Apple has always used public-facing code names for macOS — née OS X — starting with the original, bear-branded beta. From 2001 to 2012 they were all code-named after big cats. However, because Apple marketed co-opted the internal code-names, in 2003 the internal code-names switched to wines (with the exception of OS X 10.6, which never had a code-name beyond Snow Leopard). Though OS X marketing code-names switched to California places in 2013, the internal code-names remained wine-based until 2014. In 2015 they switched to types of apples. In 2016, they switched the OS X name to macOS, but kept with the apple.
- OS X 10 beta: Kodiak
- OS X 10.0: Cheetah
- OS X 10.1: Puma
- OS X 10.2: Jaguar
- OS X 10.3 Panther (Pinot)
- OS X 10.4 Tiger (Merlot)
- OS X 10.4.4 Tiger (Intel: Chardonay)
- OS X 10.5 Leopard (Chablis)
- OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
- OS X 10.7 Lion (Barolo)
- OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (Zinfandel)
- OS X 10.9 Mavericks (Cabernet)
- OS X 10.10: Yosemite (Syrah)
- OS X 10.11: El Capitan (Gala)
- macOS 10.12: Sierra (Fuji)
Reader comments
OS X version code-names
The version name list is out of date: for 10.11, the name (El Capitan) is missing. This page is only as useful as it is up-to-date.
Your right, also, it would be cool if we knew the codename for 10.12!
Maybe this needs a bump! And an add of El Capitan and Sierra. ;)