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Removing time machine files from external hard drive using terminal in macOS Big Sur

I want to delete old xxx.sparsebundle files from time machine folders

using Terminal


MacBook Air

Posted on Jan 2, 2021 12:15 PM

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Posted on Jan 2, 2021 12:31 PM

Everything in a Time Machine backup is related until Time Machine consolidates and removes that content on its own. Manually deleting Time Machine backup drive entries, by any means, is a really bad idea for backup continuity.

6 replies

Jan 2, 2021 12:43 PM in response to VikingOSX

I have created a time machine backup of a new computer which has the migrated data from the machine being replaced. I now want to remove the old time machine files which are no longer needed on the new machine and free up space on the external hard drive. I want to delete old xxx.sparsebundle files from the time machine folders

using Terminal

Jan 2, 2021 12:59 PM in response to jog4joy

Prior to my upgrade to Big Sur, Time Machine used to organize its hierarchy under the initial Backup.backupd folder — by the name of the Mac. When I switched over to Big Sur, and formatted a new TM drive as APFS, what I see now is multiple top folders bearing the date/time of each backup, and within that, a Data folder (MacIntosh Data folder on a mechanical drive) containing Applications ... Users folders.


If you are using an APFS formatted TM drive, I don't know how you would difference other than by folder date, what is to be removed, and what is to be kept. If this were the old HFS+, then it may have retained the old Mac name separate from the new Mac name, and that would be simpler to trim.

Removing time machine files from external hard drive using terminal in macOS Big Sur

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