How can I create a regular scheduled external back up including the files in iCloud Drive. Unlike my previous DropBox folder the iCloud Drive folder does not seem accessible to 3rd party back up software like Carbon Copy Cloner, etc. I cannot believe Apple have left me with only iCloud Drive and Time Machine with no other options
iMac 27″, macOS 10.15
I am regularly backing up my iCloud Drive with CCC 5.1.15.
It is working well, if I am selecting the folder on iCloud Drive as the source and a folder as the destination on my backup volume. You may want to Consider to define separate backup tasks for the important folders on iCloud Drive.
I am ignoring the predefined application collection folders on iCloud drive. All my important documents and data are in a custom folder, my iCloud Drive, and this folder is backed up by a separate backup task.
As long as I select a folder on iCloud Drive as a separate backup task, I can make scheduled backups with CCC and see the folders directly on my backup drive.
I am regularly backing up my iCloud Drive with CCC 5.1.15.
It is working well, if I am selecting the folder on iCloud Drive as the source and a folder as the destination on my backup volume. You may want to Consider to define separate backup tasks for the important folders on iCloud Drive.
I am ignoring the predefined application collection folders on iCloud drive. All my important documents and data are in a custom folder, my iCloud Drive, and this folder is backed up by a separate backup task.
As long as I select a folder on iCloud Drive as a separate backup task, I can make scheduled backups with CCC and see the folders directly on my backup drive.
If you don't have a local copy of your iCloud Drive files (i.e., if the file isn't on your Mac), it won't be backed up by Time Machine or by Carbon Copy Cloner or by any other backup software that I know of. That is true for iCloud and for other cloud services that have an option to not maintain a local copy (including Dropbox Professional).
If you do choose to keep a local copy of iCloud Drive files on your Mac (by removing the check mark from Apple menu > System Preferences > Apple ID > Optimize Mac Storage), then both Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner will include them in backups unless you choose to exclude them.
Also see: https://bombich.com/kb/ccc5/limitations-online-only-placeholder-files
The local copies of iCloud Drive are backed up by Carbon Copy Cloner.
It just occurred to me to boot from the backup. When I did that I could access the local iCloud Drive files the same way as I could normally -- by iCloud Drive in the Finder sidebar or via the "Go" menu. The problem seems to be only that there is no way (that I know of) to navigate to USER_NAME/Library in the backup drive when you haven't booted from it.
That works for me, thank you!
I have created within iCloud Drive a single top level folder "My iCloud Drive" put my exising folder / file tree inside it, Carbon Copy Cloner accepts that as a source and backs it up OK :-)
I have dug a little further .......
If you enable the documunts and destop option in System Preferences / Apple ID / iCloud Drive / Options and then put all your folders and files your want in iCloud Drive into ino iCloud Drive/Documents and back up Mackintosh HD in Carbon Copy Cloner then this documents folder shows up in CCC Backup / Users / USER_NAME / Documents with all your iCloud Drive stuff inside it.
Perhaps it was obvious all along
Steve
Optimize Mac Storage is disabled on my iMac and Bombich (Carbon Copy Cloner) confirmed to me last week that CCC cannot access iCloud Drive files even if they are resident on my iMac. This is their answer .....
While I can appreciate your frustration in working with the iCloud data, its misdirected. This sits squarely on Apples shoulders. They choose to bury this data and obfuscate it by having it presented differently in the Finder as if it were located elsewhere. Dropbox, Box, and others provide a cleaner path to the data.
and
This can get a little confusing when you use a shortcut to access the location like the "iCloud Drive" item in the Finder. That's not the "real" location of the files, the iCloud sync folder on your computer its located here "USER_NAME/Library/Mobile Documents/“.
Further complicating the issue, in macOS 10.15 Catalina, this can be harder to find as it is on the " - Data" volume specifically here: "Macintosh HD - Data/USER_NAME/Library/Mobile Documents/“.
Trying to include USER_NAME/Library/Mobile Documents in the CCC target list does not work either because the files in that location are buried in a mass of system gobbledegook
Have you actually tried and succeeded with iCloud Drive back up by any means other than Time Machine or manual copy?
Steve
Sorry!
I sincerely believe that I checked that my Carbon Copy Cloner backup did include iCloud Drive files stored on my Mac. Apparently that was before Cartalina as I do not find them now (or my memory is incorrect but I'm pretty certain otherwise in this case).
I'm also wondering about the fact that nowhere I can find on the Carbon Copy Cloner site does it state that the local files are not included.
The article https://bombich.com/kb/ccc5/limitations-online-only-placeholder-files
talks at length about the fact that they don't back up online-only or placeholder files but never once mentions not backing up the local files that are stored on the Mac.
The other article that mentions iCloud is https://bombich.com/kb/ccc4/some-files-and-folders-are-automatically-excluded-from-backup-task
and it states that they don't back up corrupted iCloud local storage.
My suspicion is that things changed with Catalina and they haven't updated their support document.
The other thing that seems strange to me is that the answer you received from them talks about the data being buried, obfuscated, harder to find, etc. But none of those seem to me to present a reason as to why they can't back it up. I'm not in the business of defending Apple but at them moment I'm more upset with Carbon Copy Cloner (and myself).
I'm going to check with some others more knowledgeable than myself and will post again here if I can get more information.
Ok thanks for that. I seems it would rescue me in a disaster situation but I prefer to have file by file access to my back up so I can pick and choose what I'm restoring to where. I've never really bothered about whole disk back up. If it dies or crashes that badly I'd rather rebuild from scratch, reload apps etc then put my files back in place.
USER_NAME/Library/Mobile Documents does contain the folders & files but using that as a target in CCC does not work
I still think Apple have left us in a strange place and the 3rd part back up app suppliers have not caught up and are not being very open or clear on their websites.
Perhaps we'll have to wait a while.
icloud drive backup
