macUSB is a one-click tool that transforms your modern Mac (Apple Silicon) into a service machine capable of reviving older Apple computers.

With Apple's transition to its own silicon (M1, M2, M3...), preparing installation media for older Intel- and PowerPC-based computers has become a challenge. Many people encounter Terminal errors, issues with expired certificates in old installers, or simply a lack of compatibility with system tools.

macUSB solves this problem.

The application automates the entire process of creating a bootable USB drive. You don't need to search for commands online, worry about disk formatting, or manually fix validation errors in old installation files.

• Legacy Support: The ability to create installers for systems over a decade old (e.g., OS X Lion) directly on the latest Mac on Apple Silicon.

• Time Saving: The app detects the system version in the .dmg, .iso, .cdr or .app file, formats the drive, and copies files automatically.

• Auto Fixes: For certain systems (e.g., High Sierra/Mojave), the app automatically applies necessary fixes so the installer works despite expired Apple certificates.

• PowerPC Revival: The app formats USB drives to the Apple Partition Map (APM) scheme required by PowerPC Macs and transfers the installer directly from .iso, .cdr or .dmg files. This allows for installation without the need for physical CDs/DVDs or FireWire drives.

  📖 Guide: Step-by-step: Booting from USB on PowerPC Macs using Open Firmware

Fun Fact: The application was created using the "Vibe Coding" method in collaboration with the Gemini 3 Pro and GPT-5 AI models. The project proves that programming barriers (even cross-architectural ones) can be overcome with determination and AI support.

The application is an open-source project and does not possess a paid Apple Developer signature, so Gatekeeper will block it by default.

How to run the app for the first time:

1. Try to open the app - you will see an "Unknown Developer" message.
2. Go to System Settings -> Privacy & Security.
3. Scroll down to the Security section and click the "Open Anyway" button next to macUSB.
4. When writing the system to the flash drive, a system prompt asking for access to removable volumes will appear. You must Allow this so the application can format and write the system to the USB.

• Processor: Both Apple Silicon and Intel are supported.
• System: macOS Sonoma 14.6 or newer.
• Storage: Minimum of 15 GB of free disk space is required to create the installers.

• Capacity: A minimum of 16 GB is required.
• Speed: USB 3.0 or newer is highly recommended for faster installation times.
• External Drives (HDD/SSD): By default, only USB flash drives are detected for safety. To use external disks, enable Options → Enable external drives support.

The program supports .dmg, .cdr and .iso disk images, as well as raw .app installer files.

Pro Tip: Where to get valid files?

• OS X 10.7 - 10.8 and 10.10 – macOS 26: The most convenient solution is downloading via the free app Mist.
• OS X 10.9: The recommended source is Mavericks Forever (macUSB support was developed based on the image from this site).
• Mac OS X 10.4 – 10.6 (Intel): Disk images are available on the Internet Archive.
• Mac OS X 10.4 – 10.5 (PowerPC): Images for PPC architecture can be found on Macintosh Garden.

The table lists systems supported by the application that are successfully recognized and written to a USB drive.

The application interface automatically adapts to the system language:

• 🇵🇱 Polish (PL)
• 🇺🇸 English (EN)
• 🇩🇪 German (DE)
• 🇯🇵 Japanese (JA)
• 🇫🇷 French (FR)
• 🇪🇸 Spanish (ES)
• 🇧🇷 Portuguese (PT-BR)
• 🇨🇳 Simplified Chinese (ZH-Hans)
• 🇷🇺 Russian (RU)

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

This means you are free to use, copy, modify, and distribute this code, provided you keep the author information. The software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind.

Copyright © 2025-2026 Krystian Pierz

Note: The application interface and this README file were translated using Gemini 3 Pro. Please excuse any potential translation errors.