macOS 27 Golden Gate Deprecates hdiutil, Recommends diskutil image for Disk Image Operations

hdiutil Deprecated in macOS 27 Golden Gate

The `hdiutil` command-line tool, used for manipulating disk images, has been deprecated in macOS 27.0 Golden Gate. Apple's documentation now advises using `diskutil image` for all disk image operations going forward. This marks a significant change for developers and system administrators who frequently interact with disk images via the command line.

Transition to diskutil image

`diskutil image` provides subcommands for common disk image tasks including attach, create, resize, info, and chpass. A deprecation notice in the `man` page for `hdiutil` details the specific `diskutil` replacements for `hdiutil` subcommands. Additionally, Apple Sparse Image Format (ASIF) images are now exclusively supported by `diskutil image`.

Missing Functionality

While many `hdiutil` options are preserved under different names in `diskutil image`, some specific functionalities are no longer available. Notably, the `-puppetstrings` option, which provides machine-parseable progress output, is missing. Several options specific to `hdiutil create -srcfolder`, such as `-[no]crossdev`, `-[no]scrub`, `-[no]anyowners`, `skipunreadable`, `-[no]atomic`, and `copyuid`, are also absent from the new tool.

Impact on Workflows

The deprecation necessitates updates to scripts and automated workflows that currently rely on `hdiutil`. Initial testing with a home folder backup operation revealed that a direct translation of `hdiutil` commands to `diskutil image` may not work as expected, with the new method failing in a test scenario. This indicates that migration will require careful review and potential re-engineering of existing disk image management processes.