--- title: "Restoring from a backup" url: https://storagestudio.us/wiki/restoring-from-a-backup category: "Backups" tags: ["backups", "restore", "versions"] summary: "Open Versions… on a backup set, pick the date you want, then restore the whole version or browse it and restore just the files you need — back to where they came from, or exported somewhere else. Restoring never changes the backup." updated: 2026-10-01T05:31:44.000Z --- # Restoring from a backup Open Versions… on a backup set, pick the date you want, then restore the whole version or browse it and restore just the files you need — back to where they came from, or exported somewhere else. Restoring never changes the backup. To get files back, open **Versions…** on the backup set, pick the version from the date you want, and either restore all of it or browse inside it and restore only what you need. Restoring reads from the backup and writes into a folder you choose; the backup itself is never changed. ## Before you start - **Make sure the destination is reachable.** For a drive, plug it in; for a cloud account, be online. The versions are read from there. - **Decide where the files should go.** Restoring into an empty folder is the safest choice — see "When files with the same names are already there" below. ## Restore a whole version 1. In **Data Backup**, click **Versions…** on the set's card. The list shows each version's date and time, how many files it holds, how many were new, and how much new data it added out of the set's total. 2. Find the version from the date you want and click **Restore All…**. 3. Choose a folder and click **Restore Here**. Use **New Folder** in that window to make an empty one. 4. The row shows progress and the time left; **Cancel** stops it. When it finishes, the folder opens in Finder. ## Restore only some files 1. In **Versions…**, click **Browse Files…** on the version you want. You'll see the files and folders exactly as they were at that moment, with sizes. 2. Click a folder to open it; use the back arrow or **Top** to go back up. 3. Click the circle beside each file or folder you want, so it's ticked. The bottom of the sheet says how many are selected. 4. Choose what to do with them: - **Restore…** is for putting them back. The folder picker opens at the set's first protected folder; choose it, or another folder, and click **Restore Here**. - **Export…** copies them to a place you choose, such as a new folder on your Desktop. Click **Export Here**. 5. When it finishes, the folder opens in Finder. ```mermaid %% caption: Restoring files from a backup flowchart TD A[Click Versions… on the backup set] --> B[Pick the version from the date you want] B --> C{Everything, or only some files?} C -->|Everything| D[Restore All…] C -->|Some files| E[Browse Files… and tick what you need] E --> F{Back where they were, or a copy elsewhere?} F -->|Back where they were| G[Restore…] F -->|A copy elsewhere| H[Export…] D --> I[Choose a folder, ideally an empty one] G --> I H --> I I --> J[The folder opens in Finder when it's done] ``` *Flowchart — Restoring files from a backup. Outline:* - Click Versions… on the backup set - leads to Pick the version from the date you want - Pick the version from the date you want - leads to Everything, or only some files? - Everything, or only some files? - Everything: leads to Restore All… - Some files: leads to Browse Files… and tick what you need - Restore All… - leads to Choose a folder, ideally an empty one - Browse Files… and tick what you need - leads to Back where they were, or a copy elsewhere? - Back where they were, or a copy elsewhere? - Back where they were: leads to Restore… - A copy elsewhere: leads to Export… - Restore… - leads to Choose a folder, ideally an empty one - Export… - leads to Choose a folder, ideally an empty one - Choose a folder, ideally an empty one - leads to The folder opens in Finder when it's done ## When files with the same names are already there If you restore into a folder that already contains files with the same names, check the result before you delete or change anything. The safest way to keep the two apart is to restore or export into a **new, empty folder**, then compare, and move across only what you need. That way the version you have now and the version you're bringing back can both be looked at side by side. ## Finding the right version - Versions are listed newest first, with their date and time. - Older versions are thinned out over time, so for something from months ago you may find one version per week or month rather than one per hour. See [Backup versions: what's kept and for how long](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-versions). - If you're not sure which version has what you need, **Browse Files…** in a couple of them — browsing doesn't change anything. ## If it doesn't work - **"No versions yet. Run a backup to create the first one."** — the set hasn't finished a backup yet. - **A message instead of the list**, such as *"Couldn't reach the backup destination"* — connect the drive or check your network, then open **Versions…** again. - **A cloud set that asks for its passphrase** — use **Re-enter passphrase…** on the card first; see [The backup passphrase](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-backup-passphrase). More in [What backup messages mean](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-messages). - **Can I move my iPhone backups to an external drive on a Mac?** Yes. Finder has no setting for where it keeps iPhone and iPad backups, but Storage Studio can move them to your external drive from What's Using Space: it copies them, checks every file arrived, and only then frees the space on your Mac. Finder keeps backing up to the drive afterwards, so keep… (https://storagestudio.us/faq) - **What is purgeable space on a Mac and how do I clear it?** Purgeable space is storage macOS is holding — old snapshots, cached cloud files, optimised media — that it frees automatically when you need room, which is why "free" space can look smaller than expected. Storage Studio reclaims a lot of it on demand instead of making you wait. (https://storagestudio.us/faq) - **How do I reclaim space from local Time Machine snapshots on a Mac?** macOS keeps point-in-time APFS local snapshots so Time Machine can restore even when your backup drive is away — useful, but they can hold a lot of space. Storage Studio lists every snapshot, shows which are already safely backed up, and reclaims the space you choose in one click. (https://storagestudio.us/faq) See also: [Data Backup](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-backup) · [Restoring something from the Recycle Vault](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/restoring-from-the-recycle-vault) · [Backup version](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-backup-version) ## What links here - [Backup version](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-backup-version) - [Backup versions: what's kept and for how long](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-versions) - [Data Backup](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-backup) - [Delta Trust](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/delta-trust) - [The recovery kit](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-recovery-kit) - [Two-way sync and the First run box](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/two-way-sync-first-run)