Unbacked

Faster Time Machine backups for developers.

Unbacked watches your dev folders and excludes rebuildable caches from Time Machine (node_modules, .next, DerivedData, build/). Back up less data, use less storage, and reduce upload for cloud/remote backups.

Backblaze support (planned)

See what you're saving

A clear view of what's excluded and how much space you're not backing up

Unbacked
Watching
~/Developer, ~/Projects
Excluded
1,284 folders
Estimated backup avoided
42.6 GB
Time Machine
Backblaze (planned)
~/Developer/my-app/node_modules
React
324 MB
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData
Xcode
12.4 GB
~/Projects/android-app/.gradle
Android
1.8 GB
~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images
Android
8.2 GB

Automatic exclusions

Keeps exclusions up to date as caches appear.

Know what you're saving

See excluded folders and estimated backup data skipped.

Safe by default

Targets rebuildable dev caches. You choose watched folders, and every exclusion is visible and reversible.

macOS-native

Uses Time Machine exclusions. Runs locally on your Mac.

Why this exists

The bloat

Development caches pile up fast: node_modules, build artifacts, package caches, .next, DerivedData, and more.

The pain

Time Machine spends time scanning and copying data you can regenerate. Backups take longer, backup disks fill faster, and cloud/remote backups upload more than they need to.

The fix

Exclusions should be automatic, visible, and reversible. Unbacked detects rebuildable junk and keeps it out of your backups — so Time Machine focuses on what matters.

What Unbacked excludes

Smart detection across all major development tools and frameworks

How it works

1

Identify

Rapidly finds rebuildable caches in your dev folders.

2

Stay current

Continuously scans for new build artifacts and updates Time Machine exclusions.

3

Review

See what’s excluded (and why), then toggle or undo any change anytime.

Your data stays yours

Runs locally

No file content uploads

You choose watched folders

Undo history

Unbacked is designed for developers who care about their data. Everything runs on your Mac. No surprises, no cloud services, no mysterious uploads.

Get early access. Join the waitlist.

No spam. One email when it's ready.