So, you’ve decided to download an older version of Mac OS X. There are many reasons that could point you to this radical decision. To begin with, some of your apps may not be working properly (or simply crash) on newer operating systems. Also, you may have noticed your Mac’s performance went down right after the last update. Finally, if you want to run a parallel copy of Mac OS X on a virtual machine, you too will need a working installation file of an older Mac OS X. Further down we’ll explain where to get one and what problems you may face down the road.
Since OS X Mavericks 10.9, Xcode 5 no longer installs gdb by default and not globally. GDB: The GNU Project Debugger GDB Maintainers contributing current git documentation mailing lists Download GDB. Using GDB on Mac OS X INSTALLATION: if not installed already, install brew; if you have brew already on your system, you might want to update the. A Tcl/Tk GDB interface (similar to Turbo Debugger or CodeView). Mar 22, 2020 gdb free download. Stm8 binutils-gdb This is the open source stm8 development toolchain effort with binutils. Get quick remote access from Windows, Mac OS X. How to install gdb on OSX 10.9? I try to use macports: port install gdb Password. The question is “How can I install GDB on a Mac?” I’ve never tried - but if you’re using Xcode or the “command line development tools” on the Mac from Apple and want to use a command line debugger, then use “lldb” instead (llvm/clang seems to be t. Expand the gdb-7.12.1.tar.xz file: tar xopf gdb-7.12.1.tar.xz. Cd gdb-7.12.1 in terminal to open the gdb folder. Then follow the instructions in the README file in the gdb folder, or simply follow the following steps:./configure, wait for the terminal. Make and wait again (which can take some time) sudo make install.
A list of all Mac OS X versions
We’ll be repeatedly referring to these Apple OS versions below, so it’s good to know the basic macOS timeline.
Cheetah 10.0 | Puma 10.1 | Jaguar 10.2 |
Panther 10.3 | Tiger 10.4 | Leopard 10.5 |
Snow Leopard 10.6 | Lion 10.7 | Mountain Lion 10.8 |
Mavericks 10.9 | Yosemite 10.10 | El Capitan 10.11 |
Sierra 10.12 | High Sierra 10.13 | Mojave 10.14 |
Catalina 10.15 |
STEP 1. Prepare your Mac for installation
Given your Mac isn’t new and is filled with data, you will probably need enough free space on your Mac. This includes not just space for the OS itself but also space for other applications and your user data. One more argument is that the free space on your disk translates into virtual memory so your apps have “fuel” to operate on. The chart below tells you how much free space is needed.
Note, that it is recommended that you install OS on a clean drive. Next, you will need enough disk space available, for example, to create Recovery Partition. Here are some ideas to free up space on your drive:
- Uninstall large unused apps
- Empty Trash Bin and Downloads
- Locate the biggest files on your computer:

Go to Finder > All My Files > Arrange by size
Then you can move your space hoggers onto an external drive or a cloud storage.
If you aren’t comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, there are some nice automatic “room cleaners”. Our favorite is CleanMyMac as it’s most simple to use of all. It deletes system junk, old broken apps, and the rest of hidden junk on your drive.
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.4 - 10.8 (free version)
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.9 (free version)
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.10 - 10.14 (free version)
STEP 2. Get a copy of Mac OS X download
Normally, it is assumed that updating OS is a one-way road. That’s why going back to a past Apple OS version is problematic. The main challenge is to download the OS installation file itself, because your Mac may already be running a newer version. If you succeed in downloading the OS installation, your next step is to create a bootable USB or DVD and then reinstall the OS on your computer.
How to download older Mac OS X versions via the App Store
If you once had purchased an old version of Mac OS X from the App Store, open it and go to the Purchased tab. There you’ll find all the installers you can download. However, it doesn’t always work that way. The purchased section lists only those operating systems that you had downloaded in the past. But here is the path to check it:
- Click the App Store icon.
- Click Purchases in the top menu.
- Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
- Click Download.
This method allows you to download Mavericks and Yosemite by logging with your Apple ID — only if you previously downloaded them from the Mac App Store.
Without App Store: Download Mac OS version as Apple Developer
If you are signed with an Apple Developer account, you can get access to products that are no longer listed on the App Store. If you desperately need a lower OS X version build, consider creating a new Developer account among other options. The membership cost is $99/year and provides a bunch of perks unavailable to ordinary users.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that if you visit developer.apple.com/downloads, you can only find 10.3-10.6 OS X operating systems there. Newer versions are not available because starting Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.7, the App Store has become the only source of updating Apple OS versions.
Purchase an older version of Mac operating system
You can purchase a boxed or email version of past Mac OS X directly from Apple. Both will cost you around $20. For the reason of being rather antiquated, Snow Leopard and earlier Apple versions can only be installed from DVD.
Buy a boxed edition of Snow Leopard 10.6
Get an email copy of Lion 10.7
Get an email copy of Mountain Lion 10.8
The email edition comes with a special download code you can use for the Mac App Store. Note, that to install the Lion or Mountain Lion, your Mac needs to be running Snow Leopard so you can install the newer OS on top of it.
How to get macOS El Capitan download

If you are wondering if you can run El Capitan on an older Mac, rejoice as it’s possible too. But before your Mac can run El Capitan it has to be updated to OS X 10.6.8. So, here are main steps you should take:
1. Install Snow Leopard from install DVD.
2. Update to 10.6.8 using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.
“I can’t download an old version of Mac OS X”
If you have a newer Mac, there is no physical option to install Mac OS versions older than your current Mac model. For instance, if your MacBook was released in 2014, don’t expect it to run any OS released prior of that time, because older Apple OS versions simply do not include hardware drivers for your Mac.
But as it often happens, workarounds are possible. There is still a chance to download the installation file if you have an access to a Mac (or virtual machine) running that operating system. For example, to get an installer for Lion, you may ask a friend who has Lion-operated Mac or, once again, set up a virtual machine running Lion. Then you will need to prepare an external drive to download the installation file using OS X Utilities.
After you’ve completed the download, the installer should launch automatically, but you can click Cancel and copy the file you need. Below is the detailed instruction how to do it.
How To Install Gdb
STEP 3. Install older OS X onto an external drive
The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.
- Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
- Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
- Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS X.
- Select external drive as a source.
- Enter your Apple ID.
Now the OS should start downloading automatically onto the external drive. After the download is complete, your Mac will prompt you to do a restart, but at this point, you should completely shut it down. Now that the installation file is “captured” onto your external drive, you can reinstall the OS, this time running the file on your Mac.
- Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
- Connect the external drive.
- Go to external drive > OS X Install Data.
Locate InstallESD.dmg disk image file — this is the file you need to reinstall Lion OS X. The same steps are valid for Mountain Lion and Mavericks.
How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions
If your Mac runs macOS Sierra 10.12 or macOS High Sierra 10.13, it is possible to revert it to the previous system if you are not satisfied with the experience. You can do it either with Time Machine or by creating a bootable USB or external drive.
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Sierra
Instruction to downgrade from macOS High Sierra
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Mojave

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Catalina
Before you do it, the best advice is to back your Mac up so your most important files stay intact. In addition to that, it makes sense to clean up your Mac from old system junk files and application leftovers. The easiest way to do it is to run CleanMyMac X on your machine (download it for free here).
Visit your local Apple Store to download older OS X version
If none of the options to get older OS X worked, pay a visit to nearest local Apple Store. They should have image installations going back to OS Leopard and earlier. You can also ask their assistance to create a bootable USB drive with the installation file. So here you are. We hope this article has helped you to download an old version of Mac OS X. Below are a few more links you may find interesting.
Question or issue on macOS:
How to install gdb (debugger) in Mac OSX El Capitan ? I have tried installing gdb but failed couple of time.
I was following this URL : http://ntraft.com/installing-gdb-on-os-x-mavericks/ , MAC doesnot allow to install MacPorts.
Could anyone please help me in this regard.
How to solve this problem?
Solution no. 1:
Please note that this answer was written for Mac OS El Capitan. For newer versions, beware that it may no longer apply. In particular, the legacy option is quite possibly deprecated.

There are two solutions to the problem, and they are both mentioned in other answers to this question and to How to get gdb to work using macports under OSX 10.11 El Capitan?, but to clear up some confusion here is my summary (as an answer since it got a bit long for a comment):
Which alternative is more secure I guess boils down to the choice between 1) trusting self-signed certificates and 2) giving users more privileges.
Alternative 1: signing the binary
If the signature alternative is used, disabling SIP to add the -p option to taskgated
is not required.
However, note that with this alternative, debugging is only allowed for users in the_developer
group.
Using codesign to sign using a cert named gdb-cert
:
codesign -s gdb-cert /opt/local/bin/ggdb
(using the MacPorts standard path, adopt as necessary)
For detailed code-signing recipes (incl cert creation), see :
https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc-4.8.1/gnat_ugn_unw/Codesigning-the-Debugger.html or
https://sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/BuildingOnDarwin
Note that you need to restart the keychain application and the taskgated service during and after the process (the easiest way is to reboot).
Alternative 2: use the legacy option for taskgated
As per the answer by @user14241, disabling SIP and adding the -p option to taskgated
is an option. Note that if using this option, signing the binary is not needed, and it also bypasses the dialog for authenticating as a member of the Developer Tools group (_developer
).
After adding the -p option (allow groups procmod and procview) to taskgated you also need to add the users that should be allowed to use gdb to the procmod group.
The recipe is:
restart in recovery mode, open a terminal and run
csrutil disable
restart machine and edit
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.taskgated.plist
, adding
the-p
opion:restart in recovery mode to reenable SIP (
csrutil enable
)restart machine and add user
USERNAME
to the groupprocmod
:sudo dseditgroup -o edit -a USERNAME -t user procmod
An alternative that does not involve adding users to groups is to make the executable setgid procmod, as that also makes
procmod
the effective group id of any user executing the setgid binary (suggested in https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/112132)
Solution no. 2:
Install Homebrew first :
/usr/bin/ruby -e '$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)'
Then run this : brew install gdb
Solution no. 3:
This doesn’t necessarily address the question but if you are using Mac OS X then you can probably use lldb
LLDB Homepage . It’s very similar to gdb
and even provides a guide to using commands that you would use on gdb
.
Solution no. 4:
Here’s a blog post explains it very well:
And the way I get it working:
Download Gdb Mac Os X Download
Create a coding signing certificate via KeyChain Access:
1.1 From the Menu, select KeyChain Access > Certificate Assistant > Create a Certificate…
1.2 Follow the wizard to create a certificate and let’s name it
gdb-cert
, the Identity Type is Self Signed Root, and the Certificate Type is Code Signing and select the Let me override defaults.1.3 Click several times on Continue until you get to the Specify a Location For The Certificate screen, then set Keychain to System.
Install gdb via Homebrew:
brew install gdb
Restart
taskgated
:sudo killall taskgated && exit
Reopen a Terminal window and type
sudo codesign -vfs gdb-cert /usr/local/bin/gdb
Solution no. 5:
On my Mac OS X El Capitan, I use homebrew to install gdb:
Then I follow the instruction here: https://sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/BuildingOnDarwin, in the section 2.1. Method for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and later.
Solution no. 6:
Once you get the macports version of gdb
installed you will need to disable SIP in order to make the proper edits to /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.taskgated.plist
. To disable SIP, you need to restart in recovery mode and execute the following command:
Then restart. Then you will need to edit the bottom part of com.apple.taskgated.plist
like this:
Then you will have to restart to have the changes take effect. Then you should reenable SIP. The gdb
command for the macports install is actually ggdb
. You will need to code sign ggdb
following the instructions here:
The only way I have been able to get the code signing to work is by running ggdb
with sudo
. Good luck!
Download Gdb Mac Os X Downloads
Solution no. 7:
Just spent a good few days trying to get this to work on High Sierra 10.13.1. The gdb 8.1 version from homebrew would not work no matter what I tried. Ended up installing gdb 8.0.1 via macports and this miraculously worked (after jumping through all of the other necessary hoops related to codesigning etc).
One additional issue is that in Eclipse you will get extraneous single quotes around all of your program arguments which can be worked around by providing the arguments inside .gdbinit instead.
Solution no. 8:
It seems that MacPorts could be installed in El Capitan right now:
https://www.macports.org/install.php
Then you probably can install gdb by link you mentioned.