Detect if macOS version is a beta release

Question

I know about the various ways to check the OS version like [[NSProcessInfo processInfo] operatingSystemVersion], Gestalt, NSAppKitVersionNumber, etc.

However these methods don't tell me whether a specific OS version is a beta or a stable release.

Is there a reliable way to detect if the current OS version is a beta release without hardcoding version numbers?

The reason I'm looking into a way to detect this is to notify users of my app of potential incompatibilities when running a macOS beta.

Answer 1

macOS beta build numbers end in an alpha character.

• Non-Beta Example: Ventura 13.5.1, Build 22G90
• Beta Example: Ventura 13.4.1 (c), Build 22F770820d
• Beta Example: Sonoma 14.0, Build 23A5312d

    #!/bin/sh

    version=$(/usr/bin/sw_vers -buildVersion | /usr/bin/sed -e 's/\(^.*\)\(.$\)/\2/')
    
    if [[ "${version}" =~ [0-9] ]]; then
        echo "Not Beta"
    else
        echo "Beta"
    fi
    
    exit