Docs
How every test works, how it decides, and how far you can trust it.
Write the stick
Any USB stick of 2 GB or more (8 GB for OmaBoot? Omarchy), from macOS, Linux or Windows. Then hold Option.
Verify a download
Check the checksum and the signature before you write the stick.
What gets sent
What a report holds, where it goes, and what boot.watch keeps: nothing.
Reading a test
How it tests
- Automatic
- The Mac measures it: kernel facts, devices that appear, data that moves.
- Hands-on
- You do something: plug in, press, close the lid. The Mac still measures what it can.
- Challenge
- You answer something only a working part could show you: a code on the screen, a word from the speakers.
- Observed
- Your plain answer, kept for what no machine can see, like whether the camera picture moves.
How sure it is
- High confidenceA pass needs the part to work end to end. A false pass would take a rare fault.
- Medium confidenceThe test is sound but leaves a known gap, named on its page.
- Not tested liveA live stick can't decide it, like installing to disk. It's left to Omarchy itself.
A test never passes on doubt. When it can't tell, the result is "not tested", with the reason.
Boot
Whether the Mac starts the image at all.
Graphics and display
The GPU, the built-in panel, brightness and external screens.
- Integrated GPU acceleration
graphics.integratedAutomatic - Inactive GPU powers down correctly
graphics.power-downAutomatic - Integrated/discrete display switching
graphics.switchingNone - External display output
graphics.external-displayHands-on · challenge - Internal display at native resolution
display.native-resolutionAutomatic + hands-on · challenge - Display brightness control
display.brightnessHands-on · observed
Input
Keyboard, trackpad and the SMC-driven extras.
- Built-in keyboard and function keys
input.keyboardHands-on · automatic - Trackpad and multi-touch
input.trackpadHands-on · automatic - Force Touch click and pressure sensing
input.force-touchHands-on · automatic - Keyboard backlight
input.keyboard-backlightHands-on · challenge + observed - Ambient light sensor
input.ambient-light-sensorHands-on · automatic - Touch Bar
input.touch-barNone - Touch ID
input.touch-idNone - T2 bridge: Touch Bar and camera
bridge.touch-bar-cameraNone - IR receiver
input.ir-receiverNone
Power
Battery, charger, sleep and the lid.
Audio
Speakers, headphones, HDMI/DisplayPort audio and the microphone.
- Built-in speakers
audio.speakersHands-on · challenge - Headphone / analog audio output
audio.headphoneHands-on · challenge - Audio over HDMI / DisplayPort
audio.display-outHands-on · challenge - Built-in microphone
audio.microphoneHands-on · automatic (claps: challenge) - Headset microphone
audio.headset-micNone (planned) - Line in
audio.line-inNone (planned) - Optical digital audio out
audio.optical-outNone (planned) - Optical digital audio in
audio.optical-inNone (planned)
Camera
Network
Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth, each a hands-on test. The quick pass only reports what it sees.
Ports
USB, Thunderbolt, FireWire, the SD card slot and the optical drive. The USB, Thunderbolt and SD card tests share one engine that watches devices appear; the USB tests also read data from each disk.
- USB-A ports
ports.usb-aHands-on · automatic - USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 ports (USB data)
ports.usb-cHands-on · automatic - Thunderbolt devices (storage, docks, hotplug)
ports.thunderboltHands-on · automatic - SD card reader
ports.sd-cardHands-on · automatic - USB-C charging
ports.usb-c-chargingNone (planned) - FireWire
ports.firewireHands-on · automatic - ExpressCard
ports.expresscardNone (planned) - Optical drive
storage.opticalHands-on · automatic
Thermal
One check: a 20-second load on every CPU thread, with the fans' minimum raised for its last 10 seconds.
FAQ
Does it change my Mac?
No. Before anything else, OmaBoot? Live sets every internal disk read-only, so nothing can write to it. It installs nothing and doesn't write to the firmware, its settings or the startup disk choice.
The only things it writes to are the stick it runs from, when you save a report there, and a stick or card you plug in for a port test. That test writes one temporary file to it and deletes it again.
Which Macs is it for?
Intel Macs, from 2006 to 2020. Omarchy needs a 64-bit processor, so the first Intel Macs of 2006, with a Core Solo or Core Duo, can't run it. Macs with Apple silicon (M1 and later) can't start it either.
Some early Intel Macs have a 64-bit processor but 32-bit firmware. OmaBoot? Live hasn't been tried on one of those yet.
What about T2 Macs?
The Apple T2 Security Chip is in most Intel Macs from 2018 to 2020 and in the iMac Pro. It runs Secure Boot and the internal SSD. The camera and speakers are connected through it, and on laptops the keyboard and trackpad too.
A T2 Mac won't start from a USB stick until you allow it: start up in macOS Recovery, open Startup Security Utility, set Secure Boot to No Security and allow booting from external media. You can set it back afterwards.
On T2 Macs, OmaBoot? Live starts the t2linux kernel (linux-t2), the kernel Omarchy installs on them. On other Macs it starts Omarchy's standard kernel.
The T1 chip, in the 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, runs the Touch Bar and Touch ID. It doesn't change how the Mac starts from USB.
What if there's no network?
Choose to test offline. Everything runs the same. At the end, save the report to the stick and send it to DoesItOmarchy.com later, from any computer.
Is it official Omarchy?
It runs real Omarchy: built from Omarchy's own ISO, with the same kernels and packages as an official Omarchy release. How to check
It's made by DoesItOmarchy.com, not by the Omarchy team. It runs its tests from the text console, without starting the Omarchy desktop, and it has no installer. To install Omarchy, get the official ISO from omarchy.org.