Make an ISO disk image in macOS Catalina

How to create an ISO disk image from a CD/DVD or a folder (in macOS Catalina)

Launch Terminal.app from Utilities
(CMD+U in Finder)
Use the following command to create a new ISO image file MyNewISOdisk.iso from the /path/of/source/folder-or-volume

% hdiutil makehybrid -iso -joliet -o ./MyNewISOdisk.iso /path/of/source/folder-or-volume

Remark regarding the -joliet-option:
this is only required to make the ISO file fully compatible with Windows and other Operating Systems.

In pre-Catalina era, there was the dd command in the macOS / OS X Terminal.app to create an ISO disk image.

Check out my 2013 blog post «OS X: create an ISO disk image» for the instructions!

4 thoughts on “Make an ISO disk image in macOS Catalina”

Is the terminal the only way to do it? can disk utility make iso without terminal?

Oliver says:

30. August 2020 at 09:01

According to this Apple support document you can use Disk Utility, the image type is called „Hybrid image“: https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/create-a-disk-image-dskutl11888/mac
I have not tested though if such an image is mountable and readable under Windows OS.

Hybrid image (HFS+/ISO/UDF): This disk image is a combination of disk image formats and can be used with different file system standards, such as HFS, ISO, and UDF.

Reply
BETHY says:

12. March 2021 at 19:36

Thats what I’m trying to figure out! Did you ever figure it out?

Reply
1. Oliver says:
  
  27. October 2021 at 23:12
  
  @Tomas & @Bethy I looked into this again and it does work using the Disk Utility «Hybrid Image», only needs a little twist on Windows to get the ISO to mount:
  
  How to use Disk Utility on Mac to create a working ISO image for Windows