Tanoe - stop macOS updates

Introduction

This simple script allows macOS system updates, such as Tahoe, to be enabled or disabled on an OCLP enabled unsupported Apple Mac. All other updates such as Safari are still available.

It is also useful for virtualised macOS where updates are always displayed.

The name is a pun "just say no to Tahoe"!

How it works

macOS calls an Apple hosted service to find macOS system updates relevant to that Mac. OCLP Macs and VMs present themselves as a virtualised Mac which means the Apple OTA update service returns any newer macOS major and minor updates independent of the underlying machine type.

This service is accessed through a URL gdmf.apple.com. To stop these updates we need to block access to this URL and the simplest way is to block it through an entry in the hosts file located in the /etc folder on your Mac. This is done by adding a line like this to the file.

127.0.0.1 gdmf.apple.com

This redirects the URL to the host machine, which of course cannot provide the relevant details. macOS sees this as no updates.

If you do not want to run the script you will need to manually add the line to the hosts file. After saving it reboot the machine or run these 3 commands from Terminal to reset the update system.

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder 2>/dev/null
softwareupdate -l

There are 2 things to be aware of if you use this solution.

Note

All other updates such as Safari, Command Line Tools for Xcode and security updates etc. will continue to be updated.

Important

No macOS updates will be presented, for example, macOS 26 Tahoe upgrades or Sequoia or Sonoma minor updates. If you need to run a minor update you will need to toggle the blocker off, run the update and then re-enable it.

How to use it

1. Download a release from Releases on GitHub.
2. Unzip the downloaded file.
3. Open a terminal and navigate to the folder where you extracted the files.

Note

Updating the /etc/hosts file requires admin privileges and you will be prompted for your password.

Tip

Tanoe checks that macOS automatic software updates are disabled to ensure your safety.

Enable the blocker

Run ./tanoe on

admin@sequoihoe ~ % ./tanoe on 
Adding entry to /etc/hosts...
Backup created: ./hosts.backup.20260205_134308
✓ Successfully added entry
Flushing DNS cache...
Updating available updates...
Software Update Tool

Finding available software
Software Update found the following new or updated software:
* Label: Command Line Tools for Xcode-16.2
	Title: Command Line Tools for Xcode, Version: 16.2, Size: 751786KiB, Recommended: YES, 
* Label: Command Line Tools for Xcode-16.4
	Title: Command Line Tools for Xcode, Version: 16.4, Size: 861558KiB, Recommended: YES, 
* Label: Command Line Tools for Xcode 26.2-26.2
	Title: Command Line Tools for Xcode 26.2, Version: 26.2, Size: 858715KiB, Recommended: YES, 
* Label: Safari26.2SequoiaAuto-26.2
	Title: Safari, Version: 26.2, Size: 224749KiB, Recommended: YES, 

Disable the blocker

Run ./tanoe off

admin@sequoihoe ~ % ./tanoe off
Removing entry from /etc/hosts...
✓ Successfully removed entry
Flushing DNS cache...
Updating available updates...
Software Update Tool

Finding available software
Software Update found the following new or updated software:
* Label: Command Line Tools for Xcode-16.2
	Title: Command Line Tools for Xcode, Version: 16.2, Size: 751786KiB, Recommended: YES, 
* Label: Command Line Tools for Xcode-16.4
	Title: Command Line Tools for Xcode, Version: 16.4, Size: 861558KiB, Recommended: YES, 
* Label: Command Line Tools for Xcode 26.2-26.2
	Title: Command Line Tools for Xcode 26.2, Version: 26.2, Size: 858715KiB, Recommended: YES, 
* Label: Safari26.2SequoiaAuto-26.2
	Title: Safari, Version: 26.2, Size: 224749KiB, Recommended: YES, 
* Label: macOS Sequoia 15.7.3-24G419
	Title: macOS Sequoia 15.7.3, Version: 15.7.3, Size: 947432KiB, Recommended: YES, Action: restart, 
* Label: macOS Tahoe 26.2-25C56
	Title: macOS Tahoe 26.2, Version: 26.2, Size: 5047881KiB, Recommended: YES, Action: restart, 

Check status

Run ./tanoe status

admin@sequoihoe ~ % ./tanoe status
✓ Status: ENABLED
  Entry '127.0.0.1 gdmf.apple.com' is present in /etc/hosts
  
admin@sequoihoe ~ % ./tanoe status
✗ Status: DISABLED
  Entry '127.0.0.1 gdmf.apple.com' is not present in /etc/hosts

Example

Here are screenshots from a MacBook Air 2017 (MacBookAir7,2) running a test with older version of Sequoia and Xcode tools.

Blocker disabled

Blocker enabled

(C) David Parsons, 2026