Discover how to effortlessly create a bootable USB installation drive for macOS 26 Tahoe with this comprehensive guide. Whether you\’re performing a clean installation, upgrading, or troubleshooting your Mac, having a bootable installer is an invaluable tool.

Video Tutorial

For those who prefer a visual walkthrough, a detailed video guide is available on YouTube:

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• A Mac running macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer (e.g., macOS 15).
• A USB flash drive with at least 32GB of storage.

Important: All data on the USB drive will be erased during this process. Back up any crucial files on the drive before proceeding.

Obtaining the macOS 26 Tahoe Installer

Unlike some earlier macOS releases, the full macOS 26 Tahoe installer required for creating a bootable USB drive isn\’t found in the App Store. Instead, you\’ll download it using the Terminal application.

Opening Terminal

There are two primary ways to open Terminal:

1. Spotlight Search: Press Command + Space to open Spotlight, type “terminal,” and select the Terminal application (it looks like a black box with a command prompt).
2. Finder: Navigate to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

Identifying the Latest Version of macOS Tahoe

Before downloading, it\’s good practice to identify the most current version of macOS Tahoe. You can do this by:

1. Using Terminal: Execute the following command in Terminal to list available full macOS installers:

   softwareupdate --list-full-installers

   The output will display the latest available version at the top. For instance, at the time of writing, it might show 26.1.

   

Downloading the macOS 26.1 Installer

With the version confirmed, download the installer using the command below. Adjust 26.1 to the latest version number if a newer one is available:

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 26.1

The download process will take some time to complete.

Creating the Bootable macOS 26 Tahoe USB Drive

With the macOS Tahoe installer now downloaded and visible in your Applications folder, it\’s time to create the bootable USB drive.

Preparing Your USB Drive

1. Connect the USB Drive: Plug your USB flash drive into your Mac.
2. Rename (Optional, but Recommended): For simplicity, consider renaming your USB drive to a single word without spaces (e.g., TahoeUSB). This makes the next command easier to type.
3. Final Data Backup: As a critical reminder, ensure you have backed up any essential data from the USB drive. It will be completely erased.

Executing the createinstallmedia Command

Once your USB drive is ready, open Terminal again and execute the following command. Remember to replace usbstick with the actual name of your USB drive:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Tahoe.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/usbstick

You will be prompted to enter your administrator password. Type it in and press Enter. (Note: Your password will not be displayed as you type).

The system will then ask for confirmation to erase the USB drive. Type y and press Enter to proceed.

During the process, your USB drive might temporarily disappear from Finder and then reappear, renamed as Install macOS Tahoe. This is normal behavior.

The Terminal will display progress updates. Once the process is complete, you will see a message similar to the image below:

Congratulations! Your macOS 26 Tahoe bootable USB installation drive is now ready. You can use it to install, reinstall, or upgrade macOS 26 Tahoe on any compatible Mac.

We hope this guide was helpful. Happy installing!