Copy a folder to a backup drive
Time Machine backs up everything automatically. For one folder, rsync copies it to a backup drive and, on later runs, only what changed — the fastest way to keep a copy current.
Without Terminal
- For everything: System Settings → General → Time Machine → Add Backup Disk.
In one command
Copy a folder to a drive (the trailing slashes matter):
rsync -a ~/Documents/Projects/ /Volumes/Backup/Projects/Run it again later: only new and changed files are copied.
rsync -a ~/Documents/Projects/ /Volumes/Backup/Projects/Adding --delete makes the backup an exact mirror — files you deleted are deleted from the backup too. Leave it off unless that is what you want.
Or just ask Titan
Back up my Projects folder to the external drive.Do it with Titan
Titan is an AI that lives on your computer: tell it what you need and it does it while you watch — you press Return, nothing runs by itself. What is Titan?
Titan isn’t on this computer yet. Get Titan, then press the button again — the task will be waiting, typed in.