# Linux or Death (aka How to install Linux on a Mac)

DevFeed: [Linux or Death (aka How to install Linux on a Mac)](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/linux-or-death-aka-how-to-install-linux-on-a-mac-35179.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.jessfraz.com/post/linux-on-mac/>)

Published: 2014-11-27T17:16:52Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Jessie Frazelle](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/jessie-frazelle.md>)

Topics: [Linux](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/linux.md>), [Debian](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/debian.md>), [osx](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/osx.md>), [Terminal](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/terminal.md>), [Raspberry Pi](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/raspberry-pi.md>), [Ethernet](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ethernet.md>), [CD (Disambiguation)](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cd.md>), [Zip](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/zip.md>)

Tags: [bootloader](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/bootloader.md>), [curl](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/curl.md>), [debian](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/debian.md>), [ethernet](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ethernet.md>), [how-to](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/how-to.md>), [install](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/install.md>), [installation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/installation.md>), [linux](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/linux.md>), [osx](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/osx.md>), [terminal](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/terminal.md>), [thunderbolt](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/thunderbolt.md>), [zip](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/zip.md>)

## AI overview

A practical guide to installing Debian Jessie alongside or instead of macOS on a Mac, covering hardware requirements, the rEFInd boot manager, USB boot media, and disk partitioning.

## Source excerpt

Hello! This blog post is going to go over how to create a Linux partition on your mac and have everything working successfully. Okay so lets begin with: sudo rm -rf / && sudo kill -9 1. Hold the phone. That was a test. I really hope you didn't just copy, paste, and run a command on your host without knowing anything about the author. A bit about me... I have run this install about a dozen times on my mac, with various different changes along the way. I can finally say I found the perfect way to install Linux, specifically Debian Jessie, on a mac. So now let's actually get started. Hardware The below installation was done on my MacBook Pro Retina (15-inch, Late 2013). You will also need one of these nifty ethernet to thunderbolt adapters. rEFInd Boot Manager The majority of times I installed Linux I ran rEFInd on my mac, so I could keep my mac partition and have a separate Linux partition. This last time, however, I was so fed up with OSX and the fact I never used it, I nuked it entirely.I boot purely into the Debian Bootloader now. But I will save that doosey for another blog post if I think people are really as crazy as I. rEFInd is the lesser of two evils between the other popular rEFIt, you will probably see some pain points and reasons for my fuck it, nuke it attitude towards OSX. Instructions for installing rEFInd can be found here, but I will go into detail about how I install since you can tell those are a bit hard to read. If you don't know how to open terminal just stop now, sorry this isn't going to be one of those blog posts. The following works for OSX Mountain Lion. If you are running Yosemite you are SOL (not really but read this and I wish you luck on your journey): $ curl -O http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/refind/0.8.3/refind-bin-0.8.3.zip $ unzip refind-bin-0.8.3.zip $ cd refind-bin-0.8.3/ # we are going to install with all drivers # because you honestly never know what you # will need, better be safe vs. sorry $ sudo ./install.sh --alldriver