In future releases of macOS, Mac users will no longer be able to format or eject disk images using the very long-standing Terminal command, “hdiutil.” It won’t affect many users directly, but it will break disk repair utility apps.
The new deprecation notice in Terminal for the command hdiutil.
The new deprecation notice in Terminal for the command hdiutil.
You may never have even heard of it, but since the earliest days of Mac OS X, the Terminal has included the command now called “hdiutil.” It’s a tool for handling disk images, and AppleInsider forum users have often recommended it for solving problems such as the Mac refusing to eject such disk images because they’re purportedly in use.
As first spotted by developer Jeff Johnson, however, Apple is officially deprecating “hdultil” in macOS Golden Gate. What this means is that you, and app utilities, can continue using it for now, but should switch to the similar “diskutil image” command as ultimately “hdiutil” will be removed.