macOS

audience all
level all
topic macOS
subtopic use

How to Check macOS Version

Always check the macOS version before installing anything new. Here's how to check the macOS version. You can use the Terminal or the Mac interface to check the macOS version.

The latest Mac version is macOS 15 Sequoia (as of September 16, 2024). See the article on the new macOS version to learn if you should update to macOS Sequoia and then continue here to learn how to check the macOS version.

Before you get started

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After you check the macOS version

If you don't have macOS 15 Sequoia, get the latest macOS version on your Mac with these instructions:

After you update your macOS, be sure to see:

to configure system settings for the Finder, Dock, and more.

Two options to check the macOS version

There are two ways to check the macOS version:

  1. Use the Mac Terminal
  2. Check "About This Mac" in the graphical interface

Using the Terminal helps you gain experience and confidence with the command line. The Terminal gives you more control over your Mac as a power user or developer. If you're new to the Terminal, see the article on how to open the Mac Terminal.

Alternatively, you can check the macOS version in the graphical interface. This is easier for beginners.

Get the macOS version in the Terminal

You can quickly check the macOS version in the command line by using sw_vers in the Mac terminal:

  1. You can find the Terminal in the Applications > Utilities folder or by searching for Terminal using Spotlight search. See How to Open the Mac Terminal.
  2. Type sw_vers and press Enter.
  3. The command will display information about the macOS including ProductName, ProductVersion, and BuildVersion.

Check that the ProductVersion number is 15. The sw_vers command doesn't give you the marketing name of the macOS version ("Sonoma" or "Sequoia").

Don't type the $ character you see in the example below (otherwise you'll see zsh: command not found: $). It's just a convention we use to indicate the command line prompt.

$ sw_vers
ProductName:		macOS
ProductVersion:		15.0
BuildVersion:		24A335

You can check for available macOS updates using the softwareupdate command:

$ softwareupdate -l
Software Update Tool

Finding available software
No new software available.

You can use the softwareupdate command from the Terminal to install updates. If you don't have macOS 15, see the article Update macOS for instructions to update your macOS version. After you update your macOS, configure the system settings for the Finder, Dock, and more with Mac Setup for Sequoia.

How to check the macOS version using "About This Mac"

If you don't want to use the Mac Terminal, you can check the macOS version in the Mac graphical interface.

  1. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen.
  2. Select About This Mac from the dropdown menu.
  3. A window will appear displaying your macOS version. It will show the version number of the macOS release.

For "macOS," it should show "15.0” or newer. Notice, for "Chip," whether you have Apple M1, M2, M3, or M4 ("Apple Silicon") or Intel (on older Macs).

Check the macOS version is Sequoia

If you don't have macOS 15, see the article Update macOS for instructions to upgrade your macOS version.

MacOS version information

Since macOS 10.9 Mavericks, Apple has used California locations as the "marketing names" for macOS versions. Major version numbers began changing with the release of macOS 11 Big Sur in 2020.

The version number follows the semantic versioning format of major.minor. For example, for macOS Sonoma 14.5, "14" is the major version, and "5" is the minor version.

Wikipedia's macOS history or Apple's list of macOS versions shows previous versions.

After updating the macOS version

After you have the latest macOS version, you can:

You may also want to install newer software on your Mac.

macOS for software developers

If you are developing software on the Mac, you should update to the latest macOS version and then install:

For developing software on the Mac, I recommend:

What's next

How to check macOS version

My mac.install.guide is a trusted source of installation guides for professional developers. Take a look at the Mac Install Guide home page for tips and trends and see what to install next.