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Installing on macOS

Updated August 30, 2026

Hiberden runs on Apple Silicon Macs.

Install the app

  1. Open the .dmg and drag Hiberden to Applications.
  2. Open it. macOS blocks it the first time.
  3. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway, and confirm.

You do this once.

Set up tape

Archiving to disk, NAS and cloud works straight away. Tape needs two things installed first.

macFUSE

Get it from macfuse.github.io, or:

brew install --cask macfuse

macOS asks you to approve it under Privacy & Security, then restart. You may be asked twice.

LTFS

brew install autoconf automake libtool pkg-config icu4c@77 ossp-uuid
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/LinearTapeFileSystem/ltfs.git
cd ltfs

export LIBTOOLIZE="$(command -v glibtoolize)"
ICU="$(brew --prefix icu4c@77)"
export PATH="$ICU/bin:$PATH"
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="$ICU/lib/pkgconfig:$(brew --prefix)/lib/pkgconfig"
export CPPFLAGS="-I$ICU/include"
export LDFLAGS="-L$ICU/lib -F/Library/Filesystems/macfuse.fs/Contents/Frameworks -framework IOKit -framework CoreFoundation"

autoreconf --force --install
./autogen.sh
./configure --disable-snmp
make
sudo make install

Run those as written. A future build will include LTFS.

Check it worked:

ltfs -o device_list

With no drive connected, the last line is Tape Device list:. With a drive connected, it is listed.

Connect your drive

Open Settings > Tape:

  • Drive number or serial. Leave blank to use the first drive.
  • Mount point. A folder to mount cartridges at, for example /Volumes/ltfs.

Restart Hiberden to apply.

Where your files live

Your catalog and signing key are in ~/Library/Application Support/Hiberden/. No sign-in, no telemetry, nothing leaves your machine.

Where to go next