# OpenCore Legacy Patcher Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/opencore-legacy-patcher/ 18 people recommended OpenCore Legacy Patcher in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 18 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Lets people install newer macOS versions on older and unsupported Macs that Apple no longer updates. Critics report sluggish performance afterward. Summary written by Claude from 25 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 24 of those comments still count. ## Why people recommend it - Runs newer macOS on old Macs (9 comments in the sample): "you might want to look at Open Core - which will let you update to a modern macOS." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45779524)) "OpenCore patcher will even let you install Tahoe, which doesn’t have this problem" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46821486)) "Thanks to the community, you can install macOS 15 (or older) on unsupported macs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49587560)) - Works well on old hardware (5 comments in the sample): "Then I applied the OCLP patches and everything worked perfectly after that." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47470757)) "Don't even know what I would have done without OCLP on my older systems" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46600650)) "It was a very simple hack and everything automatically obeyed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50041680)) - Shows Apple's support cutoffs are choices (2 comments in the sample): "Thanks to the OpenCore Legacy Patcher who show that not supporting old devices is a choice made by Apple." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49733108)) "OpenCore Legacy Patcher proves it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48393091)) ## What people warn about - Slow performance on older Macs (3 comments in the sample): "The experience was sluggish at best even with a brand new SSD installed and RAM maxed out." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46073349)) "macOS with CoreLegacyPatcher on Ventura was almost unusably slow" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46119509)) "Thar be performance hazards." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48548064)) - Upgrading can fail or take effort (2 comments in the sample): "after some failed attempts to upgrade macOS using OpenCore Legacy Patcher" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49092560)) "The road is bit longer when you decide to use Open Core Legacy Patcher." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47079313)) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "OpenCore Legacy Patcher", https://hackerapproved.com/p/opencore-legacy-patcher/ (18 recommend, 1 mixed, 5 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.