It seems I can safely rely upon Yosamite for all the legacy operations but for the moment ,paranoia suggests I keep all four o/s on an external HDD for security, while retaining Yosamite as the working o/s. A great way to begin 2026!

If the hardware holds up I shall be a happy Bunny Rabbit.

My sincere thanks for your brilliant and valuable contributions.

 

[Terraaustralis]

similar project here:

GitHub - startergo/createinstalliso: Creates a bootable ISO image from a macOS installer application. This image can then be used to install macOS on a physical or virtual machine.

Creates a bootable ISO image from a macOS installer application. This image can then be used to install macOS on a physical or virtual machine. - startergo/createinstalliso

github.com

createinstalliso/README-SWIFT-INTERACTIVE.md at master · startergo/createinstalliso

Creates a bootable ISO image from a macOS installer application. This image can then be used to install macOS on a physical or virtual machine. - startergo/createinstalliso

github.com

Hi startergo,
I have hit a couple of software problems on Yosamite which implies I can only use the software in Lion. As a better alternative Mavericks offers a faster, upgraded option which I would like to try.

So far creating a USB boot installer for Mavericks using the createinstallmedia script does not result in an installer which can overcome the Apple verification block. My understanding is the github coding alternatives by-pass the Apple verification process - or perhaps satisfy the verification process, and makes clean installation possible on a new drive in a different computer.

I have studied your references to GitHub and appreciate the suitability of Mas/cli or osxiso.command to the task in hand. I can appreciate the steps but realise I am utterly unable to link the code being totally inexperienced in unix.

Would you be kind enough to configure final code for me so that I can drop it into Terminal and create a verification free bootable Mavericks USB?

I apologise for asking a favour, but seeking your goodwill seems a more sensible alternative than my blundering around asking questions outside of my training or experience.

Kind regards,
TerraAustralis

 

[Grumpus]

So far creating a USB boot installer for Mavericks using the createinstallmedia script does not result in an installer which can overcome the Apple verification block.

Try resetting the date after booting the installer usb. See this post.

 

[startergo]

Would you be kind enough to configure final code for me so that I can drop it into Terminal and create a verification free bootable Mavericks USB?

This is user friendly:

createinstalliso/README-SWIFT-INTERACTIVE.md at master · startergo/createinstalliso

Creates a bootable ISO image from a macOS installer application. This image can then be used to install macOS on a physical or virtual machine. - startergo/createinstalliso

github.com

 

[Terraaustralis]

This is user friendly:

createinstalliso/README-SWIFT-INTERACTIVE.md at master · startergo/createinstalliso

Creates a bootable ISO image from a macOS installer application. This image can then be used to install macOS on a physical or virtual machine. - startergo/createinstalliso

github.com

Mavericks 10.9.4 Clean install on iMac 12.2 with SSD successful!

Hi Startergo,
First: I owe you an apology.
I did not scroll down your post far enough to find your detailed Mavericks install script! I hit Homebrew option and then went back up. Silly Me!

Having found it I made an attempt to run the script but it foundered on a missing file.

Experience
I acknowledge it is difficult for an expert code warrior to anticipate the blunderings of the ignorant such as I.

Initially I failed to install your code instructions a section at a time. Once I got the hang of that I stumbled repeatedly at step 6:
sudo unlink /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation/Packages
cp -Rpv /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/Packages /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation
diskutil rename OS\ X\ Base\ System Install\ Mavericks

I see tony359 hit the same problem using Dayo script. At one point I turned to your recommended

Repeatedly I received; no such file or directory. Base System could not be found. Eventually a couple of brain cells stirred into life and I intervened with Disk Utility. I linked .Base System file source to target Untitled USB restored and then ran your instruction:

cp -Rpv /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/Packages /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation
diskutil rename OS\ X\ Base\ System Install\ Mavericks
sudo bless --folder /Volumes/Install\ Mavericks/System/Library/CoreServices --label Install\ Mavericks

After completed, then;

cp /Volumes/Install\ Mavericks/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/InstallAssistant.icns /Volumes/Install\ Mavericks/.VolumeIcon.icns cd "$HOME rm -r ~/Mavericks

It worked! I now know the feeling of hitting the jackpot! Mavericks is now installed and working well.

Afterword:
Base System. I assume in running script there is a step I have overlooked such as dragging a file into Terminal to identify path. Advice on that question would help me in future.

o/s configuration. I started to configure Mavericks 10.9.4 with icloud. Once iCloud passwords were accepted Apple ‘Terms and Conditions’ became a hurdle. No box to tick my approval so progress blocked! I stepped back, considered importing settings from Lion, but decided I wanted a clean install and so sidestepped registering with iCloud or importing previous settings and simply iMac User Account. Perhaps a Combo update 10.9.5.will fix.

 

[startergo]

For maverick there is a special thread and a solution was provided:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/can-we-download-mavericks-directly-from-apples-servers.2444350/

Base image need to to be populated with all the packages not just the symlinks otherwise it will ask you for your credentials, but unless you ever downloaded Mavericks from MAS in the past you will not be able to install it. In other terms if you don’t have Mavericks in your apple account (visible from a Mavericks macOS itself logged to the account) you won’t be able to install it. Just follow the solution in the link to the thread provided above.

 

[Terraaustralis]

For maverick there is a special thread and a solution was provided:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/can-we-download-mavericks-directly-from-apples-servers.2444350/

Base image need to to be populated with all the packages not just the symlinks otherwise it will ask you for your credentials, but unless you ever downloaded Mavericks from MAS in the past you will not be able to install it. In other terms if you don’t have Mavericks in your apple account (visible from a Mavericks macOS itself logged to the account) you won’t be able to install it. Just follow the solution in the link to the thread provided above.

Hi Startergo,
I get the impressions your response does not address the issue I experienced. It is true I have never previously used Mavericks on the computer. However, I do not think symlinks or incomplete base system are involved. I understand the significance of your base installer explanation but that seems besides the point.

1. I did download Mavericks from curl mavericksforever.com/get.sh | sh which worked perfectly.

2. I did not need Python script as I was otherwise engaged using your very effective Mavericks: Special Case script.

3. Using that script, I continually hit a barrier after:

sudo unlink /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation/Packages
cp -Rpv /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/Packages /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation
diskutil rename OS\ X\ Base\ System Install\ Mavericks

which eventually returned: cp: Volumes/OS X Base System/System/Installation: No such file or directory

The base system file I used surely was complete. Were it incomplete, the installation would not have succeeded with Disk Utilty>Restore - source: Base\ System - Volume: Untitled.

My concern was that in using your script, it had failed because I had overlooked a step which needed to provide Terminal with a path to link Base\ System to Untitled (USB). Of three attempts with your script I got the same Base\ System path failure message. My intervention into your script manually with Disk Utility seems to perform the path discovery action.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I assumed your script was giving me credit for understanding more than I deserved. What do you think I overlooked to cause script to fail?

While I am up and running in Mavericks, it is no longer a big deal, but for the future, it would be nice to get my understanding of this detail straight.

Many Thanks.

 

[Terraaustralis]

Added to the first post, you can also download Mavericks by running this in a Terminal:

curl https://mavericks.wowfunhappy.workers.dev/ | sh

Mavericks will be downloaded from Apple's official OS recovery server.

Many Thanks!!!