How to Create a Bootable USB Drive on Mac

Create a bootable USB drive on macOS using Terminal, Disk Utility, or third-party tools. Step-by-step guide for macOS installation and recovery.

1. Download the macOS installer. Open the Mac App Store and search for the macOS version you want to install. Click Get to download the installer. The installer will appear in your Applications folder when the download completes. Do not run the installer yet.
2. Insert and format your USB drive. Connect a USB drive with at least 16GB of storage. Open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities. Select your USB drive from the sidebar, click Erase, then choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format and GUID Partition Map as the scheme. Name it something memorable like "MyUSB" and click Erase.
3. Open Terminal. Press Command+Space to open Spotlight search, type "Terminal" and press Enter. Alternatively, navigate to Applications > Utilities > Terminal. Keep Terminal open for the next steps.
4. Run the createinstallmedia command. Type the createinstallmedia command specific to your macOS version. For macOS Sonoma, use: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyUSB. Replace "MyUSB" with your USB drive name if different. Press Enter and type your admin password when prompted.
5. Confirm the operation. Terminal will display a warning that the process will erase your USB drive. Type "Y" and press Enter to confirm. The process takes 20-45 minutes depending on your USB drive speed. Terminal will show progress updates throughout the process.
6. Verify the bootable USB. When Terminal displays "Done" the bootable USB is ready. Eject the drive safely by dragging it to the Trash or using Command+E. The USB drive will now appear as "Install macOS [Version]" when connected to any Mac.