Give CloudBak access to your folders

Updated

CloudBak backs up only the folders you give it permission to, so each one needs your permission once. To suggest app folders, such as Pages, it first checks which ones in iCloud Drive have anything in them. CloudBak remembers that permission on your Mac, so it doesn't have to ask again.

Backing up only reads your files. CloudBak writes to iCloud Drive only when you restore files.

iCloud Drive

In setup, click Choose iCloud Drive…. In the window that opens, select iCloud Drive in the sidebar, then click Grant Access.

Everything inside iCloud Drive is backed up. Two kinds of folders are part of iCloud Drive but live elsewhere on your Mac, so macOS asks you to grant each of them separately.

Desktop and Documents

If Desktop & Documents Folders is turned on in your iCloud settings, your Desktop and Documents folders are part of iCloud Drive, even though macOS keeps them in your home folder.

  1. Under Desktop & Documents, turn on the switch for Desktop or Documents.
  2. A window opens already inside that folder. Click Grant Access.

If you move to a different folder in that window before clicking Grant Access, CloudBak doesn't grant it and tells you so. Turn the switch on again to try once more.

App folders

Apps such as Pages and Numbers keep their own folders in iCloud Drive. CloudBak looks for the ones that have something in them and lists them under App Folders with their icons.

  1. Turn on the switch for each app folder you want backed up.
  2. Click Grant Access in the window that opens.

Only the app folders you turn on are backed up.

If an app folder you want isn't listed, click Choose App Folders… (or Choose Another Folder…). In iCloud Drive, ⌘-click the app folders to back up, then click Grant Access.

Changing access later

Open Settings › iCloud Drive. It has the same Desktop & Documents and App Folders switches as setup.

Turning a folder off stops backing it up. Its copies in the backup move to the archive, or are deleted if the archive is turned off. See Where deleted and changed files go.

If an app folder says Backed up before, but not granted, so its backup isn't being updated, its copies are still in the backup but changes to it aren't being backed up. Turn its switch on to keep backing it up, or turn it off in Selection to stop.