can you directly plug in the usb c cable in both Macs or use some app in order to directly copy files form one to the other?
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Is it possible to copy files from one MacBook to another with a USB C cable?
- Thread starter Pangalactic
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If it is a Thunderbolt USB-C cable you can use target disk mode to migrate data over to the new Mac.
Dave Braine
macrumors 601
Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode
You can connect an Intel-based Mac to another Mac using a USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt cable, then transfer files.
solouki
macrumors 6502
Hi Pangalactic,
If both machines are on the same WiFi network, and if you don't care about how long the transfer takes at WiFi speeds (say overnight), then you might also think about using rsync. It transfers directories and files along with all permissions and performs checksums to verify the transfers. It also does incremental backups if desired.
The Terminal command to use would look something like:
$ rsync --rsh='ssh -p22' -avz <source-machine>:/Users/<source-username>/<Directory-name-to-transfer> <recipient-username>@<recipient-machine:/Users/<recipient-username>
where:
<source-machine> is the source computer, something like "MyiMac.local"
<source-username> is the login username of the source, something like "MyName"
<Directory-name-to-transfer> is the path name under the source's login directory to the directory to transfer
<recipient-username> is the username of the recipient
<recipient-machine> is the recipient machine, something like "MyMacBookPro.local"
<recipient-username> is the login username of the recipient
which places the directory tree from the source into the login directory of the recipient on the recipient machine.
Just another way to transfer files between machines. It works over any network and any connection, including WiFi, ethernet, USB cable, TB cable, even between two users on the same machine or between the internal SSD and an external disk drive.
Solouki
If both machines are on the same WiFi network, and if you don't care about how long the transfer takes at WiFi speeds (say overnight), then you might also think about using rsync. It transfers directories and files along with all permissions and performs checksums to verify the transfers. It also does incremental backups if desired.
The Terminal command to use would look something like:
$ rsync --rsh='ssh -p22' -avz <source-machine>:/Users/<source-username>/<Directory-name-to-transfer> <recipient-username>@<recipient-machine:/Users/<recipient-username>
where:
<source-machine> is the source computer, something like "MyiMac.local"
<source-username> is the login username of the source, something like "MyName"
<Directory-name-to-transfer> is the path name under the source's login directory to the directory to transfer
<recipient-username> is the username of the recipient
<recipient-machine> is the recipient machine, something like "MyMacBookPro.local"
<recipient-username> is the login username of the recipient
which places the directory tree from the source into the login directory of the recipient on the recipient machine.
Just another way to transfer files between machines. It works over any network and any connection, including WiFi, ethernet, USB cable, TB cable, even between two users on the same machine or between the internal SSD and an external disk drive.
Solouki
jz0309
macrumors P6
worldvirus
macrumors member
yes you can.
restart one of the macs in target mode (T key at startup) it will appear on the other mac as an external drive
restart one of the macs in target mode (T key at startup) it will appear on the other mac as an external drive
thagomizer
macrumors 6502
If you want to avoid using target disk mode, and if both of your Macbooks support Thunderbolt, then you can use Thunderbolt as a bridged network. But you can't use just any USB-C cable, it has to be a Thunderbolt 3 cable with USB-C at both ends.
apple.stackexchange.com
Transfer data between two Mac via USB-C
I want to transfer files between two late 2016 MacBook Pros. I have a USB-C data cable from my external USB-C hard drive. Can I connect the Macs using that USB-C data cable to transfer files? Or d...
this is the simplest way to do it. I use it all the time to transfer files between work iMac and my MacBook Pro, from phone to either computer, etc. Simple and fast and cable free!
solouki
macrumors 6502
Hi all,
While I still prefer "rsync" for transferring directories/files, for the last week or so I've been tinkering with Universal Control's "drag-and-drop" between two MBPs, and this seems to me to be the simplest method, even easier than AirDrop. While Universal Control is still in Beta, it should be available sometime this spring (northern hemisphere)/fall (southern hemisphere).
Solouki
P.S. For me personally, "rsync" is the fastest way and much faster than UC's "drag-and-drop" to transfer files (you don't have to use the GUI to drag the cursor across two displays as you do for UC; and for rsync an up-arrow/RET is all that is required to perform the differential transfer). Plus, if you are backing up or performing any type of differential update, rsync will transfer just those files that have changed since the last rsync, saving a lot of bandwidth. Rsync also operates bi-directional, and you don't have to be physically close to the other machine (rsync even works over the Internet).
Edit: And one more thing, UC's drag-and-drop only works between computers logged into the same accounts (same AppleIDs). "Rsync", on the other hand, allows one to transfer files between different accounts on different machines as well as different accounts on the same machine.
While I still prefer "rsync" for transferring directories/files, for the last week or so I've been tinkering with Universal Control's "drag-and-drop" between two MBPs, and this seems to me to be the simplest method, even easier than AirDrop. While Universal Control is still in Beta, it should be available sometime this spring (northern hemisphere)/fall (southern hemisphere).
Solouki
P.S. For me personally, "rsync" is the fastest way and much faster than UC's "drag-and-drop" to transfer files (you don't have to use the GUI to drag the cursor across two displays as you do for UC; and for rsync an up-arrow/RET is all that is required to perform the differential transfer). Plus, if you are backing up or performing any type of differential update, rsync will transfer just those files that have changed since the last rsync, saving a lot of bandwidth. Rsync also operates bi-directional, and you don't have to be physically close to the other machine (rsync even works over the Internet).
Edit: And one more thing, UC's drag-and-drop only works between computers logged into the same accounts (same AppleIDs). "Rsync", on the other hand, allows one to transfer files between different accounts on different machines as well as different accounts on the same machine.
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