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Q: What files and directories, if any, does Time Machine automatically exclude?

Does Time Machine automatically ignore any files that aren't displayed in the Preferences>Time Machine>Options exclude list?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Oct 11, 2014 9:29 PM

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Q: What files and directories, if any, does Time Machine automatically exclude?

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  • by misslarnie,

    misslarnie misslarnie Oct 11, 2014 11:58 PM in response to JLPYYC
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Oct 11, 2014 11:58 PM in response to JLPYYC

    Time Machine is designed to make direct copy of everything on your HDD and does not exclude any files that you have not personally selected to do so.

  • by Esquared,

    Esquared Esquared Oct 12, 2014 2:10 AM in response to misslarnie
    Level 6 (8,442 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 12, 2014 2:10 AM in response to misslarnie

    That is not entirely correct: TM does exclude some items. To see the complete list: in Finder's menubar select Go -> Go to Folder.... and type in this path (followed by [return]:

     

    /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd.bundle/Contents/Resources/

     

    In the window that opens, select "StdExclusions.plist". You can see what's in it with any text editor.