How to Download and Create macOS Ventura ISO File for Virtual Machines?

Summary: Experiencing macOS 13 on other computer operating systems is possible as long as you have a macOS ISO file at hand. This article from iBoysoft expounds on how to download and create macOS ISO files in detail.

Taking the place of macOS Monterey, macOS Ventura comes to the public in October 2022. As a significant OS upgrade, macOS 13 welcomes lots of new features and features, including Apple Freeform, Stage Manager for Mac, an enhanced Live Text that allows you to copy text from a video on Mac, and so on.

You can clean install macOS Ventura on your Mac or you can install macOS 13 on VirtualBox to test it on other operating systems with a Ventura ISO file. However, if you have no access to a macOS Ventura ISO file at hand, you have to create one on your own.

Be ease, this article offers you instructions on how to download and create a macOS Ventura ISO file.

What is an ISO file?

Before we head to download an ISO file, let's figure out what is an ISO file first. ISO file, also known as ISO image, is a disk image that contains everything that would be written to an optical disc, disk sector by disc sector, including the optical disc file system.

ISO images can be created from an optical disc by disk imaging software, from a collection of files by optical disc authoring software, or from a different disk image file using conversion. Software distributed on bootable discs is often available for download in ISO image format. ISO image can be written to an optical disc such as CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray.

ISO files aim to create backups for the optical disc, while ISO files nowadays are used primarily for installer images such as operating systems. The macOS Ventura ISO file is a disk image that contains all the files and folders indispensable in the macOS 13 installation. With it, you can run macOS Ventura on VirtualBox and VMWare more efficiently and sleekly.

If you have a good understanding of the ISO file now, why not share its definition for more people's reference?

How to download the macOS Ventura ISO file for virtual machines?

Suppose you don't have a Mac compatible with macOS Ventura, you can download the macOS Ventura ISO file here directly:

Free Download macOS Ventura ISO file

With this ISO file, you can run macOS Ventura on virtual software like VirtualBox, VMware, Parallel Desktop, etc. fluently!

Many thanks if you'd like to share this link with more people!

How to download/create the macOS Ventura ISO file for Virtual Machines?

Since we have known the ISO file comprehensively, let's download and create the macOS Ventura ISO file for VirtualBox and VMWare now. The guideline contains a slew of command lines and steps, please be patient and careful enough to perform this tough yet challenging task.

Step 1: Download the macOS Ventura installer

There are kinds of channels for you to download the macOS Ventura file, but the easiest one is via the App Store on your Mac.

Prepare at least 12GB of free space on your Mac computer. If there is not enough free space or the Mac disk is full, you can free up space on Macintosh HD for the macOS Ventura file download.
Head to the App Store via the Spotlight Search shortcut.
Search for macOS Ventura in the App Store and find all available downloads there.
Click Get next to the macOS Ventura that you want to download and it will appear under the Software Update section.
When the download ends, navigate to the Applications folder on your Mac to check the macOS Ventura there.

Step 2: Create the macOS Ventura ISO file with Terminal

In this section, you will learn how to create the macOS Ventura ISO file on Mac using command lines. All you have to do is copy and paste these command lines into the Terminal window.

1. Prepare an empty ISO disk image in Terminal (Download macOS Ventura DMG)

You can execute this command line to make room for the macOS Ventura installer you've downloaded. Just copy it here and paste it into Terminal, then hit the Return key to begin.sudo hdiutil create -o /tmp/Ventura -size 14000m -volname Venturaiso -layout SPUD -fs HFS+J

tmp: the place where stores the empty disk image.
Size: the size of the volume that needs to run macOS Ventura, which should range from 14GB to 19 GB.
Volume name: Venturaiso is the name of the volume. You're recommended to leave it unchanged to avoid any unknown errors.
Layout SPUD: it refers to the Single Partition, Apple Partition Map.
-fs HFS+: it means the file system option.

You can now see the Venturaiso volume on your desktop or Disk Utility and a Ventura-cdr image in the Macintosh HD/private/tmp folder.

2. Mount the macOS Ventura empty disk image you've created

Go to the Macintosh HD/private/tmp folder on your machine to mount the empty disk image you've created.

Alternatively, you can run certain command lines to mount the empty macOS Ventura disk image:sudo hdiutil attach /tmp/Ventura.dmg -noverify -mountpoint /Volumes/Ventura

3. Create the macOS Ventura installer application on the mounted disk image

Type sudo in the Terminal home window.sudo
Open the Applications folder and control-click the macOS Ventura option.
Choose Show Package Contents in the dropdown menu.
Head to the Contents directory and switch to the Resources tab.
Find Create Install Media, select it, and then drag it to the Terminal window.
Then, the command line in the Terminal window should be like this:sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Ventura.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
Next, you should add the empty volume you created to Terminal. All you need to do is type in -volume and then drag the mounted disk from the desktop to the Terminal. The final command line should be like this: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Ventura.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/Venturaiso –nointeraction

4. Unmount the macOS Ventura installer

Once the installer is created, you have to eject or unmount the disc from your Mac desktop. You can eject it by right-clicking the file on your desktop and selecting Eject.

5. Convert the macOS Ventura.dmg file to the macOS Ventura.cdr file

Provided that we have a macOS Ventura bootable DMG file, we are almost finishing our macOS 13 ISO file creation work. Type the command line below to convert the macOS Ventura.dmg file into a .cdr file first.

hdiutil convert /tmp/Ventura.dmg -format UDTO -o ~/Desktop/Ventura

6. Convert the macOS Ventura.cdr file to an ISO file

The following command line converts macOS Ventura.cdr to an ISO file and then moves the macOS Ventura.iso file from the temporary location to your desktop.

mv -v ~/Desktop/Ventura.cdr ~/Desktop/Ventura.iso

Now, you have a macOS Ventura.iso file and you can experience macOS 13 on other operating systems with certain Virtual Machines, for example, VirtualBox, VMWare, and Parallels Desktop.

・How to Install macOS Ventura on VMware on Windows PC? (Step-by-Step)

Final words

The simplest way to enjoy macOS Ventura on non-MacOS is to install it via ISO image. But if you have no access to an ISO image of macOS Ventura, you can create your own one.

This article will walk you through the process of downloading/creating a macOS Ventura ISO file, and we hope it will be useful to you.

For more information about macOS Ventura, please read the following articles: