How to Download Full macOS Installer from Terminal?

If you can't download a macOS installer from Software Update or the Mac App Store, Terminal is the best alternative. It allows you to download the full macOS installer directly from the server.

How to download macOS installer from Terminal?

Step 1: Check for available software

Downloading macOS installers from Terminal is straightforward, but you can't download any Mac OS version as you wish. That's why you should check the software available to your Mac model before downloading or installing any. To do this:

This will return something like: (Depending on your Mac, the available macOS version may be more or less.)

Note down the version number of the macOS you want to download, such as 10.13.6.

Step 2: Download macOS installers from Terminal

After ensuring that the intended installer is supported by your Mac and its version number, use the command syntax below to download the full installer:

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version number

Replace "number" with the one you get in Step 1, such as 10.13.6.

Once the installer is downloaded, you can find it in the Applications folder.

If you wish to download and install the macOS version from Terminal, check out our guide on updating Mac from Terminal.

To simplify the process, we'll list the exact command lines for downloading the latest version of each Mac operating system. Note that if the OS version is not supported, Terminal will return the error, "Install failed with error: Update not found."

Download macOS Sequoia 15 full installer from Terminal:

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 15.3.1

Download macOS Sonoma 14 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 14.7.4

Download macOS Ventura 13 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 13.7.4

Download macOS Monterey 12 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 12.7.4

Download macOS Big Sur 11 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 11.7.10

Download macOS Catalina 10.15 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.15.7

Download macOS Mojave 10.14 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.14.6

Download macOS High Sierra 10.13 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.13.6

Download macOS Sierra 10.12 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.12.6

Download OS X El Capitan 10.11 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.11.6

Download OS X Yosemite 10.10 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.10.5

Download OS X Mavericks 10.9  full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.9.5

Download OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.8.5

Download Mac OS X Lion 10.7 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.7.5

Download Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.6.8

Download Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.5.8

Download Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 full installer from Terminal

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.4.11

If you can't get the installer from Terminal, download the macOS DMG files instead.

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