# LongQT-sea/macos-iso-builder

Generate bootable macOS installer ISO or DMG images directly from Apple servers via GitHub Actions - no Mac required. Mac OS X 10.7 - macOS 26 Tahoe

Repository: https://github.com/LongQT-sea/macos-iso-builder
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/macos-iso-builder
Language: Shell
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: macos-installer, macos-iso, macos-virtual-machine, macos-vm, proxmox-ve, macos-dmg, vmware, hackintosh
Last push: 2026-08-26T19:41:22+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 83/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 99, longevity 21
- inputs: {"age_days": 307, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 7, "gap_med": 1, "n_releases_24m": 14}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2200, forks 5302 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:25.478064+00:00)

## What it is
A shell script (mkmaciso) plus GitHub Actions workflows that download macOS installers directly from Apple's servers and build bootable ISO or DMG images without needing a Mac. It supports macOS versions from OS X Lion (10.7) through macOS Tahoe (26).

## Use cases
- create a bootable macOS installer ISO for Proxmox or QEMU without owning a Mac
- build a macOS DMG to flash to USB with Rufus for installing macOS
- generate macOS installer images via GitHub Actions on hosted Mac runners
- make a recovery ISO for a macOS virtual machine in VMware or Hyper-V
- download the full macOS offline installer from Apple's servers on Linux or Windows
- convert a macOS DMG to VHD or VMDK for virtual machine use

## When to choose
- you need macOS installation media but don't have access to a Mac
- you want to set up a macOS VM in Proxmox, QEMU, VMware, or Hyper-V
- you need offline installers or recovery images for a wide range of macOS versions
- you want to create bootable USB media for installing macOS on real hardware

## When to avoid
- you need to build Hackintosh systems rather than just installer images
- you want a fully offline tool that doesn't rely on Apple's servers or GitHub Actions
- you need to modify or customize the macOS installer contents beyond standard images

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, workflow-automation, file-system
- domain: apple-ecosystem, developer-tools
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: macos-installer, iso-builder, dmg, github-actions, virtualization, bootable-media, proxmox, vmware, qemu, hackintosh, command-line, macos

## Member repositories
- LongQT-sea/macos-iso-builder (main) score 83

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:25.478064+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:47:04.613537+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/LongQT-sea/macos-iso-builder (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:25.478064+00:00, sha 318e8c3b4557)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.