hfsutils ☆

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Description:
Tools for reading and writing Macintosh volumes

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 3.2.6@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 25, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: System utilities

Tags: hfs macos legacy filesystem utilities

Install: brew install hfsutils

About:
hfsutils is a suite of command-line utilities for accessing HFS (Hierarchical File System) volumes, the native filesystem used by classic Mac OS. It allows users to mount, read, and write Macintosh disk images and volumes directly on Unix-like systems without requiring an emulator. This provides a direct and scriptable bridge for exchanging data between modern computing environments and legacy Apple hardware or disk archives.

Key Features:

Provides command-line tools like hmount, hcopy, and hls for HFS interaction
Native support on Unix-like systems without emulation layers
Scriptable interface for automating file transfers and volume management
Supports both reading from and writing to HFS volumes

Use Cases:

Accessing and extracting files from legacy Mac OS disk images on Linux
Transferring files between modern systems and vintage Apple hardware
Automating data migration from HFS-formatted storage media

Alternatives:

libguestfs – A more comprehensive virtualization toolset that can inspect many filesystem types, but is significantly heavier and more complex than hfsutils.
Disk Utility (macOS) – Native macOS GUI tool that can mount HFS but is not available on other operating systems and lacks command-line automation features.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Dec 25, 2025 5:35pm	3.2.6	0	VERSION_BUMP	3b0783af
Sep 14, 2024 11:58pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	9f4ed12e