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tmutil:tldr:6e17b
The command sudo tmutil startbackup -b
is used to initiate a Time Machine backup on macOS using the tmutil
utility.
Here's a breakdown of the command:
-
sudo
: It is a command used in Unix-like operating systems to execute a command with administrative/root privileges. It allows the execution of commands that require elevated permissions. -
tmutil
: It is a command-line utility in macOS that interacts with the Time Machine backup system. It provides various functionalities to manage and control backups. -
startbackup
: This is a specific subcommand oftmutil
used to start a Time Machine backup. -
-b
: This is an optional argument that specifies the backup destination. By providing this argument, you can specify a specific backup destination or Time Machine disk. If this argument is not provided, the default backup disk will be used.
By running the command with sudo
, you ensure that the Time Machine backup starts with administrative privileges, which may be necessary if you are backing up certain system files or directories that require elevated access.