Mac storage basics · Developer tools
Should Time Machine back up Xcode DerivedData and other developer caches?
Short answer: Usually not — they're rebuildable and change constantly, inflating every backup. Exclude them in Time Machine's Options and make sure your source code is backed up.
Usually not. Build caches, DerivedData, simulators, package caches, node_modules and Docker data are rebuildable and change constantly, so they make every backup bigger without protecting anything you can't recreate.
Add them to Time Machine's exclusion list in Options…, and make sure your source code itself is backed up (and pushed to a remote repository).