How to Write NTFS Files on Mac OS X 10.9 and Later

If you're a Mac user who needs to work with files stored on NTFS drives, you may have encountered frustration when trying to write to these files from your Mac. Unfortunately, macOS does not natively support writing to NTFS drives without some additional configuration. In this article, we'll outline the steps needed to enable writing to NTFS drives on your Mac.

Step 1: Find the New Mount Command

The first step is to find the new mount command in the Terminal. Open the Terminal app and type `which mount_ntfs` followed by `/opt/homebrew/sbin/mount_ntfs`. This will locate the new NTFS handler and allow you to back it up.

Step 2: Backup and Replace the Old NTFS Handler

Once you've located the new mount command, you'll need to backup the old NTFS handler and replace it with the new one. Enter the following command into your Terminal: `sudo mount -uw /`. This will make crucial parts of the file system writable again.

Step 3: Disable System Integrity Protection (SIP)

Since macOS 10.15 Catalina, you'll need to disable SIP in order to write to NTFS drives. To do this, restart your Mac and go to your normal macOS environment. If your Mac has a T2 security chip, you'll need to disable security in Startup Security Utility while in Recovery mode.

Step 4: Install Homebrew and ntfs-3g-mac

To enable writing to NTFS drives, you'll need to install Homebrew and the `ntfs-3g-mac` package. Open Terminal and type `brew tap gromgit/homebrew-fuse` followed by `brew install ntfs-3g-mac`. You can find a detailed install manual on the macFUSE GitHub wiki.

Step 5: Install osxFUSE

After installing `ntfs-3g-mac`, you'll need to download and install the latest version of osxFUSE (macFUSE) from the GitHub releases page. Make sure you have Command Line Tools for Xcode and Homebrew package manager installed.

Alternative Solutions

If you're not comfortable with using Terminal commands, there are alternative solutions available. You can use freeware such as iBoysoft NTFS for Mac or paid software like Paragon NTFS for Mac or Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Tuxera.

Why Can't macOS Write NTFS?

So why does Apple not provide native support for writing to NTFS drives? The reason is that NTFS is a proprietary file system standard from Microsoft, and it's not open source. This means that Apple would need to pay licenses in order to fully use it in their systems.

In conclusion, while writing to NTFS drives on your Mac may require some additional configuration, it's definitely possible with the right tools and knowledge. By following these steps, you'll be able to write to NTFS drives from your Mac without any issues.

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