BitBridge - Open-source BitLocker for Mac Apple Silicon

BitBridge is an open-source Apple Silicon macOS installer that helps mount BitLocker-encrypted Windows SSDs safely from Finder.

Use BitBridge when you need to open a BitLocker drive on Mac, read a BitLocker SSD on MacBook Air/Pro M1, M2, M3, or M4, or access a Windows laptop NVMe SSD from macOS without buying a commercial BitLocker reader.

Open source, made by @MESBAHI.taha.

GitHub: @taha-mesbahi

BitBridge wraps the excellent anylinuxfs workflow with a small GUI installer, Keychain-based recovery-key storage, and a LaunchAgent that automounts the selected BitLocker partition when the drive is plugged in.

Why BitBridge?

Moving from a Windows laptop to a Mac can make a BitLocker SSD feel locked away. BitBridge keeps the setup approachable:

• Select the external BitLocker partition from a GUI.
• Store the recovery key in the macOS login Keychain.
• Mount the Windows volume read-only under /Volumes.
• Re-mount automatically after login when the SSD is plugged in.
• Keep the actual mount logic as simple shell scripts contributors can inspect.

Safety Model

BitBridge defaults to read-only mounting. That is intentional. NTFS writes from macOS can be risky, and BitLocker recovery workflows should not start by modifying the original Windows system disk.

The recovery key is not written to the LaunchAgent or scripts. It is stored with:

macOS login Keychain -> io.github.taha-mesbahi.bitbridge.recovery-key.<partition-uuid>

Requirements

• Apple Silicon Mac.
• macOS 13 Ventura or newer recommended.
• macOS tools: launchctl, osascript, security, diskutil, hdiutil, plutil, sudo, mount, and open.
• anylinuxfs, installed in /opt/homebrew/bin/anylinuxfs.
• macFUSE, if required by your anylinuxfs setup.
• A valid BitLocker recovery key for the external drive.

Check requirements from source:

./scripts/preflight.sh

The GUI installer also runs this check before installing the automount helper.

Install From The DMG

1. Download BitBridge-Apple-Silicon.dmg from Releases.
2. Open the DMG.
3. Run BitBridge Installer.app.
4. Choose the external BitLocker partition.
5. Paste the recovery key when prompted.
6. Enter your Mac administrator password when macOS asks to mount the volume.

After installation, BitBridge checks every 20 seconds after login. When the configured SSD is present, it mounts it automatically.

Gatekeeper Note

The current build script creates an ad-hoc signed preview app. It is valid on disk, but it is not Developer ID signed or notarized, so macOS Gatekeeper may reject it for normal double-click launch.

For public releases, sign and notarize the app with an Apple Developer ID. Until then, testers may need to right-click BitBridge Installer.app and choose Open.

Build The DMG

Clone the repo on an Apple Silicon Mac, then run:

./tools/build.sh

The output will be:

dist/BitBridge-Apple-Silicon.dmg

The build creates:

• BitBridge Installer.app
• a macOS .icns app icon generated from assets/bitbridge-icon-source.png
• a compressed DMG ready to upload to GitHub Releases

What BitBridge Is Not

BitBridge is not a BitLocker implementation and does not replace Windows recovery tools. It is a small open-source installer around macOS, Keychain, LaunchAgent, and anylinuxfs.

It currently focuses on safe read-only access. Write support is intentionally not enabled by default.

Manual Commands

Installed files live in:

~/Library/Application Support/BitBridge

Manual mount:

"$HOME/Library/Application Support/BitBridge/bitbridge-mount.sh"

Manual unmount:

"$HOME/Library/Application Support/BitBridge/bitbridge-unmount.sh"

Logs:

~/Library/Application Support/BitBridge/bitbridge.log
~/Library/Application Support/BitBridge/launchd.err.log
~/Library/Application Support/BitBridge/launchd.out.log

LaunchAgent:

~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.github.taha-mesbahi.bitbridge.automount.plist

Contributing

Good first issues:

• Improve dependency detection for anylinuxfs and macFUSE.
• Add localization for installer dialogs.
• Add safer drive identification with BitLocker metadata probing.
• Add a signed and notarized release pipeline.
• Improve UI with a native Swift installer.

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Disclaimer

BitBridge is not affiliated with Microsoft, Apple, BitLocker, Homebrew, macFUSE, or anylinuxfs. It is a small open-source helper around existing macOS and open-source tools. Always keep backups before working with encrypted disks.