So HOW do we know that 10.11.5 is OS X Build 15F34?

[irrationalJohn]

Yes, I realize this question probably does not belong here. But where the heck should I have posted it?

I did look around. I tried to find another spot to ask questions about the basic mechanics of working with OS X install media. Sure, there's the "The Basics" category. But that's clearly not for questions, only for answers.

So here I am because I couldn't think of any better place to ask this.

The post "OS X 10.11.5 Update" points out that 10.11.5 is OS X Build 15F34. Where/how does one look to make use of that information?

One of the problems I have is how to sort out which version of, for example, "Install OS X El Capitan.app" I tucked away in some obscure backup folder for possible later use. I am still not really sure how to do that.

If I "Show Package Contents" of "Install OS X El Capitan.app", then I see "Info.plist" and "version.plist". Info.plist lists 15F31 as the value for both BuildMachiineOSBuild and DTSDKBuild. There is also "Bundle versions string, short" 1.7.46

That's about as far as I got in terms of guessing on my own. At this point since I did not seem to be looking in the right places, I decided to just ask.

 

[P1LGRIM]

About this Mac - System Report - Software - System Software Overview

 

[irrationalJohn]

About this Mac - System Report - Software - System Software Overview

Sorry. I did not explain my question well. Suppose you just have the file "Install OS X El Capitan.app" and that you have not installed it. How do you tell what version of El Capitan it would install? (I'm looking for a method that is somewhat faster than installing OS X from the install file and then checking "About this Mac")

 

[P1LGRIM]

Right click "Install OS X El Capitan.app" - Click Show Package Contents
Open Info.plist with a plist editor.

<key>BuildMachineOSBuild</key>
<string>15F34</string>

 

[irrationalJohn]

Right click "Install OS X El Capitan.app" - Click Show Package Contents
Open Info.plist with a plist editor.

<key>BuildMachineOSBuild</key>
<string>15F34</string>

Yes. That's what I described doing in my original post. What confuses me is that I get 15F31, not 15F34. Because of the mismatch I assumed that I was doing something wrong and/or not looking at the correct field or file. More specifically, my Info.plist file contains:
<key>BuildMachineOSBuild</key>
<string>15F31</string>

The version of OS X which that install file installed was 10.5.5. I downloaded it from the App Store on Friday, May 28, so that's what I was pretty much expecting it to do.

For whatever else it might be worth ...

 

[mhatayama]

I'm sorry but I don't get your intention.
You can simply delete and download the file again. Are there some reasons you can't do so?

 

[irrationalJohn]

I'm sorry but I don't get your intention.
You can simply delete and download the file again. Are there some reasons you can't do so?

I think your point may be that I should download the El Capitan install file again because it may have changed since I downloaded it about 2 days ago on May 28. I would try that but at the moment I am unable to get ethernet working in my El Capitan installs. So, no, I cannot do that.

(Of course, maybe I could use UniBeast to create a Lion install USB and boot the Lion Hackintosh partition I used to download El Capitan in the first place. Hmmmm.)

The other reason I am not eager to download El Capitan again is because I also suspect that the OS X Build value of 15F34 in Tony's post may simply be a typo. That post has not been updated since May 17, 2016, so I would expect my download on May 28 to be more recent.

But then again, I'm too new to the ins and outs of this to claim I understand what is or is not correct. That's 89% of the reason why I created this thread. I don't understand yet, but I would like to.

But my primary intention is to figure out how I can tell what version of OS X an "install file" will install without actually doing the install.

 

[RehabMan]

Right click "Install OS X El Capitan.app" - Click Show Package Contents
Open Info.plist with a plist editor.

<key>BuildMachineOSBuild</key>
<string>15F34</string>

That is the build of OS X that was used to build the Install OS X El Capitan.app.

It is not necessarily the same version of the OS X that the installer app will install...

 

[irrationalJohn]

That is the build of OS X that was used to build the Install OS X El Capitan.app.

Thank you! That seems much more obvious to me in hindsight.

Is there a way to tell from the content of the Install OS X El Capitan.app (for example) what updated version of OS X it would install?

 

[mhatayama]

Is there a way to tell from the content of the Install OS X El Capitan.app (for example) what updated version of OS X it would install?

My Info.plist file of the El Capitan installer app, which I downloaded from App Store today, says the "BuildMachineOSBuild" value is "15F31". So I believe your file is surely for 10.11.5 too.