How to create a local snapshot of a apfs volume NOT included in Time Machine?

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How to create a local snapshot of a apfs volume NOT included in Time Machine?

Hi,

I use a fairly big usb hdd formatted as apfs volume. This volume is excluded from my time machine backup because the backup has just a fraction of the space this usb hdd has.

I would like to create local snapshots of the usb hdd and restore / browse them as long as there is space available. But 'tmutil localsnapshot' will only create snapshots for volumes included in time machine.

How to create a local snapshot of a volume excluded from time machine? Or are there alternatives?

Thanks in advance

Thenubus

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Apr 8, 2021 11:30 AM

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Answer 1

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Barney-15E

Level 10

122,252 points

Apr 8, 2021 2:38 PM in response to Thenubus

It’s not a “local” snapshot. It is just a snapshot. They are different from the Time Machine local snapshots of the past.

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2019/05/08/creating-managing-and-using-apple-file-system-snapshots-for-startup-drive-backups/

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,252 points

Apr 8, 2021 3:48 PM in response to Thenubus

Sorry, I wasn't clear on that point.

Time Machine would create backups on the startup drive that it would merge into the main TM backup drive. The were called "Local Snapshots," but were not APFS Snapshots.

APFS Snapshots take up almost no space as they are just pointers to changed storage. Time Machine Local Snapshots were just Time Machine backups created on the local drive.

While APFS Snapshots are different from what were called "local snapshots," but they are created by tmutil.

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Answer 3

Thenubus Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 8, 2021 3:13 PM in response to Barney-15E

It seems I'm missing something. The site only explains how to create local snapshots with 'tmutil localsnapshot'. As expected only volumes included in the time machine are getting a snapshot? Can you post the command?

Thanks in advance :)

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Answer 4

Thenubus Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 9, 2021 12:49 AM in response to Barney-15E

Now I get it. Thank you very much.

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How to create a local snapshot of a apfs volume NOT included in Time Machine?

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