How do you back up a Photos library on a Mac without iCloud?
By Kayabyte · Last updated 13 November 2026
Short answer: Make sure the originals are on your Mac, quit Photos, and copy the whole Photos library to an external drive or NAS. Then keep a second copy somewhere else. iCloud Photos keeps your devices in step, so a deletion on one device reaches the others; it is not a separate backup. Time Machine also backs up the library, and a folder of exported originals is a third, plain-files option.
Step 1: Are the originals on this Mac?
With Optimize Mac Storage on, the Mac may hold only smaller copies and the full-size originals are in iCloud. In Photos choose Photos, Settings, iCloud and pick Download Originals to this Mac, then let it finish. Details: Are your original photos really on your Mac?
Option A: copy the library
- Quit Photos.
- In Finder open your Pictures folder, find Photos Library.photoslibrary and drag it to the external drive.
- Keep the drive disconnected from Photos afterwards. To open the copy later, hold Option while opening Photos and choose it.
Apple asks for a drive formatted APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), not used for Time Machine, with Ignore ownership on. See why a library on an external drive will not open. Photos can change a library it opens, so keep the original copy untouched and open a second copy to look inside.
Option B: Time Machine
Time Machine backs up the library with the rest of the Mac. What a restored library contains is covered in How do you restore a Photos library from Time Machine?. Originals held only in iCloud are not in the backup.
Option C: plain files, with albums as folders
A copy of the library is only readable by Photos. For files any computer can open, export originals into folders. Photos can export one album at a time (guide). AlbumRescue writes album folders with originals and .xmp sidecars for captions and keywords, and a report of what is present. The Mac App Store edition (USD 14.99 once) has Update Backup, which copies only new items on later runs. It cannot fetch originals that stayed in iCloud.
The 3-2-1 idea
Three copies, on two kinds of storage, one away from home. For example: the Mac, a drive you copied to, and a second drive or a NAS kept elsewhere. Check the copy by opening it once.
Questions
Is iCloud Photos a backup? It keeps your photos in step across devices. Delete a photo and it is removed from the others too, so keep a separate copy.
Can I copy the library to an exFAT drive? Apple asks for APFS or Mac OS Extended for a library Photos opens. For plain exported files, exFAT works.
How do I back up only new photos each time? A copy of the whole library is simplest but slow; AlbumRescue’s Update Backup or a folder sync of exported originals copies only what is new.
AlbumRescue on kayabyte.dev · Mac App Store
Apple, Mac, macOS, iCloud and Time Machine are trademarks of Apple Inc. AlbumRescue is made by Kayabyte and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.
More guides
- AlbumRescue vs Photos Takeout, PowerPhotos, Photo Library Export and osxphotos
- How do you find which photos are in one Photos library but not in another on a Mac?
- How do you export all your photos from a corrupted Photos library on a Mac?
- How do you keep captions and keywords when you export photos from Photos on a Mac?
- Leaving or deleting an iCloud Shared Photo Library: make sure the photos are in your own library first
- How do you move a Photos library to an external drive on a Mac?
- How do you open a Photos library from an old Mac?
- What to do when a Photos library could not be opened, or repair failed
- Photos library has fewer photos than expected after a migration or repair? How to find what is missing
- Can a Photos library live on a NAS or network drive?