I am new to Catalina so this might be a daft question but my Time Machine backups only show apps in the Applications folder that were either downloaded from the app store or from a third party vendor. None of the system apps such as Preview, Contacts, Reminders, Notes or any of the Utilities show. Is this how it should be and, if so, how would I recover one of the system apps that was inadvertently deleted?
What you see listed in the TM backup is typical.
A macOS reinstall is usually required in order to regain missing or damaged apps that are part of the OS.
Reinstalling the OS is non-destructive. It simply lays a fresh copy of the current OS onto your startup drive and does not affect your user files, but replaces missing or damaged system files with fresh replacements.
Please see: How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support
What you see listed in the TM backup is typical.
A macOS reinstall is usually required in order to regain missing or damaged apps that are part of the OS.
Reinstalling the OS is non-destructive. It simply lays a fresh copy of the current OS onto your startup drive and does not affect your user files, but replaces missing or damaged system files with fresh replacements.
Please see: How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support
Than you D.I.Johnson, that is very reassuring and I am grateful for your advice.
You're welcome. Happy to assist.
Catalina Time Machine backups of apps
