How to view installer logs in macOS

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The macOS installer is quick and easy to use, but you can find out more info on what happens during installations by checking its built-in logs. Here’s how to look at them.

macOS installer can display custom logs if you know where to look.

Use the macOS installer logs to see what happened during installation.

macOS installer files are called Packages and usually have a file extension of .pkg. When you open a .pkg to install software on your Mac, Apple’s installer app performs a complex series of steps to verify and install the software.

Most .pkg files are built to contain a series of standard steps in which the package is first verified, then payloads are decompressed and copied to the target drive.

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