Device Support for macOS 26 / Mobile Device Support

Attempting to install macOS 26 Tahoe in UTM on a macOS 15 Sequoia host returned:

Error

A software update is required to complete the installation. Installation requires a software update.

In some cases, the following window would also appear:

A software update is required to install macOS in a virtual machine.

Would you like to download and install this update now?

Use of this software is subject to the original Software License Agreements) that accompanied the software being updated.

Learn More… | Not Now | Install

Clicking "Install" resulted in:

Installation failed

Can't install the software because it is not currently available from the Software Update server.

Preferred updating "Device Support for macOS 26"/"Mobile Device Support" to installing a new version of Xcode, but it was missing from developer.apple.com. Expected that it must be in the Xcode installer:

Downloaded Xcode_26_Release_Candidate_Apple_silicon.xip
Unpacked with unxip (2-3x faster than Archive Utility)
Searched for "Mobile*" under Xcode.app/Contents/ via Find Any File, unearthing MobileDevice.pkg in Xcode.app/Contents/Resources/Packages/
After running MobileDevice.pkg (13897894 bytes, SHA256: 305ddeb575c7f85e76f83c1fd5d20d0de34538bb9a61113db041fb4deab12363), Tahoe installation in UTM proceeded normally (searching online for MobileDevice.pkg confirmed it had worked for others as well)

❧ 2025-09-15

Reduce macOS menu bar icon spacing

Minimal spacing

defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain NSStatusItemSpacing -int 0 && defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain NSStatusItemSelectionPadding -int 0 && killall ControlCenter

Restore default spacing

defaults -currentHost delete -globalDomain NSStatusItemSpacing && defaults -currentHost delete -globalDomain NSStatusItemSelectionPadding && killall ControlCenter

Sources

Reduce menu bar icon spacing to fit more icons

Hidden preference to alter the menubar spacing

Third-party apps

Ice: "Powerful menu bar manager for macOS"
TighterMenubar: Allows "customizing menu bar item spacing and padding to create a more compact menu bar layout"
Menu Bar Spacing: "Customize the gap between menu bar items"

❧ 2025-09-08

Clean & eject external drives in macOS

There have been a host of macOS utilities over the years that remove macOS hidden system and metadata files from external drives in order to prevent compatibility issues on devices like MP3 players, car stereos, etc.:

CleanEject: "Remove unwanted hidden files on USB-sticks, cameras, GPSses and other devices"
Eject-for-Windows (GH): "Remove hidden files from removable storages"
CleanAndEject: "Will clean most of the OSX created dot files that pollute every removable drive you plug into your Mac"
CleanMyDrive: "Automatically clean hidden junk from external drives" (now bundled into CleanMyMac)
Hidden Cleaner: Removes macOS 'ghost' files from devices like MP3 players and USB drives before ejecting them, preventing playback errors and compatibility issues
HiM (Hidden Cleaner iMproved): "Cleans and ejects USB devices like MP3 players, USB sticks... (and also local folders)"
USBclean: "Quickly and easily remove pesky junk and ghost files from your external USB drives"
BlueHarvest: "Removes .DS_Store and ._ AppleDouble files from your USB keys, SD cards, music players, file servers or any non Mac disk"
Hidden File Cleaner: "Ensures annoying hidden files don't clutter your drives"

Bash

The developer of CleanEject kindly posted a Bash script that does the job admirably (tested in macOS Sequoia):

#!/bin/bash
if [ -d "$1/.Spotlight-V100" ]; then
   dot_clean -m "$1"
   find "$1" -name .DS_Store -o -name .apdisk -delete
   rm -rf "$1/.Trashes"
   rm -rf "$1/.Spotlight-V100"
   rm -rf "$1/.fseventsd"
   rm -rf "$1/.TemporaryItems"
   hdiutil unmount "$1"
fi

Here's a slightly modified version that does not require .Spotlight-V100 to be present, fixes .DS_Store deletion, and uses a safer eject method:

#!/bin/bash
if [ -d "$1" ]; then
  dot_clean -m "$1"
  find "$1" \( -name .DS_Store -o -name .apdisk \) -type f -delete
  rm -rf "$1"/{.Trashes,.Spotlight-V100,.fseventsd,.TemporaryItems}
  diskutil eject "$1"
fi

AppleScript

The modified version wrapped in AppleScript for a simple GUI volume chooser (assuming the user can be trusted not to select Macintosh HD, Time Machine volumes, etc.):

set selectedVolume to choose folder with prompt "Select drive to clean and eject:" default location (POSIX file "/Volumes")
set volumePath to POSIX path of selectedVolume
do shell script "
if [ -d '" & volumePath & "' ]; then
  dot_clean -m '" & volumePath & "'
  find '" & volumePath & "' \\( -name .DS_Store -o -name .apdisk \\) -type f -delete
  rm -rf '" & volumePath & "'/{.Trashes,.Spotlight-V100,.fseventsd,.TemporaryItems}
  diskutil eject '" & volumePath & "'
fi"

To reduce the risk of mishap, this final attempt ("One more coruscation, my dear Watson—yet another brain-wave!") processes only FAT and exFAT-formatted volumes:

set selectedVolume to choose folder with prompt "Select drive to clean and eject:" default location (POSIX file "/Volumes")
set volumePath to POSIX path of selectedVolume

-- Only allow FAT family and exFAT
set fsType to do shell script "diskutil info -plist " & quoted form of volumePath & " | plutil -extract FilesystemType raw -"

if fsType is not in {"msdos", "exfat", "fat16", "fat32"} then
    display alert "Unsupported Volume" message "Only FAT16, FAT32 and exFAT volumes are supported for safety" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
    return
end if

-- Clean the volume
do shell script "
dot_clean -m " & quoted form of volumePath & " 2>/dev/null || true
find " & quoted form of volumePath & " \\( -name .DS_Store -o -name .apdisk \\) -type f -delete 2>/dev/null || true
rm -rf " & quoted form of volumePath & "/.Trashes " & quoted form of volumePath & "/.Spotlight-V100 " & quoted form of volumePath & "/.fseventsd " & quoted form of volumePath & "/.TemporaryItems 2>/dev/null || true
"

-- Eject
try
    do shell script "diskutil eject " & quoted form of volumePath
on error
    display alert "Eject Failed" message "Cleaning completed but eject failed" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
end try

Save either AppleScript script in Script Editor via File → Export... → File Format: Application → Code sign: Sign to Run Locally, then grant Accessibility and Full Disk Access permissions in System Settings/Privacy & Security.
Using File → Save... → File Format: Application instead or not granting the necessary permissions will prevent the app from removing .Trashes and .Spotlight-V100.
Script Editor sometimes failed to generate Contents/_CodeSignature/CodeResources inside the exported app, preventing proper handling of .Trashes and .Spotlight-V100. Toggling Code Sign: to Don't Code Sign then back to Sign to Run Locally before saving resolved the issue.
TCC permissions occasionally failed despite valid entitlements and pre-approved access, blocking deletion of .Trashes and .Spotlight-V100; renaming the exported app and re-granting permissions resolved the issue.

❧ 2025-09-01

Dark mode for macOS Script Editor

is still virtually absent as of Sequoia (UPDATE: fixed in Tahoe!):

Script Editor's "dark mode" in Sequoia

Happily, Late Night Software has released its legendary Script Debugger free of charge with full dark mode support (Settings → Themes → Active Theme → Default Dark) and a deep feature set:

Script Debugger 8

Sadly, after 30 years, development has ended. Big thanks to Mark and Shane for crafting and sharing such an exceptional tool.

❧ 2025-08-23

Export Safari tabs to PDF, URL list, or Markdown links via AppleScript

Safari tabs to PDF

-- Set the destination folder for PDFs (Desktop)
set destinationFolder to (path to desktop folder as string)

-- Get all Safari tabs
tell application "Safari"
    activate
    set allWindows to every window
    set tabCounter to 0
    
    -- Loop through all windows
    repeat with aWindow in allWindows
        set allTabs to every tab of aWindow
        
        -- Loop through all tabs in each window
        repeat with aTab in allTabs
            set tabCounter to tabCounter + 1
            set tabURL to URL of aTab
            set tabTitle to name of aTab
            
            -- Clean the title for use as filename
            set cleanTitle to my cleanFilename(tabTitle)
            
            -- Create unique filename with counter
            set pdfFileName to (tabCounter as string) & "_" & cleanTitle & ".pdf"
            set pdfFilePath to POSIX path of (destinationFolder & pdfFileName)
            
            -- Switch to the tab
            tell aWindow to set current tab to aTab
            delay 0.5
            
            -- Use System Events to handle the save dialog
            tell application "System Events"
                tell process "Safari"
                    -- Open Export as PDF dialog
                    click menu item "Export as PDF…" of menu "File" of menu bar 1
                    delay 1
                    
                    -- Wait for save dialog to appear
                    repeat until exists sheet 1 of window 1
                        delay 0.1
                    end repeat
                    
                    -- Clear existing filename and enter new one
                    set value of text field 1 of sheet 1 of window 1 to pdfFileName
                    delay 0.5
                    
                    -- Navigate to Desktop using keyboard shortcut
                    keystroke "d" using {command down, shift down}
                    delay 0.5
                    
                    -- Save the file
                    click button "Save" of sheet 1 of window 1
                    
                    -- Wait for save to complete
                    repeat while exists sheet 1 of window 1
                        delay 0.1
                    end repeat
                    delay 0.5
                end tell
            end tell
        end repeat
    end repeat
    
    display dialog "Saved " & tabCounter & " tabs as PDFs to Desktop" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
end tell

-- Function to clean filename by removing illegal characters
on cleanFilename(originalName)
    set illegalChars to {":", "/", "\\", "|", "*", "?", "\"", "<", ">", "[", "]", "{", "}"}
    set cleanName to originalName
    
    repeat with illegalChar in illegalChars
        set AppleScript's text item delimiters to illegalChar
        set textItems to text items of cleanName
        set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "_"
        set cleanName to textItems as string
    end repeat
    
    -- Remove leading/trailing spaces and dots
    set cleanName to my trimText(cleanName)
    
    -- Limit filename length (leaving room for counter and extension)
    if length of cleanName > 200 then
        set cleanName to text 1 thru 200 of cleanName
    end if
    
    -- Ensure filename isn't empty
    if cleanName is "" then set cleanName to "Untitled"
    
    return cleanName
end cleanFilename

-- Helper function to trim text
on trimText(someText)
    set theChars to {" ", ".", tab}
    repeat while first character of someText is in theChars
        if length of someText is 1 then
            return "Untitled"
        else
            set someText to text 2 thru -1 of someText
        end if
    end repeat
    
    repeat while last character of someText is in theChars
        if length of someText is 1 then
            return "Untitled"
        else
            set someText to text 1 thru -2 of someText
        end if
    end repeat
    
    return someText
end trimText

Safari tabs to URL list

set urlList to ""

tell application "Safari"
    repeat with w in windows
        repeat with t in tabs of w
            set urlList to urlList & (URL of t) & linefeed
        end repeat
    end repeat
end tell

-- Save to Desktop
set filePath to (path to desktop as text) & "Safari_URLs.txt"
do shell script "echo " & quoted form of urlList & " > " & quoted form of POSIX path of filePath

display notification "URLs saved to Desktop" with title "Safari URL Export"

Safari tabs to Markdown links

set urlList to "# Safari Tabs - " & (current date) & linefeed & linefeed

tell application "Safari"
    repeat with w in windows
        repeat with t in tabs of w
            set urlList to urlList & "- [" & (name of t) & "](" & (URL of t) & ")" & linefeed
        end repeat
    end repeat
end tell

-- Save as markdown file
set filePath to (path to desktop as text) & "Safari_URLs.md"
do shell script "echo " & quoted form of urlList & " > " & quoted form of POSIX path of filePath

display notification "Markdown links saved to Desktop" with title "Safari URL Export"

❧ 2025-08-18

Access classic Windows options that Microsoft buried

This collection catalogs useful legacy components in Windows 11 Pro 24H2 that are hidden (e.g., the classic background chooser), moved (e.g., Folder Options in File Explorer), or hijacked (e.g., Control Panel entries like "Devices and Printers" that redirect to Settings).

Quickly launchable items (e.g., Device Manager via Start search) are excluded. Components on the Start menu are also omitted, though many behave inconsistently depending on launch method (e.g., Administrative Tools ignores dark mode when opened from its Start shortcut (corresponding to control /name Microsoft.AdministrativeTools) but partially honors it when opened via shell:::{D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153}), illustrating Windows 11's fragmented UI.

The list spans Control Panel applets, MMC snap-ins, executables, shell commands, and control commands:

Desktop background chooser

shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper

Desktop background chooser

Devices and Printers

control /name Microsoft.Printers
shell:::{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}

Devices and Printers

File Explorer Options

control folders
shell:::{6DFD7C5C-2451-11D3-A299-00C04F8EF6AF}

File Explorer Options

Local Users and Groups

lusrmgr.msc

Local Users and Groups

Network Connections

ncpa.cpl
control netconnections
shell:ConnectionsFolder
shell:::{7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E}

Network Connections

Notification area icons

shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}

Notification area icons

Print Management

printmanagement.msc

Print Management

System Properties

sysdm.cpl
- SystemPropertiesComputerName.exe
- SystemPropertiesHardware.exe
- SystemPropertiesAdvanced.exe
- SystemPropertiesProtection.exe
- SystemPropertiesRemote.exe

System Properties

Theme selector

shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921}

Theme selector

User Accounts

netplwiz
control userpasswords2
shell:::{7A9D77BD-5403-11d2-8785-2E0420524153}

User Accounts

Note

In a few cases, prepending explorer to shell: commands or appending .exe to control in the Run menu was required.

Sources / Related

❧ 2025-08-18

Windows 11 black screen after upgrade to 24H2 in UTM

Missed the warnings on MAS:

v4.6.5 reverted a change from v4.6.4 due to reports of crashes and kernel panics on some machines. As a result, there will be issues when upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 where the screen will go black. An alternative fix is provided as a driver update. Please update the Windows driver from the CD icon -> Install Windows Guest Tools before updating Windows.

and GitHub:

v4.6.5 reverted a change from v4.6.4 due to reports of crashes and kernel panics on some machines. As a result, there will be issues when upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 where the screen will go black. An alternative fix with an updated driver will be provided as soon as possible, but for now if you plan to upgrade to Windows 11 24H2, it is recommended you do it from v4.6.4 before updating UTM.

Startup sound confirmed the VM was running. Used Alt+F4 then Enter to shut down gracefully (auto-login had been enabled previously).

In Display → Emulated Display Card, switched from virtio-ramfb to virtio-gpu-gl-pci (GPU Supported) as documented by chadlwilson (aidangoettsch adds that installer and SPICE ISOs must be ejected also).

Display returned, but keyboard and mouse required manually capturing input via the top-right Capture input devices icon (Cmd+Opt to release).

Downloaded and installed the latest Windows Guest Tools https://getutm.app/downloads/utm-guest-tools-latest.iso, which hung near completion; after a forced VM restart, input and display worked normally.

❧ 2025-08-18

Windows 11 desktop background slideshow interval

Windows 11’s default background slideshow (Settings → Personalization → Background → Slideshow) exposes only six rotation frequencies:

1 minute
10 minutes
30 minutes
1 hour
6 hours
1 day

while the legacy background chooser, still accessible via shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper, offers 16:

10 seconds
30 seconds
1 minute
3 minutes
5 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
20 minutes
30 minutes
1 hour
2 hours
3 hours
4 hours
6 hours
12 hours
1 day

Even finer control may be possible in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Personalization\Desktop Slideshow, though intervals <20s are reportedly unreliable.

❧ 2025-08-16

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Minimal spacing

Restore default spacing

Sources

Third-party apps

Bash

AppleScript

Related

Safari tabs to PDF

Safari tabs to URL list

Safari tabs to Markdown links

Desktop background chooser

Devices and Printers

File Explorer Options

Local Users and Groups

Network Connections

Notification area icons

Print Management

System Properties

Theme selector

User Accounts

Note

Sources / Related