What is backupd and why is this process running on my Mac?

Take a look under macOS on the Apple Mac Activity indicator, then you will encounter the backupd and backupd-helper processes there. As a rule, they do not use as much CPU power or RAM space. In some cases, however, they can put a noticeable strain on the processor and RAM. In this guide I will explain to you why this is the case and why these background processes on the Apple computer are actually needed. But what is reassuring is the fact that it is not um malicious software concerns.

The backupd process on the Mac: Managing and performing Time Machine backups

Apple has implemented its own tool for creating backup copies in the macOS operating system for the Mac. This is called time Machine. When Time Machine does its job and creates a backup of the hard drive contents, this is reflected, among other things, in a larger CPU and RAM load due to backupd and backupd-helper. Both are so-called daemons, i.e. automatically acting background processes that are intended to make Mac use more comfortable.

So if you see that backupd (the name stands for Backup Daemon) is causing CPU load, then you can check the Mac's system settings to see whether Time Machine is currently active. In older macOS versions (up to macOS 12 Monterey) it works under Apple menu -> System Settings -> time Machine. In newer macOS versions (from macOS 13 Adventure) the Mac's backup settings can be found at Apple menu -> System Settings -> General -> time Machine call. There you should be able to track the current progress of the backup creation.

Speed ​​up or slow down Time Machine backup

The Mac operating system is largely designed for efficiency. Therefore, backup creation running in the background should not be too noticeable. However, if backupd and the backupd-helper consume far too many system resources such as CPU and memory each time, then a terminal command could be to blame.

Because it may be that you need a command to speed up the Time Machine backup Port used it and then forgot to deactivate it. This not only accelerated Time Machine, but also other background processes that actually have to be throttled and make room for programs used by the user.

The command to accelerate is:

sudo sysctl debug.lowpri_throttle_enabled=0

The command for throttling, however, is:

sudo sysctl debug.lowpri_throttle_enabled=1

I have summarized what exactly happens when you use these commands on the Apple Mac in this article: Mac Trick – Speed ​​up Time Machine (and other background processes)! The two commands are explained in more detail and it is shown when using them can be worthwhile.

Conclusion: backupd is a regular macOS process on the Mac

In conclusion, you can summarize that backupd is an intentional and important background process on the Mac. It does not consume resources if a Time Machine backup is not set up. And even when creating a backup, the process and its “helper” should not interfere. Only if the throttling for low-priority processes is removed via the terminal can the CPU load and the RAM usage by background processes increase noticeably. If you then activate the throttling again, it will take a short time until everything is running in economy mode again.

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.