Backing up your Mac is simple and important. We recommend it for everyone.
Back up with Time Machine
Time Machine is the built-in backup feature of your Mac. It's a complete backup solution, but you can use other backup methods as well.
Create a backupBacking up a PC or Mac on Object Storage with Arq Backup. Arq Backup Overview. Installing and Configuring Arq Backup. Open your web browser and go to the Arq website and download the application. Double click on the downloaded file to open the setup tool. On a Mac double click on the Arq icon to install the application. Arq 6 will read and restore from backup data created by previous versions of Arq. Arq 6 can't currently reuse backup data or settings created by Arq 5. We're working on adding an Arq 5 compatibility mode which will function just as Arq 5 did — same folder structure, same exclusion process, same path-based file selection (on Mac), same Network. Arq also supports FTP to backup to a server, and can be used to backup files to a NAS or location on your system, including external or network drives. Duplicati works like Arq in that it lets you backup your Mac to a range of different cloud storage services. In fact, the options are much broader. Back up your Mac. Backing up your Mac is simple and important. We recommend it for everyone. How to back up your Mac. Back up with Time Machine. Time Machine is the built-in backup feature of your Mac. It's a complete backup solution, but you can use other backup methods as well. I am wondering how Arq behaves when it comes to backup the photo livrary on Mac OS X. By photo library I mean the 'package' named (by default) 'Photo Library' in your User/Images folder. I would like to configure an incremental backup of this library among other things and store it on my dropbox storage.
Store files in iCloud
You can also use iCloud and iCloud Drive to store files, such as your photos, documents, and music.
Set up iCloud and iCloud DriveRestore your Mac from a backup
When you have a backup, you can use it to restore your files at any time, including after the original files are deleted from your Mac.
Restore from a backupArq Backup Time Machine
Prepare your Mac for service
Making a backup is an important part of preparing your Mac for service, especially because some types of repair might require erasing or replacing your hard drive.
Get your Mac ready for serviceHow much space do I need for a backup?
To see the size of a specific file or folder, click it once and then press Command-I. To see storage information about your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left of your screen. Choose About This Mac and click the Storage tab. For Time Machine backups, it's good to use a drive that has at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac.
Related topics
Free up storage on your Mac
macOS can save space by storing your content in the cloud. This isn't a backup, but it includes new tools to make it easier to find and remove large or unwanted files before you make a backup.
Use Optimized Storage in macOSErase or format a storage device
You can use Disk Utility if you need to erase or format a storage device.
Learn how to use Disk UtilitymacOS Community
If you can't back up your Mac
We'll find the best support options for you.
Arc Backup For Mac
Stefan started thinking about Arq back in early 2009 because he wanted an easy-to-use backup program but couldn't find one that worked well. Stefan liked Time Machine and even bought a Time Capsule so he wouldn't have to remember to plug in an external hard drive. But it still only backed up when he was at home near the Time Capsule, and if his house burned down or someone stole his computer and Time Capsule his stuff would be gone. He wanted online backup.
He tried Mozy, Carbonite and Backblaze. They all offered 'unlimited' size backup for a fixed fee, but the 'unlimited' service had limits. He couldn't back up a network drive, for example. He couldn't keep backups of external drives reliably -- Backblaze promised to delete backups of external drives that haven't been connected for 30 days, even failed external drives.
Amazon S3 seemed like a great place for his backup data. It's backed by the power of a large, profitable, public company. It offers clear durability and availability numbers and replication to multiple data centers. And it wasn't an 'unlimited' type of offering, so they didn't add constraints to minimize the amount of backup data he had.
Backing up to S3 felt like real backup, but there wasn't any great software to do it.
Stefan had been working on a project that used Amazon S3 for storage, and stored its stuff as a content-addressable storage (CAS) system, written in Java. He decided to rewrite those bits in Objective-C. Then he added logic to correctly back up all Mac-specific metadata, plus strong encryption, plus a simple but powerful Mac UI. That became Arq.
It turns out lots of people were looking for something similar, and through word of mouth Arq has become very popular among Mac users. Since then we've added a lot more storage options besides Amazon S3, plus a Windows version of Arq.
Eleven years on, we're still improving Arq Backup.
Arq users were comfortable setting up the app and connecting it to their favorite cloud storage account, and they recommended Arq to their friends. But for friends who weren't as familiar with cloud storage technologies, Arq wasn't a great fit. They were expecting something simpler. So in 2018 we created Arq Cloud Backup. In 2020 we merged the 2 products into Arq Premium.
Backing up to S3 felt like real backup, but there wasn't any great software to do it.
Stefan had been working on a project that used Amazon S3 for storage, and stored its stuff as a content-addressable storage (CAS) system, written in Java. He decided to rewrite those bits in Objective-C. Then he added logic to correctly back up all Mac-specific metadata, plus strong encryption, plus a simple but powerful Mac UI. That became Arq.
It turns out lots of people were looking for something similar, and through word of mouth Arq has become very popular among Mac users. Since then we've added a lot more storage options besides Amazon S3, plus a Windows version of Arq.
Eleven years on, we're still improving Arq Backup.
Arq users were comfortable setting up the app and connecting it to their favorite cloud storage account, and they recommended Arq to their friends. But for friends who weren't as familiar with cloud storage technologies, Arq wasn't a great fit. They were expecting something simpler. So in 2018 we created Arq Cloud Backup. In 2020 we merged the 2 products into Arq Premium.
Arq Backup Mac Review
Arq Premium is a subscription service which includes the Arq app plus built-in cloud storage and web access to your backed-up files if you need them on the go.
