How to Update OpenCore

[trs96]

How to Update OpenCore

If the time has come when you need to upgrade to a newer macOS version, you're probably not thrilled about manually updating OpenCore first. It takes a lot of time and research to complete this task. The latest version of macOS you are upgrading to, will likely require newer kexts and drivers as well. The best approach is to copy your working EFI folder to the EFI partition of a USB flash drive, perform the OpenCore and kexts/drivers update, then try booting from that USB. This leaves your current working EFI unchanged. If the new updated EFI doesn't boot your system, unplug the USB and your currently installed macOS edition will boot just as it did previously.

When you update manually, it's important to study the changes that Acidanthera has made in the latest OC version. The Differences.pdf is released every month with each new version of Opencore. Have a read of that first. Check the Sample.plist and see the changes made there too.

Download OpenCore and all the recently updated kexts and drivers. Make the necessary edits to your config.plist, run OCConfigCompare etc. This is all written out in great detail on the Dortania website. https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Post-Install/universal/update.html

An alternative to the manual method is to use OpenCore Auxiliary Tools app.

Releases · ic005k/OCAuxiliaryTools

Cross-platform GUI management tools for OpenCore（OCAT） - ic005k/OCAuxiliaryTools

github.com

That's what this thread will focus on. This video guide shows you how to use OCAT to make the whole OC update process much faster and easier. That being said, I would still review the latest changes to the most recent edition of OpenCore.

Read Miliuco's thread that covers these changes, right here in the tonymacx86 Bootloaders forum. It's likely that you will still have to manually make some changes to your config.plist that OCAT is not able to complete for you. The video shows one example of this. I needed to set UEFI -> Output Properties -> Initial Mode to Auto for the changes to pass the 0.9.3 OCValidate check.

If you have no previous experience using OCAT, please see the Beginner's Guide first:

Beginners Guide to using OC Auxiliary Tools App (Also known as OCAT)

In this thread, OpenCore bootloader will be referred to as OC. OCAuxiliaryTools will be shortened to OCAT. What exactly is OCAT ? OCAT is an app like Hackintool that serves various functions to help you build, edit and maintain your OpenCore EFI folder. It's primary advantage over manual...

www.tonymacx86.com

Big Sur is the "older" already installed, macOS version shown in the video tutorial. The OC version is 0.8.8. You can use OCAT all the way back to High Sierra if you need to upgrade from there to something newer. OC should be at least 0.6.6 or newer on your existing macOS install. If it's older than 0.6.6 then see: https://github.com/5T33Z0/OC-Little...for-users-updating-from-opencore-065-or-lower

As always, make a bootable clone or at least a Time Machine backup before you upgrade to a newer macOS version.

OC Reference Manual from Acidanthera: https://github.com/acidanthera/OpenCorePkg/blob/master/Docs/Configuration.pdf

 

[joostiphone]

Great guide for the final opencore releases.

Is there any way, for testing purposes, we can automatically update to a beta version of OpenCore which gets the latest 'beta' version from Github? https://github.com/dortania/build-repo/releases

 

[trs96]

Is there any way, for testing purposes, we can automatically update to a beta version of OpenCore which gets the latest 'beta' version from Github?

Yes, use the OC Dev channel. Put a checkmark there by clicking on that option under Edit. Then select "Upgrade OC and kexts." I don't cover that in the video because it's for more advanced users. Most people will use the OC release version.