Mount your EFI in one click.
ESP Mounter is a native macOS utility that finds your disks, mounts and unmounts their EFI System Partitions, and helps you edit, copy and manage your bootloader. This guide walks through every feature.
Mount your first EFIRead the FAQGet ESP Mounter1. Open ESP Mounter
Move it to Applications and launch it. By default it lives in the menu bar; click its icon to see your disks.
2. Find your disk
Internal, external and removable disks are listed with their size, filesystem and EFI partitions.
3. Mount the EFI
Click the mount button next to an EFI partition. If macOS needs administrator rights, ESP Mounter asks once and can remember the password in your Keychain.
4. You stay in control
Nothing is changed unless you click it. Destructive actions such as Erase ask you to type the disk name to confirm.
Menu Bar & Window Modes
Use ESP Mounter as a menu bar popover or as a normal window.
Menu bar mode
The app sits in the menu bar. Click the icon to open a popover with your disks; click elsewhere to dismiss it. The icon changes to show when an EFI is mounted and which bootloader was detected.
Window mode
Shows the same content in a regular window and no menu bar icon. Useful if you prefer the Dock or Cmd-Tab.
Switching modes
Change Launch Mode in Settings › General. The app relaunches to apply it.
Pin the popover
In menu bar mode the pin button keeps the popover open while you work in other windows.
- Open Settings with the gear button or ⌘,.
- Under Launch Mode, choose Menu Bar or Window.
- Turn on Launch at login if you want ESP Mounter ready after startup.
The Disk List
Every disk on your Mac, shown the way Disk Utility sees it.
Disk rows
Each row shows the disk name, size, filesystem badge and, where available, a used/free space bar. Disks with EFI partitions show an EFI indicator.
Live updates
Plug in or remove a drive and the list updates by itself. Use the refresh button if you ever want to force a rescan.
Filters
Choose what appears: internal, external, removable disks and disk images (mounted DMG or ISO files). Set them in Settings › General › Disk Display.
Boot Disk label
The disk your Mac started from is marked Boot Disk, with the detected bootloader shown beside it.
Space indicators
Turn the used/free bar on or off in Settings with Show Disk Space Indicators.
- Open the popover or window.
- Find your disk in the list.
- Right-click a disk or EFI row for more actions.
Mount & Unmount EFI
The core feature: make the hidden EFI partition visible, then hide it again.
One-click mount
Click the mount button on an EFI row, or double-click the row. The EFI appears as a volume you can open in Finder.
Unmount
Click the same button again when you are done. ESP Mounter confirms the volume has really unmounted before reporting success.
Open in Finder
Once mounted, use the Finder button to open the EFI, or turn on Auto-open Finder when EFI is mounted in Settings.
Multiple EFI partitions
A disk with several EFI partitions shows each of them in its own row so you can mount the right one.
Fast and quiet
Most mounts need no password at all. If macOS refuses, ESP Mounter retries with administrator rights automatically.
- Find the disk with the EFI you want.
- Click the mount button on its EFI row.
- Click Open in Finder to browse it, or use the other tools on the row.
- Click unmount when you are finished.
Bootloader & Filesystems
ESP Mounter recognises what is on each disk and labels it.
Filesystem badges
Disks are identified by their real partition type. macOS (APFS, HFS+), Windows (NTFS), Linux and ExFAT volumes each get their own badge and colour.
Bootloader detection
Clover and OpenCore are detected from the EFI contents. The menu bar icon and the About window show which one your Mac booted with.
Mac model and details
The About page shows your Mac model, with an optional online lookup for the marketing name. Your serial number stays hidden until you click it.
Quick Edit config.plist
Open your bootloader configuration straight from the mounted EFI.
One click to edit
Once an EFI is mounted, the Quick Edit config.plist button opens the OpenCore or Clover config.plist in your default plist editor.
Auto-open on mount
Turn on Auto-open config.plist on Mount in Settings to open it every time you mount.
- Mount the EFI.
- Click the Quick Edit config.plist button on the row.
- Save your changes in the editor, then unmount the EFI.
config.plist can stop your Mac from booting. Make a copy of your EFI first (see Copy EFI).Copy EFI
Back up your EFI folder or clone it to another disk.
Copy to another disk
Copies the EFI folder from one EFI partition to another, for example from your internal disk to a USB installer.
Verified copies
Every copied file is checked after copying, so you know the backup matches the original.
Progress and cancel
A progress view shows what is happening. You can cancel before copying begins.
Many destinations
The destination list scrolls, so it stays usable with lots of disks.
- Right-click the source EFI row and choose Copy EFI, or click its copy button.
- Choose the destination disk.
- Wait for the copy and verification to finish.
EFI Auto-Mount
Mount the EFI of chosen external disks automatically when you plug them in.
Per-disk setting
Right-click a disk in the main view to add it to auto-mount. Only disks you add are affected.
Manage the list
See and remove auto-mount disks in Settings › General › EFI Auto-Mount Disks. The list updates live.
- Connect the external disk.
- Right-click it and choose the auto-mount option.
- Unplug and reconnect to see its EFI mount by itself.
Rename
Change the name of a volume or EFI partition.
Rename Volume
Right-click a disk and choose Rename Volume….
Rename EFI
Right-click an EFI row and choose Rename EFI….
Name rules
FAT32 names are adjusted automatically to what macOS accepts, such as capital letters and a length limit.
Erase
Erase an EFI partition or a whole disk, with clear confirmation.
Erase EFI Partition
Right-click an EFI row and choose Erase EFI Partition….
Erase Disk
Right-click a disk and choose Erase Disk…. Choose This Partition Only or Whole Disk, then pick a format.
Type to confirm
You must type the disk or volume name before the Erase button works, so nothing is erased by accident.
Progress and result
The whole confirm, progress and result flow happens in the list area so you always see which disk is affected.
Eject
Safely disconnect external disks.
Eject button
Click the eject button on an external disk, or right-click and choose Eject Disk.
Notification
When it is safe to unplug, you get a notification.
When eject fails
If a file is still open, ESP Mounter says so in plain language so you can close it and try again.
Disk Health (SMART)
See whether a disk reports itself healthy.
Status on the row
Turn on Show SMART Health Status to see Verified, Failing or Not Supported on each physical disk.
Disk Details
Right-click a disk and choose View SMART Details… to see SMART status, SSD or HDD, TRIM support, bus type, size, content and identifier.
Administrator Password
Some actions on the EFI need administrator rights.
Asked only when needed
ESP Mounter tries without a password first. It only asks if macOS requires it.
Saved in your Keychain
If you choose to save it, the password lives in the macOS Keychain and is handed to the command securely, never typed into a command line.
Wrong or changed password
Wrong passwords are rejected, and if you change your macOS password ESP Mounter notices and asks again once.
Manage it
In Settings › Access you can test authentication or remove the saved password at any time.
Notifications & Hotkey
Stay informed and open the app from anywhere.
Notifications
Turn on Show notifications to be told when an EFI is mounted, unmounted or a disk can be removed.
Open EFI from a notification
Enable Open EFI in Finder when clicking notification to jump straight to the volume.
Global hotkey
Press ⌘⌥E from any app to open or close the menu bar popover. Enable it in Settings › General.
Updates
ESP Mounter updates itself through Sparkle.
Automatic checks
Choose to check automatically and how often: daily, weekly or monthly.
Install automatically
Optionally download and install updates in the background.
Check now
Press Check for Updates Now in Settings › Updates at any time.
About & Support
Version, Mac details and ways to support development.
About
Shows the app version and build, your Mac model, bootloader information and a click-to-reveal serial number.
Support Development
If ESP Mounter helps you, the Donate button in Settings › About opens the donation page. Thank you.
Settings
Open with ⌘, or the gear button.
| Section | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Launch Mode | Menu Bar or Window, and Launch at login. |
| Disk Display | Show internal, external, removable disks and disk images. |
| Behavior | Notifications, auto-open Finder and config.plist on mount, global hotkey, space indicators and SMART status. |
| EFI Auto-Mount Disks | The disks whose EFI mounts automatically when plugged in. |
| Privacy | Whether ESP Mounter may look up your Mac model name online. |
| Administrator Authentication | Test or remove the saved administrator password. |
| Updates | Automatic checks, automatic installs and check interval. |
| About | Version, Mac and bootloader details, and Support Development. |
Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘⌥E | Open or close the menu bar popover from anywhere (when enabled) |
| ⌘, | Open Settings |
| Double-click | Mount or open an EFI row |
| Right-click | Open the actions menu for a disk or EFI row |
| ⌘Q | Quit ESP Mounter |
Frequently Asked Questions
Got questions? We've got answers.
What is the EFI partition?
A small hidden partition that holds the files your Mac needs to start, such as the Clover or OpenCore bootloader. ESP Mounter mounts it so you can see and edit those files.
Why does ESP Mounter ask for my password?
Mounting some EFI partitions needs administrator rights. If you save the password, it is stored in the macOS Keychain and passed securely, never typed into a command line. If you do not save it, you are asked each time it is needed.
Is it safe? Will it change my disks?
Mounting and unmounting do not change your data. Erase and Copy EFI are the only actions that modify disks, and both ask you to confirm first.
The menu bar icon does not respond after login.
Make sure you are on version 2.6.1 or later, which fixed this on macOS Tahoe. If it still happens, quit and reopen the app, then tell us your macOS version.
My external disk is not listed.
Check the filters in Settings › Disk Display, then press the refresh button. Disk images only appear if Show disk images is on.
Which macOS versions are supported?
macOS 11 Big Sur and later.
Can ESP Mounter change which disk my Mac boots from?
No. macOS protects that setting. Use System Settings › Startup Disk, or hold Option while starting your Mac.
What does the online model lookup do?
It asks the internet for your Mac’s marketing name. It is optional and can be turned off in Settings › Privacy; the app works the same without it.