Download Full Installer is a macOS application written in SwiftUI that downloads PKG installers or IPSW firmwares for the Install macOS Big Sur application and newer. Runs on macOS 15 Sequoia and later.
Versions:
- If you prefer the version built with Swift 5, that runs on macOS 13 or later, get the source code from the
swift5branch or the version 4.x.x from the releases page - There is a version 2.5.5, built with Swift 5, that runs on macOS Big Sur or later, you can get the source code or the notarized app from the releases page.
The main window is now a wide, two-pane library with soft gradients and translucent surfaces. Choose Installers or Firmwares and a software update catalog on the left, then select a macOS release to see its available versions, build numbers, dates, sizes, and download actions on the right. The detail pane starts empty until you select a release.
Legacy installers are in a section at the end of the installer list, collapsed by default. Use the chevron in its header to expand or collapse it. All downloads share the queue at the bottom right, with up to three simultaneous transfers, individual Cancel buttons, and Show in Finder actions. Changing the selected release or content type does not hide or interrupt downloads. Firmware comes from a separate feed, so the catalog picker is disabled in firmware mode.
As of June 2025, DownloadFullInstaller stopped its development. For over three years, my repository was a fork of the original. However, after the original was archived, I created a new repo as standalone (not forked) version.
This repo exists to keep "Download Full Installer" alive and growing. Picking up where the original left off, merging community PRs and adding new features. I'll keep this project active and up to date as long as it is useful to other users. Full credit for the original idea and architecture goes to scriptingosx.
- Target and requirements
- Minimum macOS 15 Sequoia (up to macOS Golden Gate)
- Swift 6
- Xcode 26
- Main UI
- Persistent release list and detail pane for installers and Apple Silicon IPSW firmware
- Soft gradients, translucent cards, and matching Settings and Language sheets
- Preferences
- Preferences for choosing catalog are no longer a separate dialog but are now at the top of the main window
- All available releases are listed; select a release to view all its available downloads
- System sleep
- Add sleep prevention logic to avoid sleeping while the application is running
- Downloads
- Add download resume functionality that automatically handles network interruptions
- Add progress bar overlaying to the application's dock tile icon during PKG downloads
- Add support for up to 3 simultaneous downloads
- Add customizable download folder selection
- Clean up incomplete downloads on app quit
- Languages
- Add language selection system
- Update translations
- Legacy macOS
- Add legacy macOS installer support (10.7-10.12); read this
- Updater
- Add Sparkle updater system (Swift Package Manager) to check for new releases
- Security
- App is sandboxed
- App is notarized by Apple.
Expand the Legacy macOS Installers section using its header chevron to reveal the five available legacy macOS releases below the current releases in the left-hand installer list. Select one to download its disk image using the shared download queue. Open the downloaded DMG in Finder and run its package to create the installer app. Legacy downloads are independent of the selected software update catalog.
After downloading an InstallAssistant.pkg file, you can create the macOS installer application (e.g., "Install macOS Sequoia.app") directly from within Download Full Installer:
- Download the PKG using the download button (↓)
- Click the "Create Installer App" button next to the download button
- The PKG file will open with the standard macOS installer
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation
- The macOS installer app will be created in the
/Applicationsfolder.
Download Full Installer -> Settings menu (⌘ ,) opens a window where you can select a different folder to download installers. Default is ~/Downloads. Visual indicators (green marks) of downloaded installers are updated to match those in the selected folder.
Language selector can be opened from the menubar (Languages > Select Language) or by keyboard shortcut (⌘ + L).
Incomplete downloads may accumulate in the sandboxed temp directory
~/Library/Containers/perez987.DownloadFullInstaller/Data/tmp
consuming disk space indefinitely. The cleanup safely removes regular files (not directories) from NSTemporaryDirectory(), which resolves to the sandboxed temp path. Individual file deletion failures don't halt the overall cleanup process.
(by scriptingosx)
This is a Swift UI implementation of the scriptingosx's fetch-installer-pkg script. It will list the full macOS Big Sur (and later) installer pkgs available for download in Apple's software update catalogs. You can then choose to download one of them.
You may want to download the installer pkg instead of the installer application directly, because you want to re-deploy the installer application with a management system, such as Jamf.
Since the Big Sur macOS installer application contains a single file larger than 8GB, normal packaging tools will fail. I have described the problem and some solutions in detail in this blog post.
- Copy the download URL for a given installer pkg from the context menu.
- Change the seed program in the Preferences dropdown menu.
- Create the installer app directly from the downloaded PKG without leaving the application.
No. Apple only provides installer PKGs for Big Sur and later. Earlier versions of the Big Sur installer are removed regularly.
No.
As far as I can tell, this downloads the same pkg as softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer and installinstallmacOS.py.
The difference is that the other tools then immediately perform the installation so that you get the installer application in the /Applications folder. This tool just downloads the pkg, so you can use it in your management system, archive the installer pkg, or manually run the installation.
- Both fetch-installer-pkg and this application are based on Greg Neagle's installinstallmacos.py script.
- Thanks to matxpa: fixes and improvements in version 2.0.