Using Time Machine to Back Up Your Mac
Learn how Apple’s Time Machine works, how to set it up, and how to restore files or a full system when something goes wrong.
How Time Machine Protects Your Mac
Time Machine is a built‑in backup system that creates hourly, daily, and weekly snapshots of your Mac. It keeps multiple versions of files so you can roll back changes, recover deleted documents, or restore an entire system to a previous state.
Backups are stored on an external drive, a network Time Capsule, or a compatible NAS. Because Time Machine runs in the background once configured, it is one of the easiest ways to maintain a robust backup routine.
Configuring Time Machine and Restoring Files
To get started, connect a drive and open System Settings or System Preferences, then choose Time Machine. Select the backup disk and allow macOS to erase and prepare it if necessary. Once enabled, Time Machine performs automatic backups without further input.
When you need to recover something, click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar or open it from Applications. You can browse previous versions of folders, preview files, and restore individual items or the entire system using macOS Recovery if your Mac fails.