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List All Time Machine Backups with tmutil listbackups

Print the mounted path of every dated backup on your Time Machine disk, newest last.

macOSbackupmacosFilestime-machineLow risk
Run `tmutil listbackups` (or `tmutil listbackups | tail -5` for the most recent ones) to see every completed backup's path.

01Command

Command
$ tmutil listbackups

02What it does

Each line is the full path of a dated backup directory, e.g. /Volumes/Backup/Backups.backupdb/<Mac>/2026-09-10-120000, which you can browse or hand to tmutil restore. If the backup volume is not currently mounted, tmutil mounts it automatically. Combine with `tmutil latestbackup` when you only need the most recent snapshot, or filter with grep to check whether a backup ran on a specific date.

03Risk

RiskLow risk
RequirementsA configured Time Machine destination.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

  • tmutil - Time Machine management utility
    SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: Documents `listbackups [-d backup_root]`: 'listbackups will attempt to mount backups and list their mounted paths', optionally rooted at a specific backup disk.
  • tmutil(8) man page
    Xcode Man Pages (keith.github.io) · technical · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: Man page for tmutil: `listbackups` lists all completed backups, mounting the backup volume if needed, and accepts an optional -d backup root directory.

Last verified: 2026-09-19 · Category: Files & Folders

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