TimeMachine and the Library folder.

[McBie]

I have just been fiddling around with TimeMachine to try and find my Google browser favourites and restore them.
No luck as TimeMachine does not backup the Library folder in my home folder.
I could not believe that so I started investigating and came to the following conclusion.

If your Library folder ( in your home directory ) is hidden in Finder, TimeMachine will not back it up.
If the Library folder ( in your home directory ) is visible in finder, it will be backed up by TimeMachine.

I tried it several times and this behaviour is consistent.

Can anyone else do a quick test please to see if this is a standard feature of Yosemite. For all I know it has always been like that.

Cheers ... McBie

 

[MacInWin]

I have my Library set to be visible so I can't test for you but wouldn't a hidden folder be hidden in the backup as well? TM does back up hidden files, so I would think it backs up hidden folders as well, just keeping them as hidden.

 

[McBie]

Thanks for the reply Jake.

Verifying .......

Update:
Checked that and if TM is backing up hidden folders, I can't find any mechanism inside TM to ' unhide ' a folder, meaning .... no way to restore the folder.
I used Finder to browse through the backup on the TM disk and I can't see any mechanism either to ' unhide ' a hidden folder in a TM backup.


Cheers ... McBie

 

[chscag]

Try "unhiding" (use the terminal command not "Go") your user library folder as a test and then enter Time Machine. I think you'll find that your user library folder will then appear in your backups. It does for me.

 

[Slydude]

Try "unhiding" (use the terminal command not "Go") your user library folder as a test and then enter Time Machine. I think you'll find that your user library folder will then appear in your backups. It does for me.

That's right. Although for me it also works if I use the Go menu method for unhiding the Library folder. The one thing I have noticed under Yosemite is that going back farther than a day or two can be a little slow (seems to depend on the size of the library folder)

 

[MacInWin]

And I still cannot get to the four oldest dates, no matter how long I wait for it to populate. Not a big deal, but strange.

 

[chscag]

The "Go" method does work but it's temporary. I like to unhide my library folder and leave it that way. But I can understand why Apple has it hidden although it makes no sense to hide the user library folder but to leave the system library folder in the clear.

 

[MacInWin]

The only logic I can see is that the "novice" user might be tempted to dabble in the Library that shows up in the owners directory, so they hide it there, but that same rookie probably won't very often be messing with the root of the drive, so that's not hidden. Personally, that seems faulty, but they know what comes in on their support calls, so maybe they use the stats to decide.

 

[chas_m]

To conclude: yes, Time Machine does in fact back up your user Library folder, even if it is hidden. Unless, of course, you've specifically excluded it from doing so.

Time Machine, in point of fact and by default, backs up everything. Invisible files, system files, symlinks, folders, files, the desktop ... everything.

 

[McBie]

Try "unhiding" (use the terminal command not "Go") your user library folder as a test and then enter Time Machine. I think you'll find that your user library folder will then appear in your backups. It does for me.

That works fine. Thanks for that.
Gonna make a note of that so I remember if I ever need to restore files from a hidden folder again.

Cheers ... McBie