Get a file or folder back from your Time Machine backup

Why it happens

Time Machine copies your files to a backup disk every hour or so and keeps older copies for days, weeks and months. That means you can go back to the moment before a file was deleted or overwritten. Restoring copies it back to its original folder, and nothing else on your Mac changes.

How to fix it

1. Connect your Time Machine backup disk if it isn't plugged in. For a network backup, make sure you're on the same network.

2. In Finder, open the folder where the file used to be, for example Documents or Desktop.

3. Open the Time Machine app. Search for Time Machine with Command-Space, or choose Browse Time Machine Backups from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar if you have it there.

   Time Machine›Browse Time Machine Backups

4. Use the up and down arrows or the timeline at the right edge of the screen to go back to a date when the file was right. Select it and press the space bar to preview it first.

5. With the file or folder selected, click Restore. Time Machine copies it back to where it was. If a file with the same name is already there, you can choose Keep Both so nothing is lost.

   Time Machine›Restore

Still not fixed?

1. Working in an app like Pages, Numbers or TextEdit? You may not need the backup at all. Open the document and choose File > Revert To > Browse All Versions… to pick an older version.

   File›Revert To›Browse All Versions…

2. No dates to go back to, or the backup disk doesn't show? Open Time Machine settings and check that a backup disk is listed and the latest backup date is recent.

   General›Time Machine

3. If the file never appears in any backup, it may have been created and deleted between backups, or kept in a folder you excluded in Time Machine's Options….

4. If the backup disk won't mount or Time Machine reports an error reading it, stop using that disk and contact Apple Support. A failing backup drive may be a hardware problem, and a data recovery service is the last resort for files that matter.