Manually Download MacOS Sequoia

Apple’s macOS updates are typically seamless through the App Store, but sometimes, a bug can throw a wrench in the process. I recently encountered this firsthand when updating one of my Macs to macOS Sequoia. No matter what I did, the App Store refused to download the installer.

After some research, I found a workaround: manually downloading the installer and writing it to a USB stick. If you’ve ever been stuck in a similar situation, here’s how you can do it, too.

The Problem: App Store Download Issues

Updating macOS through the App Store should be straightforward—find the update, click download, and let the system handle the rest. However, some users (myself included) have encountered a strange issue where the macOS Sequoia installer refuses to download correctly.

Usually, when the App Store fails, you can use a bootable USB installer to upgrade your system. But what do you do if you can’t get the installer from the App Store in the first place?

The Solution: Manually Downloading macOS Sequoia

While looking for a solution, I came across this article by Wolf Paulus. It provided the key information I needed: using a script called gibMacOS to fetch the macOS installer manually.

gibMacOS is an open-source tool that allows you to download macOS installers directly from Apple’s servers. The best part? It can build a bootable USB installer for you.

Step-by-Step Guide to Manually Download macOS Sequoia

If you’re experiencing the same issue I did, follow these steps to download and install macOS Sequoia manually:

1. Download gibMacOS

First, you’ll need to grab the gibMacOS script from its GitHub repository:

🔗 gibMacOS on GitHub

To download it, open a terminal and run:

git clone https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS.git
cd gibMacOS

If you don’t have git installed, you can manually download the ZIP file from GitHub and extract it.

2. Run gibMacOS

On macOS, run:

./gibMacOS.command

This will open a menu where you can choose the version of macOS you want to download. Look for macOS Sequoia and select it.

3. Install The Instaler

Double-click the downloaded installer to create the MacOS installer in the /Applications directory.

4. Create a Bootable USB Drive

Now that you have the full installer, you must create a bootable USB drive. Insert a USB stick with at least 16GB of space and format it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using Disk Utility.

Then, run the following command (replace MyUSB with the actual name of your USB drive):

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sequoia.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyUSB

This will write the installer to the USB drive.

5. Install macOS Sequoia

Once the USB installer is ready:

Restart your Mac and hold Option (⌥) while booting.
Select the macOS Sequoia Installer from the boot menu.
Follow the on-screen instructions to install or upgrade macOS.

Final Thoughts

Dealing with unexpected issues updating macOS can be frustrating, especially when the App Store refuses to cooperate. However, as this experience showed me, there’s always a workaround. gibMacOS is a powerful tool that helps you manually download macOS installers and gives you complete control over the upgrade process.

Whether you’re troubleshooting a buggy system, creating a bootable installer for multiple Macs, or simply preferring to have a local copy of macOS on hand, this method ensures you’re never stuck waiting on the App Store. While it requires a few extra steps, the ability to bypass download issues, build a bootable USB, and install macOS on your terms makes it well worth the effort.

PS – I found a second script, but I haven’t tried it yet: https://github.com/munki/macadmin-scripts/blob/main/installinstallmacos.py

DrKeithJones.com