Pick a folder, click Start, and your switches, routers and firewalls can pull firmware and push configs to your Mac on port 69. No Terminal, no config files, no fighting the Mac.
In review with Apple · Octet TFTP, $4.99 · Mac App Store
Octet Lite (version 1.0.2) is a free download from this site that covers the basics. Octet TFTP is the full version on the Mac App Store for $4.99, faster and built for real change windows.
| Feature | Octet LiteVersion 1.0.2Free download | Octet TFTPVersion 1.2 · App Store$4.99 |
|---|---|---|
| The essentials | ||
| TFTP server on UDP port 69 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Separate Allow downloads (GET) and Allow uploads (PUT) switches | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pick the folder to serve | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shows your Mac’s LAN IP and port | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live transfer log with Export log… to a text file | ✓ | ✓ |
| Signed and notarized, macOS 14 or later | ✓ | ✓ |
| Only in Octet TFTP | ||
| About 3× faster transfersblksize, tsize and timeout option negotiation (RFC 2347, 2348, 2349) | — | ✓ |
| Live progress bar for every transferPercent, size, speed and time left | — | ✓ |
| Safe uploadsWritten to a temporary file and swapped in at the end, so a failed upload never damages an existing file | — | ✓ |
| Allowed devicesIP and CIDR allow list, with every refusal logged | — | ✓ |
| Menu bar modeStatus icon, start/stop and recent transfers with the window closed | — | ✓ |
| Opens port 69 with no admin password on current macOS | Helper fallback | ✓ |
| Installs and updates through the Mac App Store | Update check | ✓ |
| Download Lite | App Store | |
Both versions need a Mac with Apple silicon. Octet Lite checks this site for updates once a day; Octet TFTP makes no internet connections.
Octet Lite 1.0.2 · 4.1 MB · Signed & notarized · SHA-256: e32cbb940af69f851eb630145ef1173ef1c69aaae9db9aa3c23c4bd86ec74a9c
Octet negotiates bigger blocks with devices that support it, about 3× faster than classic 512-byte TFTP. Every transfer gets its own bar with percent, size, speed and time left. Older devices still work the classic way.
Uploads land in a hidden temporary file and replace the original only when the last block arrives. If a device drops mid-transfer, your existing config stays exactly as it was and nothing half-written is left behind.
Limit the server to single addresses or ranges such as 10.1.1.0/24. Anything else gets “Access denied”, and every refusal is written to the log. The list is saved between launches.
The “8” icon shows at a glance whether the server is stopped, running or transferring. Start and stop, flip GET and PUT, see your IP and check recent transfers right from the menu bar.
Octet comes from PWR Industries, founded by a network engineer with 28 years in networking, cybersecurity, SANs and virtual systems. It exists because moving an image or a config backup to a Mac shouldn’t mean hunting for a TFTP daemon in Terminal in the middle of a change window. Octet does one job and does it well: get files on and off your gear, safely.
Click Choose… and select the folder with your images and configs.
Turn on downloads, uploads, or both.
Octet shows your Mac’s LAN IP and port 69.
Point the device at your Mac’s IP and go.
! Cisco IOS-XE, Mac at 192.168.1.50 (lab addressing) lab-sw1# copy tftp://192.168.1.50/c9300-17.15.06.bin flash: lab-sw1# copy running-config tftp://192.168.1.50/lab-sw1-config.txt ! Management port or VRF? Pick the source interface first: lab-sw1(config)# ip tftp source-interface GigabitEthernet0/0
Not with Octet TFTP. On current macOS, it opens UDP port 69 directly, with no helper, no Terminal and no password. Octet Lite opens port 69 directly where macOS allows it, and otherwise falls back to a small admin helper that may ask for your admin password.
Something between them is blocking TFTP. Between subnets, allow UDP 69 to your Mac plus the high UDP ports the transfer uses, or use a firewall with a TFTP helper. Check the Mac firewall and the device’s route back. The easy fix is putting your Mac on the same VLAN. More in Support →
Octet Lite (1.0.2) is the free, basic server: port 69, GET/PUT switches, folder picker and log. Octet TFTP adds faster transfers, progress bars, safe uploads, allowed devices and menu bar mode, and it installs and updates through the Mac App Store.
No. There are no accounts, no analytics and no tracking. Files move only between your Mac and your own devices. Read the privacy policy →
Octet TFTP, the TFTP server for Mac, is in review with Apple for the Mac App Store ($4.99). Want the basics today? Octet Lite is a free download.