Backup Photos Library- Incrementally?

Actually the Photos library is a package and, as such, can be backed up incrementally by TM, Carbon Copy Cloner and ChronoSync.

If you're currently using ChronoSync then that should be all you need. It works fine incrementally backing up a Photos Library.

CCC is quite a bit faster than ChronoSync but both do the job nicely.

Photos does not do backups, incremental or otherwise. You have to copy the entire Photos library again.

You could use cloning software to backup the Photos Library. Programs like CarbonCopyCloner can clone selected folders incrementally.

Here's what the folks at Bombich Sofware told me -

"You can drag and drop a folder to the source box. For example I backup the masters folder from my Photos library that way. View the desired item in the Finder and drag it to the source box of CCC."

So, it appears that -

• If you set up a task to backup a package, CCC copies the entire package.
• If you only want to backup a selected file or folder inside a package you have to use the Finder to Show Package Contents, locate the single file or folder you want to back up, then drag it from the Finder to the Source box in the CCC UI. CCC cannot incrementally back up multiple changed items in a package unless you happen to know what they are and drag them all into the CCC source box.

By doing what the person at Bombich said he does with the Masters folder in his Photos library he is copying out the Masters folder and the images contained therein (with their 32-character GUID names) to a folder on his/her backup drive. That gets him the image files but it's not a backup of the Photos Library.

ChronoSync looks very interesting (I had not looked at it before because I've been using CCC for many years and it does what I need it to do.)

However, I just did some digging on how ChronoSync handles packages and while it looks like it can do the job, I think it's a risky process for incrementally backing up a Photos Library. Here's an excerpt from a companion article they wrote called The Package Conundrum that caught my eye:

Any change detected within the package will mark the entire package as modified and ChronoSync will copy the entire package as part of a sync or backup operation. However, when copying the entire package, ChronoSync will actually compare its contents with the package file on the destination that is being replaced. Only the components of the package that have actually changed will be copied. The rest will be reconstructed on the destination using hard links — a mechanism that allows multiple files on disk to actually refer to the same data. <emphasis is mine>

The ChronoSync manual says just enough about incrementally backing up selective package contents to make me not want to touch it. Page 51 of the user guide says -

Package Files

By default, ChronoSync presents and treats packages as single files, not folders. Thus, when

ChronoSync detects a package file has changed, it really means that some file within the

package has changed and that when ChronoSync copies a package file, it is actually copying a

folder and all its contents.

If you wish to change how ChronoSync handles package files, make a selection in the “Package

Handling” menu under “Special File/Folder Handling” in the Options panel. ’Standard’ treats

packaged files as a whole, 'Merge' attempts to merge changes of the packaged files, and

'Dissect' treats packaged files as regular folders and examines their content.

In addition to synchronizing package files, you also have the option of selecting a package as

one of your targets. This is useful for cases where packages are used to store massive amounts

of data, such as Photos libraries and such. To do this, choose the “Allow package selection”

option in the file selection sheet.

More information on package files and how ChronoSync handles them, check out our tech note

‘The Package Conundrum’.

<emphasis is mine>

You're right. The test I ran was so quick that I assumed only the changed or new files were copied.

So it looks like Time Machine and ChronoSync are the OP's best options.

The Photos Library is a package, not a folder. CCC can copy the entire package but I do not believe it can copy only selected internal files/folders that have incremental changes. Since the CCC documentation doesn't address this, I just submitted a request to the folks at CCC to clarify that. Will let you know what they say.

Interesting article. I don't see where in my V4.9.9 ChronoSync I have any selection of what to do with packages as shown in the Tech Note screenshot.