Installing from macos base system
I need to wipe my hard drive and reinstall using the macOS Base System.
How do I know that Recovery/reinstall is using this version for the install?
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
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Hello, BrettSto.
The "macOS Base System" that you can see when you open Disk Utility is typically not available to be chosen by the user as a source for reinstalling macOS.
When properly reinstalling the OS on your Mac, you are usually using either an OS installer that you have download from Apple and used to create a bootable USB drive, or you use the OS that is offered when rebooting into recovery mode.
When you use the Recovery mode, you will be offered the most recently installed macOS version, or the version that was originally installed on the Mac or the closest available compatible version. In some cases the Recovery boot will reach out to Apple servers on the internet to download the resources it needs. You won't be selecting or designating the "macOS Base System" as an option.
Follow the guidance in the Related Article that is linked above your post to properly reinstall macOS on your computer.
EDIT - instead of trying to designate "macOS Base System", you will be focusing on the version or macOS that you require, i.e. Catalina 10.15, Big Sur 11 or Monterey 12.