Installing TrueNAS

1. Obtain an OpenPGP encryption application to use. There are many free applications available. The OpenPGP group provides a list of available software for different operating systems at https://www.openpgp.org/software/. The examples in this section show verifying the TrueNAS .iso using gnupg2 in a command prompt, but Gpg4win is also a good option for Windows users.

2. To verify the .iso source, go to https://www.truenas.com/download-tn-scale/, expand the Security option, and click PGP Signature to download the Gnu Privacy Guard signature file. This is a (.gpg) file. Open the PGP Public key link and note the address in your browser and Search results for string.

3. Use one of the OpenPGP encryption tools mentioned above to import the public key and verify the PGP signature.

   Go to the .iso and the .iso.gpg download location and import the public key using the keyserver address and search results string:

   user@ubuntu /tmp> gpg --keyserver hkps://keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 0xc8d62def767c1db0dff4e6ec358eaa9112cf7946
   gpg: key 358EAA9112CF7946: public key "IX SecTeam <security-officer@ixsystems.com>" imported
   gpg: Total number processed: 1
   gpg:               imported: 1
   user@ubuntu /tmp>
   

   Use gpg --verify with the .iso.gpg signature file first and the .iso file second:

   user@ubuntu /tmp> gpg --verify TrueNAS-SCALE-25.10.7.iso.gpg TrueNAS-SCALE-25.10.7.iso
   gpg: Signature made Wed Sep  2 08:35:50 2026 EDT
   gpg:                using RSA key C8D62DEF767C1DB0DFF4E6EC358EAA9112CF7946
   gpg: Good signature from "IX SecTeam <security-officer@ixsystems.com>" [unknown]
   gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
   gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
   Primary key fingerprint: C8D6 2DEF 767C 1DB0 DFF4  E6EC 358E AA91 12CF 7946
   user@ubuntu /tmp>
   

   This response means the signature is correct but still untrusted.

4. Go back to the browser page that has the PGP Public key. Open and manually confirm that the key is issued for IX SecTeam <security-officer@ixsystems.com> (iX Security Team) on October 15, 2019, and is signed by an iXsystems account.

The command to verify the checksum varies by operating system:

• BSD: use command sha256 isofile
• Linux: use command sha256sum isofile
• Mac: use command shasum -a 256 isofile
• Windows: in PowerShell, use command Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 isofile. PowerShell shows the value in uppercase, and the comparison ignores case.

The value produced by running the command must match the value in the .iso.sha256 checksum file for your release. Different checksum values indicate a corrupted installer file that you should not use.

To write the TrueNAS installer to a USB drive on Linux, plug the USB drive into the system and open a terminal.

Start by making sure the USB drive connection path is correct. There are many ways to do this in Linux, but a quick option is to enter the command lsblk -po +vendor,model and note the path to the USB drive. This shows in the NAME column of the lsblk output.

Next, use the dd command to write the installer to the USB drive.

Be very careful when using dd, as choosing the wrong of= device path can result in irretrievable data loss!

Enter this command dd status=progress if=path/to/.iso of=path/to/USB in the CLI.

If this results in a permission denied error, use the command sudo dd with the same parameters and enter the administrator password.

To write the TrueNAS installer to a USB drive on macOS, plug the USB drive into the system and open a terminal.

Start by identifying the USB drive. Enter diskutil list and note the identifier of the USB drive (for example, /dev/disk4). The USB drive shows as (external, physical) and matches the size of the drive. Check the size carefully, because writing to the wrong disk erases it. Unmount the stick with diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk4, replacing disk4 with your identifier.

Be very careful when using dd, as choosing the wrong of= device path can result in irretrievable data loss!

Next, use the dd command to write the installer to the USB drive. Enter sudo dd if=path/to/.iso of=/dev/rdisk4 bs=1m, replacing path/to/.iso with the path to the downloaded .iso file and rdisk4 with your identifier, then enter the administrator password. The rdisk4 device path writes to the raw device, which is faster than disk4. Press Ctrl+T to show progress while the command runs.

When the command finishes, macOS might show a message that the disk is not readable. Click Eject, then remove the USB drive.

balenaEtcher is a free, open-source application for Windows, macOS, and Linux that writes an iso file to a USB drive.

1. Download and install balenaEtcher.
2. Insert a USB drive. Etcher erases all data on the drive, so move any files you want to keep first.
3. Click Flash from file and select the TrueNAS iso file.
4. Click Select target and choose the USB drive. Check the drive name and size, because Etcher erases the selected target.
5. Click Flash! and wait for the write and validation to finish.

After following the installation steps, restart the system, and then remove the install media.

1. Create a new virtual machine as usual, taking note of the following:

   • Point a bootable CD/DVD device in the virtual hardware to the TrueNAS installer image (this is usually an .iso).

   • Configure the virtual network card to allow your network to reach it. Bridged mode is optimal, as it treats the network card as if it is plugged into a simple switch on the existing network.

   • Identify the OS you plan to install on the VM. This is required by some products. TrueNAS is based on Debian, so select the latest Debian 64-bit option your hypervisor offers. If not available, try Other Linux 64-bit or Other 64-bit.

   • Use UEFI firmware if your hypervisor offers it. If you use legacy BIOS firmware, answer the Legacy Boot prompt in the installer accordingly. Disable Secure Boot for the VM.

   • Ensure the VM has sufficient memory and disk space as described in Minimum Virtual Machine Settings. Not all hypervisors allocate enough memory by default.

2. Add the additional virtual disks for data storage.

3. Boot the VM and install TrueNAS as described below.

4. After the installation completes, shut down the VM instead of restarting, and disconnect the CD/DVD from the VM before starting the VM again.

5. After restarting into TrueNAS, install guest tools if applicable for your hypervisor, or ensure they load on boot.

Start the virtual machine. The machine boots into the TrueNAS installer.

After the TrueNAS installation completes, restart the system. The Console Setup menu displays when the system boots successfully.