Detailed view of MIGRATION ASSISTANT?

[toke lahti]

Apple doesn't give as very detailed view.
Has anybody gathered a detailed info of what each option really copies?

1. What "User accounts" copies and what not?
2. "Documents and files from apps", where are these collected from? /Library? ~/Library? Somewhere else outside the home folder?
3. "Computer settings", there are user based and global settings, how are these handled? All settings from my accounts System Settings are copied? Or just some? What is and what is not?
4. "Apps", also can be global or user based, does MA copy both and all their settings?

I don't like this secrecy. I've been dragging my account from mac to mac for 19 years and I'd like cut some junk away now.
Price of storage is amazing, for how long? Rest of the decade?

 

[!!!]

Generally, MA attempts to copy everything over, except for log files and caches, if you keep every option checked.

What "User accounts" copies and what not?

Probably everything in the /Users/ folder.

"Computer settings", there are user based and global settings, how are these handled? All settings from my accounts System Settings are copied? Or just some? What is and what is not?

Everything. The goal of MA is to make the transition as seamless as possible.

"Apps", also can be global or user based, does MA copy both and all their settings?

Apps only refer to the executable .app itself, macOS doesn't really have knowledge of the connection between the app and its preferences/application support (unless the app is sandboxed).

"Documents and files from apps", where are these collected from? /Library? ~/Library? Somewhere else outside the home folder?

Presumably.

I don't like this secrecy.

I don't think it's secrecy so much as Apple trying to create user-friendly names for each of these categories which end up obscuring the technical aspect, and then Apple doesn't document many things very well nowadays. As I said, the general goal of MA is to copy over as much as possible, so the transition is as seamless as possible. Disabling something seems pointless at that point, why wouldn't you want to copy everything over if you're using MA?

I've been dragging my account from mac to mac for 19 years and I'd like cut some junk away now.

If your goal is really to get in there and remove the crud, then I think you'd be better off starting with a fresh setup and manually copying things over from your backup drive.

 

[toke lahti]

Gemini says:
"Other files & folders" in Migration Assistant, you are telling the tool to copy files located outside of the standard, predefined user folders (like Desktop, Pictures, Documents)."

Does this mean that when you choose "User accounts", it copies only "standard" pre-existing folders, like "Documents", "Music", etc., but does NOT copy any folders user has created in homedir?

Or Gemini is hallucinating and "other" means everything outside of your /Users?

I'd still like to know what is included and excluded in "Computer Settings".
If it includes ALL, then it will copy all of ~/Library/Application Assistant? Which I (of course) do not want.

I do not understand why this info has to be hidden.
You can give "user friendly" Guide and also deeper knowledge to those who want it.

Oh well, maybe I make this a hobby and grab an old ssd, try every option and document the results.
Maybe nobody else would ever do this?