macOS System Settings or System Preferences Back Up

[camelia]

Is possible to Back up Settings or system preferences manually?
So If need to Transfer or reset macOS Sequoia and
Restore them right away, without wasting too much time
I am using Carbon Copy Cloner v7.0.4 (8082) and Migration Assistant but is not working if I only select
Settings, I do not need saves files, .apps or data
@bogdanw

MBP 16" 2023 M2 Pro 512 GB 32 GB

Thanks
Camelia

 

[bogdanw]

I’m not familiar with Carbon Copy Cloner or Migration Assistant.
Some system preferences are saved in /Library/Preferences.
That doesn’t include the TCC preferences (like permissions granted for Full Disk Access), that are saved in /Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db and ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db
Some other preferences set in System Settings, are save in other places, like /private/var/db/locationd/clients.plist for Location.
In conclusion, in my opinion, it might be difficult to back up all the system settings.

 

[JUMA55]

Is possible to Back up Settings or system preferences manually?
So If need to Transfer or reset macOS Sequoia and
Restore them right away, without wasting too much time
I am using Carbon Copy Cloner v7.0.4 (8082) and Migration Assistant but is not working if I only select
Settings, I do not need saves files, .apps or data
@bogdanw

MBP 16" 2023 M2 Pro 512 GB 32 GB

Thanks
Camelia

Or you can do like I do. I took 138 screen shots of System Settings. Dumb way to do it, but I don't know another way to get things back they way they were. I sure wish someone would write an app to save all settings.

 

[ignatius345]

Is possible to Back up Settings or system preferences manually?
So If need to Transfer or reset macOS Sequoia and
Restore them right away, without wasting too much time
I am using Carbon Copy Cloner v7.0.4 (8082) and Migration Assistant but is not working if I only select
Settings, I do not need saves files, .apps or data
@bogdanw

MBP 16" 2023 M2 Pro 512 GB 32 GB

Thanks
Camelia

I would use Migration Assistant, and see what you can UNcheck (like your Applications folder) in the process. If it overshoots and copies over something you don't need, you delete it later, which is not a huge deal -- and faster than hunting though all your System Settings and trying to capture everything you've set.

I just migrated two new Macs, and Migration Assistant did an excellent job. With a few exceptions (Google Drive wanting to resync, stuff like that) I was able to pick up exactly where I left off on both machines. Settings, viewing preferences, screensavers and everything right where I left it.

 

[Sciuriware]

Or you can do like I do. I took 138 screen shots of System Settings. Dumb way to do it, but I don't know another way to get things back they way they were. I sure wish someone would write an app to save all settings.

Excellent idea; my screen shots are 144 pictures. It's hard to write an app for it.
;JOOP!

 

[Sciuriware]

Or you can do like I do. I took 138 screen shots of System Settings. Dumb way to do it, but I don't know another way to get things back they way they were. I sure wish someone would write an app to save all settings.

I did the same for other applications with a lot settings, like Eclipse.
;JOOP!

 

[camelia]

@bogdanw
Yes you are right, is very hard

@JUMA55 @Sciuriware
Can you share your photos with your settings? maybe I can find something new or have them as reference
I can create a shared folder drive at Gmail where you can upload them

Just let me know who can do it and after that I will provide the link

Thanks
Camelia

 

[Sciuriware]

@bogdanw
Yes you are right, is very hard

@JUMA55 @Sciuriware
Can you share your photos with your settings? maybe I can find something new or have them as reference
I can create a shared folder drive at Gmail where you can upload them

Just let me know who can do it and after that I will provide the link

Thanks
Camelia

No, sorry, my privacy.
;JOOP!

 

[Homy]

Maybe this? Another way is to copy the whole user library.

You'll find most system preferences in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration, and userpreferences in ~/Library/Preferences/. For OS X most settings files will start with com.apple. To view the contents of such .plist files, you need Property List Editor (included in the Apple Developer Tools), or use plutil to convert it.

The Energy Saver settings are in com.apple.PowerManagement.plist. I guess Exposé might be included in the Dock preferences, com.apple.dock.plist. Its key bindings are in com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist.

I'm not sure if copying the whole files is a good idea; surely you first need to peek into them to see what else is configured.

(I think com.apple.systempreferences.plist mainly holds the preferences of the System Preferences itself.)

 

[Sciuriware]

Maybe this? ANother way is to copy the whole user library.

You'll find most system preferences in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration, and userpreferences in ~/Library/Preferences/. For OS X most settings files will start with com.apple. To view the contents of such .plist files, you need Property List Editor (included in the Apple Developer Tools), or use plutil to convert it.

The Energy Saver settings are in com.apple.PowerManagement.plist. I guess Exposé might be included in the Dock preferences, com.apple.dock.plist. Its key bindings are in com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist.

I'm not sure if copying the whole files is a good idea; surely you first need to peek into them to see what else is configured.

(I think com.apple.systempreferences.plist mainly holds the preferences of the System Preferences itself.)

That's a good idea, but still ... you must get to understand what those settings are.
Otherwise you might get unwanted storage spill or unwanted services.
;JOOP!

 

[bogdanw]

Many settings can be easily set with a configuration profile.
MDM payload list for Mac computers https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/payload-list-for-mac-dep01d95140c/1/
MDM restrictions for Mac computers https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/restrictions-for-mac-depba790e53/1/
iMazing Profile Editor https://apps.apple.com/app/imazing-profile-editor/id1487860882
iMazing - Create or edit Configuration Profiles for iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS
https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-create-or-edit-apple-configuration-profiles

 

[JUMA55]

I did the same for other applications with a lot settings, like Eclipse.
;JOOP!

I did too. Back in 2023 I did 622 before I rebuilt my system. Going back to 2013 I've done 3,073. I don't know how many I'm going to do for Sequoia, but I've done 248 so far. More program should be like iStatMenus and GraphicConverter and let you save the program's settings.

 

[JUMA55]

@bogdanw
Yes you are right, is very hard

@JUMA55 @Sciuriware
Can you share your photos with your settings? maybe I can find something new or have them as reference
I can create a shared folder drive at Gmail where you can upload them

Just let me know who can do it and after that I will provide the link

Thanks
Camelia

If you can give me a couple of more days to finish my system, I can upload the ones without personal information. Just tell me where. Might not be until Wednesday or so.

 

[Sciuriware]

@bogdanw
Yes you are right, is very hard

@JUMA55 @Sciuriware
Can you share your photos with your settings? maybe I can find something new or have them as reference
I can create a shared folder drive at Gmail where you can upload them

Just let me know who can do it and after that I will provide the link

Thanks
Camelia

Some tips:
1) make screenshots by Shift+Cmd+5,
2) click the 'button' that appears below once to "Capture Selected Window",
3) also click the 'options' button to the right and select your capture settings,
4) some settings pages will not fit on the screen, so, before you capture them, go to:
System Settings > Displays > More Space
and reset it to your favourite value afterwards.
;JOOP!

 

[HDFan]

Is possible to Back up Settings or system preferences manually?

Not what you wanted but Time Machine backs everything up. Makes it easy to setup a new machine with all of the settings from the older machine.

 

[Sciuriware]

Not what you wanted but Time Machine backs everything up. Makes it easy to setup a new machine with all of the settings from the older machine.

... exactly NOT what everybody wants, because each and every new MacOS release will
shake some parts of the settings around.
You just got to compare the new settings pages with the old ones (if recorded somehow).
;JOOP!

 

[BigBlur]

I'm confused. You're asking how to back up your settings, so how do screenshots of other people's settings help?

Rather than taking a million screenshots, an easier way would be to record a selected portion of the screen as you go through all the settings. Then just play/pause/scrub the video when you need to reference them. If you go through your settings in a methodical order, you can easily find what you need.

Pros:

• Easier and quicker to capture
  • Just go through the screens and let the video recording capture them.
  • Don't need to screenshot, next screen, screenshot, next screen, screenshot...
• More likely to capture everything
  • Captures all the minor stuff you didn't think you needed, but later wished you did; or thought you already captured.
• Don't need to organize or rename your screenshots (if that's something you do).
• Can be easy and quick to reference
  • Can follow along with the video as you go through your settings. (i.e have it play back side-by-side).
  • Don't need to go to next screen, find/view screenshot, next screen, find/view screenshot...

Cons:

• Video recording can result in a larger file size, BUT you can shrink this down significantly.
  • Example of 1-minute video that goes through 20 screens:
    • 1-minute video: 12.9 MB
      • 1.8 MB after running it through HandBrake
    • 20 screenshots: 4.4 MB
• Depending on your organization skills, finding a certain screenshot may be quicker.
• If you change some settings, then need to do a whole new video rather than swapping out screenshots.
  • Could do specific/supplemental screenshots (or video) of the settings you changed until the next time you recapture everything again.

How to record screen:

• Shift-Command-5 > Record Selected Portion > Draw a box around the System Settings window
• Options > Microphone > None
  • (Or do use a microphone if you want to do voice over to remind you why some settings are set the way they are.)
• Options > Options > Show Mouse Clicks (makes it easier to follow along)

Having said all that, I agree that Migration Assistant or restoring from a Time Machine backup would be the best option. They will restore most, if not all, of the settings. You can always still do the above just in case something doesn't get restored the way you expected it to. Then you'll have something to go back to and reference.