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Update macOS with Erase-Install using Jamf School

Updated this week

Description

Erase-Install is a third party solution that leverages the erase-install.sh script to reinstall macOS directly from the system volume using startosinstall. This article provides steps to deploy it with Jamf School in order to update macOS devices.

Note: This testing was done with Erase-Install version 33.1, Mist 2.0, and SwiftDialog 2.4.2.4755. If different versions of these apps are used, you will need to adjust the provided script.

Updating your Device with Erase-Install

The steps below instruct Erase-Install to reinstall (upgrade) to a specific version of macOS. Erase-Install is highly customizable and there is a full list of parameters that can be substituted in based on the desired behavior and end-user experience. See the Erase-Install Parameters.rtf in the attachments for a full list.


​A. Build the package in Composer on a test Mac

  1. Download the erase-install pkg from this link: https://github.com/grahampugh/erase-install/releases and run the pkg. It will create a folder in /Library/Management.
    ​

  2. Download the following packages:
    ​

  3. Drag the downloaded packages to the erase-install folder created in Step 1.
    ​

  4. Open Composer and drag the erase-install folder created in Step 1 to the Sources section on the left sidebar in Composer. If you expand the folders, you should see the following:

    This photo shows what you should see after completing step 4.

  5. Ensure the Owner is listed as "root" and the Group is listed as "Wheel" in the bottom right corner of Composer.
    ​

  6. Click on the folder at the top-level, click the three dots on the bottom right, and click Apply Owner and Group to "Folder Name" and All Enclosed Items and also Apply Permissions to Users and All Enclosed Items.

  7. Click Build as PKG.

B. Deploy the package with Jamf School

  1. In Jamf School, create a static group and manually add a test computer to the group. For more information, see Device Groups in the Jamf School Documentation.
    ​

  2. Upload the package created in step A to Jamf School. For more information, see In-House Content Distribution in the Jamf School Documentation.
    ​

  3. Add the static group to the package uploaded in the previous step.

    1. In Jamf School go to Apps > Inventory and select the package.

    2. Click the + button under This app will be distributed to the following device groups and select the desired group from the dropbown.

    3. Ensure Automatic Installation is selected.

    4. Click Save in the bottom-right corner.
      *Note the package needs to be on the computer prior to the script running. To manually check, look for the erase-install folder under /Library/Management on the test computer.
      ​

  4. Follow the steps below to create a script:

    1. Click Scripts and click Create new script.

    2. Fill out the following in the Details section:

      • Name

      • Description (optional)

      • When to run: Just Once

    3. Paste in the script below in the Content section: 

      #!/bin/zsh # shellcheck shell=bash installer -pkg /Library/Management/erase-install/dialog-2.4.2-4755.pkg -target / sleep 10 installer -pkg /Library/Management/erase-install/mist-cli.2.0.pkg -target / sleep 10 /Library/Management/erase-install/erase-install.sh --reinstall --min-drive-space 25 --version=14.4.1 --no-fs

    4. Click the + button and select the static group created previously from the dropdown box.

    5. Click Save in the bottom-right corner.

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