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wtf is tails-osx?

englishm/tails-osx — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2014-02-12

ShellAudience · developerComplexity · 4/5DormantSetup · hard

TL;DR

Shell scripts that turn a USB drive into a bootable TAILS privacy operating system for Mac computers, with no extra software installed on the Mac itself.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((tails-osx))
    What it does
      Bootable TAILS USB
      Mac EFI compatibility
      No permanent Mac changes
    Tech stack
      Shell scripts
      GRUB bootloader
      Vagrant and VirtualBox
    Use cases
      Work on sensitive documents
      Test TAILS on a Mac
      Use public computers privately
    Audience
      Security researchers
      Journalists and activists
      Privacy-conscious Mac users

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Create a bootable TAILS USB drive that runs on a Mac without installing extra bootloader software.

REASON 2

Boot into a privacy-focused, no-trace operating system to work on sensitive documents temporarily.

REASON 3

Test how TAILS behaves on Mac hardware before committing to it as a privacy tool.

REASON 4

Rebuild the bootloader from source using Vagrant and VirtualBox if you don't trust the prebuilt version.

What's in the stack?

ShellGRUBVagrantVirtualBox

How it stacks up

englishm/tails-osx123satyajeet123/bitnet-serveralexbloch-ia/legal-data
Stars—00
LanguageShellShellShell
Last pushed2014-02-12——
MaintenanceDormant——
Setup difficultyhardeasymoderate
Complexity4/52/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdevelopergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires Git and GPG at minimum, plus Vagrant and VirtualBox if rebuilding the bootloader from source.

License is not stated in the available content.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through downloading TAILS and verifying its signature before using this repo's scripts to make a bootable Mac USB.
Prompt 2
Explain how this project reconfigures TAILS to boot via a Mac's EFI firmware using GRUB.
Prompt 3
Help me set up Vagrant and VirtualBox so I can rebuild the bootloader myself instead of using the prebuilt one.
Prompt 4
What tools do I need installed on my Mac before running this project's scripts to build a TAILS USB drive?

Frequently asked questions

wtf is tails-osx?

Shell scripts that turn a USB drive into a bootable TAILS privacy operating system for Mac computers, with no extra software installed on the Mac itself.

What language is tails-osx written in?

Mainly Shell. The stack also includes Shell, GRUB, Vagrant.

Is tails-osx actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2014-02-12).

What license does tails-osx use?

License is not stated in the available content.

How hard is tails-osx to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is tails-osx for?

Mainly developer.

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