tmutil
Time Machine utility

tmutil verb [options]

Control and interact with Time Machine, examining and manipulating backups,
including restoring data from backups, editing exclusions, and comparing backups.

There exists a gui at System Settings/ General / TimeMachine which can :

  • Add Backup Disk The GUI does not contain many of the interfaces included in tmutil

    Verbs

    Shown in crimson require root privledge.
    tmutil status This detail is only shown if backupd is active!
    tmutil status ; tmutil currentphase
    Backup session status:
    {
        BackupPhase = Copying;
        ClientID = "com.apple.backupd";
        DateOfStateChange = "2023-03-07 03:56:03 +0000";
        DestinationID = "0394DD36-E843-40C4-84D6-56877D3052CD";
        DestinationMountPoint = "/Volumes/Backups of smac14";
        FirstBackup = 1;
        FractionOfProgressBar = "0.9";
        Progress =     {
            Percent = "0.002399386254979543";
            "_raw_Percent" = "0.002399386254979543";
            "_raw_totalBytes" = 134334070784;
            bytes = 48640000;
            files = 378;
            sizingFreePreflight = 1;
            totalBytes = 134334070784;
            totalFiles = 1321045;
        };
        Running = 1;
        Stopping = 0;
    } 
    If backupd is idle the report contains only:
    Backup session status:
    {
        ClientID = "com.apple.backupd";
        Running = 0;
    }
    tmutil currentphase
    Copying   current phase 
    BackupNotRunning
    tmutil latestbackup Displays the path to the most recent snapshot.
    Requires backup location to be accessable.
    tmutil latestbackup
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac/2011-08-26-104514
    tmutil latestbackup
    Failed to mount backup destination, 
            error: Error Domain=com.apple.backupd.ErrorDomain 
            Code=18 "Failed to mount destination." 
            UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Failed to mount destination.}
    tmutil latestbackup
    Failed to find any backups found for current machine, error: (null) 
    tmutil listbackups displays paths for all of this computer's completed snapshots.
     tmutil listbackups
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac/2011-07-04-120352
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac/2011-08-12-201512
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac/2011-08-13-000030
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac/2011-08-17-224109
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac/2011-08-25-190029
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac/2011-08-25-200021
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac/2011-08-25-210025
    
     Error
    tmutil listbackups
    No machine directory found for host.   No backup is mounted 
    /bin/df -g     -P don't display inodes is not available with -g)
    
    Filesystem                                                  1G-blocks Used Available Capacity 
                                                            Mounted on 
    /dev/disk7s2                                                     1397  206      1190    15%  
                                                            /Volumes/TM28
    com.apple.TimeMachine.2023-04-23-201128.backup@/dev/disk7s2      1397   50      1190     5%  
                                                            /Volumes/.timemachine/20DD4202-D416-4A80-A8F6-D52D64F5FE61/2023-04-23-201128.backup
    com.apple.TimeMachine.2023-04-27-202826.local@/dev/disk3s5        460   90       303    23% 
                                                            /Volumes/com.apple.TimeMachine.localsnapshots/Backups.backupdb/smac14/2023-04-27-202826/Data
    
    %xattr -l /Volumes/.timemachine/20DD4202-D416-4A80-A8F6-D52D64F5FE61/2023-04-23-201128.backup
    com.apple.backupd.BackupMachineAddress: 8f:d9:6a:3f:e3:e4
    com.apple.backupd.ComputerName: smac14
    com.apple.backupd.HostUUID: 8FD96A3F-E3E4-5E03-8E25-8E8BB928184B
    com.apple.backupd.ModelID: MacBookPro18,3
    com.apple.timemachine.private.structure.metadata: APFSMachineStore,1,F170912F-B96A-465C-9076-CC3499F18DBD
    
    % ls -l /Volumes/.timemachine/20DD4202-D416-4A80-A8F6-D52D64F5FE61/2023-04-23-201128.backup/2023-04-23-201128.backup/
    
     cd  /Volumes/.timemachine/20DD4202-D416-4A80-A8F6-D52D64F5FE61/2023-04-23-201128.backup 
    % du
    du: ./.Spotlight-V100/Store-V2/07F7AA8B-CFDA-49DE-8091-748692E2C93F/journals.repair: Permission denied
        10,848   .Spotlight-V100/Store-V2
        45,296   .com.apple.TimeMachine.IOCheck
       179,256   2023-04-23-201128.backup/DATA
    52,234,748   2023-04-23-201128.backup/Data
    52,414,044   2023-04-23-201128.backup
    52,470,196 
    
    tmutil machinedirectory Displays the path to the current machine directory for this computer.
    tmutil machinedirectory
    /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac
    
    Error:
    tmutil machinedirectory
    No machine directory found for host. No backup is mounted  
    tmutil destinationinfo
     tmutil destinationinfo
    ====================================================
    Name          : TM28
    Kind          : Local
    Mount Point   : /Volumes/TM28
    ID            : 1C206146-04C8-4E64-9A8E-A894EE5268A0
    ==================================================
    Name          : dgerman23
    Kind          : Network
    URL           : smb://dgerman@smacpro._smb._tcp.local/dgerman23
    ID            : 0394DD36-E843-40C4-84D6-56877D3052CD
    ====================================================
    Name          : DGerman19
    Kind          : Local
    ID            : 890D8E63-09EA-4971-BCE2-77270AECACDA
    Name          : DG19extdisk
    Kind          : Local 
    tmutil restore [-v] src …   dst Restore src, in a snapshot to dst.
    The dst argument uses the destination path semantics of cp.

    Behaves like Finder.
    Custom Time Machine metadata (extended security and other) is removed other metadata is preserved.

    Root privileges may be required to perform restores depending on dst.
    cp or ditto.
    When restoring as root, ownership of the restored items will match the state of the items in the backup.

    sudo tmutil restore -v /Volumes/TM28/etc/csh.login  /etc/csh.login
    /Volumes/TM28/etc/csh.login: The operation couldn't be completed. 
    No such file or directory (error 2)
    Restore failed
    echo $? 
    2
    tmutil localsnapshot Create new local snapshots of all APFS volumes included in the backup.
    NOTE: local snapshots are considered purgeable and 
        may be removed at any time by deleted(8).
    Created local snapshot with date: 2023-04-27-121447
    tmutil ListLocalSnapshots Mount_Point List local snapshots of the volume.
    tmutil listlocalsnapshots /
    Snapshots for disk /:
    com.apple.TimeMachine.2023-04-23-194726.local
    com.apple.TimeMachine.2023-04-27-202826.local
    com.apple.TimeMachine.2023-04-27-203002.local
    tmutil ListLocalSnapshots /Volumes/TM28
    /Volumes/TM28 is an APFS backup disk.
    Use 'tmutil listBackups' to list APFS backup snapshots.
    tmutil listlocalsnapshots /Volumes/DGerman19
    
    Snapshots for disk /Volumes/DGerman19:
                        none
    /Volumes/TM28 is not a valid disk # i.e Not mounted
    tmutil ListLocalSnapshotDates [/Volumes/mount_point] List dates of local snapshots.
    Include /Volumes/mount_point to list snapshot dates from a volume.
    dates YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS.
     > tmutil ListLocalSnapshotDates
    Snapshot dates for all disks:
    2023-04-02-185029
    2023-04-07-135949
    2023-04-07-145950
    2023-04-07-160036
    2023-04-07-232526
    2023-04-08-123250
    2023-04-08-131232
    2023-04-08-132856
    Examination of the entire TimeMachine backup shows 14 (of the same) copies for: -rw-r--r--@ 11 716 Jun 8 2021 com.github.IngmarStein.Monolingual.Helper.plist
    2022-05-23-211840
    2022-06-23-145836
    2022-09-04-183101
    2022-09-30-185057
    2022-11-10-125141
    2022-11-30-111047
    2022-12-11-085722
    2023-01-06-144025
    2023-01-27-152007
    2023-02-26-163511
    2023-03-18-230349
    2023-03-31-134201
    2023-04-08-133122
    
    xattr shows:
    >  xattr -lx com.github.IngmarStein.Monolingual.Helper.plist
    com.apple.metadata:_kTimeMachineNewestSnapshot:
    00                                2D 63 C3 7F 00 00  bplist003B
    10  00 08 
    20  00 01 
    com.apple.metadata:_kTimeMachineOldestSnapshot:
    00                                C0 B9 41 92 80 00  bplist003A
    10  00 08                   01 01
    20  00 01 
    30  00 11      
    
    sudo tmutil DeleteLocalSnapshots {mount_point | date} With disk delete all local snapshots on the disk

    With date delete all local snapshots on all mounted disks for the date (YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS).

    tmutil ThinLocalSnapshots mount_point [purgeamount(bytes)] [1-4(urgency)]
    tmutil snapshot Create new local snapshot.
     > tmutil snapshot
    NOTE: local snapshots are considered purgeable and 
        may be removed at any time by deleted.
    Created local snapshot with date: 2023-04-08-133938
    tmutil startbackup [options]
    Back Up Now
    -a
    --auto
    similar to system-scheduled
    -b
    --block
    wait (block) until the backup is finished before exiting.
    Default: start backup and exit.
    -r
    --rotation
    Allow automatic destination rotation
    -d
    --destination dest_id
    /Volume/xxxx ???
    Waiting for backup to complete
    tmutil: Backup already in progress. 
    Backup complete rc:3
    tmutil stopbackup Cancel a backup currently in progress.
    sudo tmutil enable
    sudo tmutil disable
    Turn on/off automatic backups. No acknowledgement is output!
    tmutil enable          
    tmutil: enable requires root privileges.
    tmutil isexcluded item … Report if a file, directory, or volume are excluded from Time Machine backups.
    tmutil isexcluded /Applications/Copland.app
                 [Included]       /Applications/Copland.app
    
    tmutil isexcluded /Volumes/OtherSysSaves/kitchen
                 [Excluded]     /Volumes/OtherSysSaves/kitchen  
    tmutil addexclusion item … file, directory. There are default exclusions

    location-independent exclusion(sticky) :
          Moved item is still excluded.
          Copy of item retains the exclusion.

    Error (-43) while attempting to change exclusion setting.
    File does not exist.

    sudo tmutil addexclusion -p path … fixed-path exclusion:
    Files within the path at the time of the backup are excluded.

    Volume exclusions are implicitly fixed-path exclusions and are retained if the volume name or mount path changes.
    Erasing the volume clears it's exclusions. (See associatedisk.)
    Displaying exclusions:

     defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
    SkipPaths (
        "/System",
        "/Users",
        "/Volumes/DATA/dgerman",
        "/Applications",
        "/Library"
     
    tmutil removeexclusion [-p] item
    sudo tmutil delete [-d backup_mount_point -t timestamp] [-p path] in an arbitrary machine directory.
    Can delete snapshots from backups that were not made by, or are not claimed by, the current machine.
    tmutil calculatedrift machine_directory Analyze the snapshots in a machine directory and display the amount of change between each.
    Averages are displayed after all snapshots have been analyzed.
    Root privileges may be required, depending on the contents of the machine directory.
     tmutil calculatedrift /Volumes/bakvol/Backups.backupdb/mymac
    
    2011-07-04-120352 - 2011-08-12-201512
    -------------------------------------
    Added:         2.2G
    Removed:       32.5G
    Changed:       969.8M
    
    2011-08-12-201512 - 2011-08-13-000030
    -------------------------------------
    Added:         78.9K
    Removed:       0B
    Changed:       256.4K
    
    ...
    
    2011-08-25-200021 - 2011-08-25-210025
    -------------------------------------
    Added:         1.7M
    Removed:       0B
    Changed:       79.1M
    
    
    Drift Averages
    -------------------------------------
    Added:         1.8G
    Removed:       3.2G
    Changed:       157.9M  
    tmutil uniquesize path ... Analyze the specified path and determine its unique size.
    Things that only exist in the specified path; things that are hard-linked in other places are not tallied.
    tmutil uniquesize /Volumes/DGer1a/Backups.backupdb/smackerPro/0 
    
    tmutil compare [-@esmugtdrEX]
    [-D depth] [-I name]
    [
    snapshot_path |
     path1 path2]
    create a diff listing

    full example

  • No arguments: compare the computer to the latest snapshot.
  • One snapshot path: compare the computer to the specified snapshot.
  • Two path: compare two snapshots .

    Default property set:
    -smugt

    tmutil compare vary operation
    -@ extended attributes -I Ignore paths with a path component equal to name during iteration. May be specified multiple times
    -s sizes -X output in XML property list format
    -m file modes -E don't take exclusions into account when comparing items inside volumes
    -u UIDs
    -t modification times
    -d file data forks -v verbose depricated
    -e ACLs
    -a all supported metadata -D limit traversal depth to depth levels from the beginning of iteration
    -g GIDs -r ignore specified root paths and compare descendents instead
  • sudo tmutil setdestination [-p] argConfigure a local HFS+ volume or AFP share as the backup destination.
    sudo tmutil setdestination /Volumes/TM28
    /Volumes/TM28: APFS volumes must be empty before their first use with Time Machine. (error 45)
    The backup destination could not be set.
    To set an HFS+ volume as the backup destination, arg is the mount point of the volume.
    When setting an AFP destination arg takes the form: afp://user[:pass]@host/share

    -p password interactive prompt.

    sudo tmutil inheritbackup {machine_directory |
                     sparsebundle}
    Claim a machine directory or sparsebundle for use by the current machine.

    Machine directories and sparsebundles are owned by one computer at a time,
    and are tracked by unique identifiers.
    inheritbackup reassigns the identity of the specified item, reconfiguring it so the current host recognizes it during backups.
    When inheriting a sparsebundle, the machine directory within will also be claimed.

    Inheriting is typically only one step in the process of configuring a backup for use by a machine.
    See setdestination and/or associatedisk

    One machine can own multiple machine directories and sparsebundles , but it is ill-advised for them to reside in the same place.

    inheritbackup attempts to detect identity collisions before making changes.

    1/1/13, The backup "oldMachine" can't be inherited because it would conflict with "machine 3".

    sudo tmutil associatedisk [-a] mount_point          snapshot_volume Bind a snapshot volume directory to the specified local disk and configure the backup history.

    Time Machine uses the HFS+ volume persistent UUID assigned when the file system was created to associate a source volume and a snapshot volume.

    Erasing a volume creates a new file system on the disk and previous assocation to a time machine snapshot is broken.
    After restoring a volume's contents, use associatedisk to have Time Machine consider the volume backed up.

    sudo tmutil associatedisk -a /Volumes/MyNewStuffDisk
          /Volumes/Chronoton/Backups.backupdb/therm/Latest/MyStuff

    -a all snapshot volumes in the same machine directory that match the MyStuff will be associated .

    GUI ONLY

    remove volume

    As of 4/25/23, Ventura 13.3.1 There does not appear to be a command to remove Volume.
    Click on the TimeMachine icon and Open Time Machine Settings.
    Click on the volume to be removed, then click on the -.

    tmutil help [verb] Display usage for a verb.

    tmutil without verb reports:

    Usage: tmutil version 
           tmutil enable 
           tmutil disable 
           tmutil startbackup [-a | --auto] [-b | --block] [-r | --rotation] [-d | --destination dest_id] 
           tmutil stopbackup 
           tmutil delete [-d backup_mount_point -t timestamp] [-p path] 
           tmutil deleteinprogress machine_directory 
           tmutil restore [-v] src ... dst 
           tmutil compare [-@acdefghlmnstuEX] [-D depth] [-I name] [snapshot_path ]
           tmutil compare [-@acdefghlmnstuEUX] [-D depth] [-I name] path1 path2 
           tmutil setdestination [-a]  mount_point
           tmutil setdestination [-ap] afp://user[:pass]@host/share 
           tmutil removedestination destination_id 
           tmutil destinationinfo [-X] 
           tmutil addexclusion [-p|-v] item ...  
           tmutil removeexclusion [-p|-v] item ...  
           tmutil isexcluded item ...  
           tmutil inheritbackup machine_directory
           tmutil inheritbackup sparse_bundle 
           tmutil associatedisk [-a] mount_point volume_backup_directory 
           tmutil latestbackup [-m] [-t] [-d mount_point] 
           tmutil listbackups [-m] [-t] [-d mount_point] 
           tmutil machinedirectory 
           tmutil calculatedrift machine_directory 
           tmutil uniquesize path ...  
           tmutil verifychecksums path ...  
           tmutil localsnapshot 
           tmutil listlocalsnapshots  
           tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates [] 
           tmutil deletelocalsnapshots [ | ] 
           tmutil thinlocalsnapshots  [purgeamount] [urgency]
    
    Use `tmutil help ` for more information about a specific verb.
    
    
    

    Backup Structures

    "realms" associated with Time Machine backups, definitions:  
    backup source volume currently being backed up by Time Machine.
    backup disk HFS+ volume that contains Time Machine backups.
    backup destination In the case of a local destination, a synonym for backup disk.
    For network destinations, this is the AFP share on which the backup disk image resides.
    backup disk image
    backup image
    sparsebundle that, when mounted, is the backing store for a volume that is a backup disk.
    backup store top-level Backups.backupdb directory at the root of a backup disk.
    machine directorydirectory inside a backup store that contains all the backups for a particular computer.
    For local destinations, a backup store can contain multiple machine directories, all for separate computers.
    snapshotdirectory inside a machine directory that represents a single initial or incremental backup of one computer.
    "snapshot", in most contexts, is a generic term and is not to be confused with a "local Time Machine snapshot", which is simply a snapshot stored locally on the computer.
    snapshot volumedirectory inside a snapshot that represents a single initial or incremental backup of one backup source. Example:
    /Volumes/Chronoton/Backups.backupdb/thermopylae/2011-07-03-123456/Mac HD

    Files

    default exclusions

     /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.TMLaunchAgent.plist:
    
    <key>Label</key> <string>com.apple.TMLaunchAgent</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array> <string>/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd.bundle/
                                         Contents/Resources/TMLaunchAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/TMLaunchAgent</string> </array>
        <key>StartOnMount</key> <true/>
    
    /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mtmfs.plist: 
     <key>Disabled</key> <true/>
        <key>EnableTransactions</key> <false/>
        <key>KeepAlive</key> <true/>
        <key>Label</key> <string>com.apple.mtmfs</string>
        <key>MachServices</key> <dict> <key>com.apple.mtmfs</key> <true/> </dict>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
            <string>/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd.bundle/Contents/Resources/mtmfs</string>
            <string>--tcp</string>
            <string>--resvport</string>
            <string>--listen</string>
            <string>localhost</string>
            <string>--oneshot</string>
            <string>--noportmap</string>
            <string>--nobrowse</string>
        </array>
        <key>RunAtLoad</key> <true/> 
    
    
    <key>Label</key> <string>com.apple.mtmd</string>
        <key>MachServices</key>
        <dict>
            <key>com.apple.mtmd.xpc.ondemand</key> <true/>
            <key>com.apple.mtmd.xpc</key> <dict> 
            <key>HideUntilCheckIn</key> <true/> </dict>
        </dict>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key> <array> <string>/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd.bundle/Contents/Resources/mtmd</string> </array> 
        <key>KeepAlive</key> <dict> <key>Crashed</key> <true/> </dict>
        <key>POSIXSpawnType</key> <string>Interactive</string>
        <key>EnvironmentVariables</key> <dict>
            <!--Uncomment to enable various debugging options-->
            <!--<key>WaitForDebugger</key>--> <!--<true/>-->
            <!--<key>MallocScribble</key>--> <!--<string>1</string>-->
            <!--<key>MallocStackLogging</key>--> <!--<string>1</string>--> </dict>
        <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key> <string>com.apple.backup.launcher</string>
    

    TimeMachine writes messages like these to system.log and syslog with level = notice
    Feb 14 17:44:10 smackerpro com.apple.backupd[14355]: Copied 702 items (22.1 MB) from volume DATA. Linked 45215.
    Feb 14 17:44:24 smackerpro com.apple.backupd[14355]: Copied 2 items (14 bytes) from volume Photos. Linked 93.
    Feb 14 17:44:31 smackerpro com.apple.backupd[14355]: Copied 56 items (7.1 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 652.
    Feb 14 17:44:34 smackerpro com.apple.backupd[14355]: Created new backup: 2016-02-14-174434
    Feb 14 17:44:36 smackerpro com.apple.backupd[14355]: Starting post-backup thinning
    Feb 14 17:44:36 smackerpro com.apple.backupd[14355]: No post-backup thinning needed: no expired backups exist
    Feb 14 17:44:36 smackerpro com.apple.backupd[14355]: Backup completed successfully.
    
    defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist Destinations edited

    After initalized , before any backups are run:

    defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
    {
        AutoBackup = 0;
        BackupAlias = {length = 238, bytes = 0x00000000 00ee0002 ... 38203100 ffff0000 };
        Destinations =     (
                    {
                BackupAlias = {length = 238, bytes = 0x00000000 00ee0002 ... 38203100 ffff0000 };
                BytesAvailable = 1500094930944;
                BytesUsed = 253894656;
                DestinationID =                  "71741923-D6E5-45BB-B21B-C07920156701";
                DestinationUUIDs =             ( "F3BEB045-D8C7-42D4-8F41-8FCAE3C81D0A");
                HealthCheckDecision = 0;
                InheritanceDecision = 0;
                RESULT = 0;
            }
        );
        HostUUIDs =     ( "8FD96A3F-E3E4-5E03-8E25-8E8BB928184B");
        LastConfigurationTraceDate = "2023-04-28 15:22:17 +0000";
        LastDestinationID = "0394DD36-E843-40C4-84D6-56877D3052CD";
        LocalizedDiskImageVolumeName = "Backups of smac14";
        PreferencesVersion = 5;
        RequiresACPower = 0;
        SkipPaths =     (
            "/System",
            "/Users",
            "/Volumes/DATA/dgerman",
            "/Applications",
            "/Library"
        );
    }
    After backups have been run:
     
     defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
    {   AlwaysShowDeletedBackupsWarning = 1;
        AutoBackup = 1; 
    (
        {
        BackupAlias = 0 
        DateOfLatestWarning = "2019-06-25 16:24:45 +0000";
        DestinationID      = "AE9B1E0A-A1F1-408B-8118-E572456F0372";
        DestinationUUIDs = ( "B2BA3CA8-984F-39F5-8A16-261BCBC2CE28");
        LastKnownEncryptionState = NotEncrypted; RESULT = 18;
        RootVolumeUUID = "D12613A2-FB47-3DF4-8035-9DB9DD6E5E01";
        SnapshotDates =         (
            "2016-02-14 20:49:45 +0000", "2016-02-26 00:00:38 +0000", "2016-03-05 21:17:04 +0000",
            …
            "2017-03-26 16:13:42 +0000", "2017-04-16 01:52:10 +0000", "2017-04-16 02:36:05 +0000");
                                    }, 
        {
        BackupAlias = 0  
        BytesAvailable = 297727688704; BytesUsed = 368677650432;
            DestinationID      = "014FFD4C-0482-4517-9570-812CBF7FBAB3";
            DestinationUUIDs = ( "6AC7B43D-0761-3820-8CB5-D8E59169F4EF");
            LastKnownEncryptionState = NotEncrypted;
            RESULT = 100;
            RootVolumeUUID = "D12613A2-FB47-3DF4-8035-9DB9DD6E5E01";
            }
    )
        ExcludeByPath =     ( "/Users/Shared/adi");   empty or nonexistant
        HostUUIDs =     ( "9205DB27-ADBE-5C67-B58F-AE743BF777D9");
        LastConfigurationTraceDate = "2018-07-21 19:03:31 +0000";
        LastDestinationID = "014FFD4C-0482-4517-9570-812CBF7FBAB3";
        LocalizedDiskImageVolumeName = "Time Machine Backups";
        MobileBackups = 1;
        PreferencesVersion = 4;
        RequiresACPower = 0;
        SkipSystemFiles = 0;
    } 
    
    plistbuddy -c print com.apple.TimeMachine.plist    3/22/23
    Dict {
        LastDestinationID = 0394DD36-E843-40C4-84D6-56877D3052CD
        LastConfigurationTraceDate = Mon Mar 06 08:18:12 EST 2023               ??
        LocalizedDiskImageVolumeName = Backups of smac14
        BackupAlias = x dgerman23 dgerman23:
            Volumes:dgerman23-1/   dgerman23   dgerman23/Volumes/dgerman23-1   
                <<cifssmb://dgerman@smacpro._smb._tcp.local/dgerman23/smb://dgerman@smacpro._smb._tcp.local/dgerman23??   
                        (( can not longer mount external SSD dgerman23 on Ventural so mounted it on smacoro))
        PreferencesVersion = 5
        HostUUIDs = Array { 8FD96A3F-E3E4-5E03-8E25-8E8BB928184B }
    
        Destinations = Array {
            Dict {
                BackupAlias = & DGerman19  DGerman19       DGerman1
                    DGerman19:DGerman19    DGerman19   DGerman19/Volumes/DGerman19??
                BytesUsed = 470,538,539,008
                RESULT = 18
                HealthCheckDecision = 0
                FilesystemTypeName = hfs
                LastKnownEncryptionState = NotEncrypted
                SnapshotDates = Array { Mon Apr 18 21:47:46 EST 2022 }                                 2022 
                BytesAvailable = 29,225,349,120
                DestinationID = 890D8E63-09EA-4971-BCE2-77270AECACDA
                InheritanceDecision = 0
                DestinationUUIDs = Array { 2810247F-8069-32E4-99C2-B7A4FA5C73A3 }
            }
            Dict {
                BackupAlias = x dgerman23 dgerman23 /:
                    Volumes:dgerman23-1/   dgerman23   dgerman23/Volumes/dgerman23-1 
                        ifssmb://dgerman@smacpro._smb._tcp.local/dgerman23/smb://dgerman@smacpro._smb._tcp.local/dgerman23??
                RESULT = 1008
                BytesUsed = 696,320                                                                     !!
    
    
                HealthCheckDecision = 0
                FilesystemTypeName = apfs
                DestinationID = 0394DD36-E843-40C4-84D6-56877D3052CD
                BytesAvailable = 995,729,952,768
                InheritanceDecision = 0
                DestinationUUIDs = Array { 4A604353-BCAB-4ED5-A51B-B030B9D8F342 }
            }
        }
        RequiresACPower = false
        AutoBackup = false
        SkipPaths = Array {
            /System
            /Users
            /Applications
            /Library
        }
    }
    
    
    
    No BACKUP_COMPLETED_DATE !

    Errors

    Unable to locate machine directory for host.

    sudo defaults write /System/Library/Launch Daemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 1800

    In finder Command+Shift+G opens GoToFolder dropdown.

    See /privat/etc


    tmdiagnose

    tmdiagnose -h
    tmdiagnose version 2.0.0 (built Jan 30 2023)
    Usage: tmdiagnose [OPTIONS]
    -h Display this help
    -d sec Delay the start of the diagnostic by |sec| seconds. The system alert sound will play two times when the diagnostic begins.
    -m Include memory diagnostics for backupd, mtmd, mtmfs, and Finder
    -r Do not reveal the diagnostic in Finder when finished.
    -f path Write the diagnostic to the specified path.


    Collects a great deal of information: The high-level backup structure for the current machine directory is recreated inside the diagnostic bundle, including the capture of various Time Machine log files contained within snapshots. Items in this "skeleton" structure have on them the extended attributes of the originals. Recreations of local snapshots are also captured in the same manner. Runs mddiagnose

    mddiagnose

    Gather information to aid in diagnosing Spotlight

    mddiagnose -h mddiagnose [-f path] [-e path] [-p path] [-n]

    A great deal of information is harvested, spanning system state, system and Spotlight details.

  • Doesn't Collect:

    OPTIONS

    -h Print full usage.
    -m Gather a subset of the normal report.
    -f path Write the diagnostic to the specified path.
    -p path Gather Spotlight permissions and filter information. Run as owner of that file.

    EXIT STATUS

    mddiagnose exits with status 0 if there were no internal errors encountered during the diagnostic, or >0 when an error unrelated to external state occurs or unusable input is provided by the user.

    deleted

    Daemon that keeps track of purgeable space via registered services.
    Listens for low-space events from the file system and attempts to avoid running out of disk space by requesting clients purge space.
    Not to be invoked directly.

    /System/Library/CacheDelete

    ls -l /System/Library/CacheDelete 
    total 128
    ALL are: -rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 381 Apr 1 12:46 com.apple. and are plist
    DeletedHelper
    MobileAsset
    These have .CacheDelete.plist suffix
    AssetCache.builtin
    FileProvider
    ReportMemoryException
    TService
    abm
    aned
    appstoreagent
    bird
    cloudd
    cloudd.system
    commerce
    coresymbolicationd
    desktoppicture
    diskimagesiod
    imagent
    installd
    photolibraryd
    powerlog
    quicklook.ThumbnailsAgent
    replayd
    revisiond
    symptomsd-diag
    sysdiagnose
    system_installd
    These have .cacheDelete.plist suffix
    geod
    logd sample
    <key>CACHE_DELETE_ID</key> <string>com.apple.logd.cachedelete</string>
    <key>CACHE_DELETE_SERVICES</key> <array>
                            <string>PURGE</string>
                            <string>PERIODIC</string>
                                        </array>  
    metadata.mds
    nsurlsessiond
    osanalytics.user
    triald


    backupd

    Time Machine backup daemon

    The Time Machine backup daemon. creates Time Machine backups and manages backup history.
    There are no configurations to backupd users should not run backupd

    messages

    Uses ASL use console to display messages and errors

    SEE ALSO backupd-helper(8), tmutil(8)


    backupd-helper

    Time Machine backup daemon helper

    Assists the Time Machine backup daemon with scheduling and initiating Time Machine backups when appropriate.

    Users should not run backupd-helper


    SEE diskutil