Feature

Automatic Mac backups

Azivault schedules encrypted backups for selected Mac folders and the System Photo Library through a bundled background helper. The main app can close, while schedule state, permissions, credentials, storage availability, and macOS policy determine when a due run can actually start.

Last technically reviewed: September 4, 2026.

Azivault backup plan screen showing the selected folder, storage, schedule, and recent activity

What automatic backup means on macOS

Automatic backup is not merely a timer inside an open window. A Mac application needs an approved background execution path, durable access to sandboxed folders, access to repository keys and provider credentials, and a policy for missed or blocked runs.

Azivault bundles a login-item helper named Azivault Scheduler. It owns the menu-bar status item and scheduled execution while the main UI is closed. Plan state is shared through the app group rather than inferred from paths or an open document.

System-managed and exact-time schedules

Azivault supports two scheduling modes.

System-managed scheduling is the default. You choose an hourly, daily, or weekly cadence. Azivault registers background activity and macOS chooses the precise opportunity based on system conditions. This is appropriate when regular execution matters more than a specific minute.

Exact-time scheduling records a requested time. The helper uses its due-run timer while available. Exact time is a preference, not a promise that a sleeping or powered-off Mac will wake and run at that exact second.

What happens after a missed backup time?

A due plan is not silently marked complete because its preferred time passed. If the helper launches after a missed due time, it evaluates stored plan state and treats the overdue plan as still due.

Work can remain blocked until required conditions return. For example, an external disk may need to mount, a NAS may need to reconnect, or the Mac may need a logged-in file-provider session before cloud-only source bytes can download.

Once a backup run starts, the next schedule advances according to the shared schedule policy. A failure before execution starts does not advance the schedule as if the work happened.

Does the Azivault app need to stay open?

No. The main app window can close. The scheduler helper is separately bundled, sandboxed, and registered through macOS background-item services.

macOS may require approval in System Settings. If the background item is disabled or rejected, scheduled work cannot run. Existing repositories remain restorable because background backup permission and read-only recovery are separate capabilities.

How automatic backups access selected folders

A sandboxed helper cannot rely on a stored path such as /Users/name/Documents. During plan creation or folder reconnection, Azivault creates separate security-scoped bookmarks for scheduled source and folder-destination access.

The helper requires those approved bookmarks and does not fall back to direct stored paths. This is safer, but it means moving, replacing, or reformatting a source or destination can require explicit reconnection.

Repository keys and S3 credentials required for unattended work use a shared Data Protection Keychain access group. Recovery keys remain purpose-specific and can retain stronger user-presence protections.

How automatic Photos backups get access

A Photos plan uses the same PhotoKit backup pipeline during a manual or scheduled run. The scheduler is a separate signed process, so macOS can ask it for its own Photos permission the first time that it runs a Photos plan.

Titles, captions, and keywords require separate Photos Automation access. If that permission is unavailable, the resource backup can complete with a recorded coverage warning. A denied Photos permission prevents the plan from committing a partial snapshot as a successful restore point.

iCloud-only resources depend on the signed-in user session, network access, and Apple’s Photos services. A schedule can’t make an unavailable iCloud resource local. Plan the first automatic run for a period when the Mac can stay awake and connected, then restore a small test album.

Automatic backups to external disks

An external disk must be attached, mounted, and reachable through the saved bookmark. A laptop cannot write to a disk left at a desk, and a schedule cannot make unavailable hardware appear.

Use external storage for fast local recovery, but avoid treating a disk stored beside the Mac as the only backup. Theft, fire, water, or one damaged bag can remove both copies.

Automatic backups to a NAS or network drive

A NAS or network share must be mounted or otherwise reachable under the configured access path. Wi-Fi, VPN, credentials, server availability, share names, and filesystem permissions can all block a due run.

The scheduler reports the blocked condition instead of advancing the plan as if it completed. Reconnect the destination after server migrations or share-path changes, then run a manual verification backup.

Automatic S3-compatible backups

S3-compatible plans require network availability, a valid bucket, valid endpoint settings, valid region settings, scoped credentials, and an active provider account. Azivault uploads changed immutable blobs with create-if-absent behavior and mirrors mutable repository metadata only after the relevant local catalog work succeeds.

Azivault checks for cancellation before remote writes and does not automatically retry cancelled S3 operations. Multipart uploads can leave billable parts on some services. Configure provider lifecycle rules to remove incomplete multipart uploads without deleting completed repository objects.

Cloud-only files during unattended runs

iCloud Drive and other file providers can leave dataless placeholders on disk. New Azivault plans default to downloading only cloud-only files that appear new or changed. Unchanged placeholders reuse the previously backed-up object.

Materialization depends on the provider process in the signed-in user session. At the login window, a provider may not download file contents. Choose whether the plan reports, skips, or downloads changed cloud-only files. If you skip them, the repository intentionally excludes those items.

Azivault cannot run while the Mac is powered off. Sleep and macOS background policy may delay work. Laptop power rules can also block execution to avoid unexpected battery use.

Treat an exact-time label as a preferred due time. If minute-level execution is operationally critical, use an always-on Mac with stable power, network access, destination access, and a monitored schedule. Test the behavior under the actual deployment conditions.

Paid access and automatic runs

The helper refreshes entitlement state before starting due work. An active trial, subscription, applicable grace period, or lifetime purchase permits automatic scheduled execution. If paid access ends, the schedule pauses but manual Run Now backups remain free.

Finder, app, and CLI restore remain available for existing repositories. This separation matters: billing state controls automation without holding backup creation or recovery hostage.

How to confirm automatic backup is working

Create a plan with a small test folder and appropriate schedule.
Approve the Azivault background item if macOS requests it.
Close the main app and change a test file.
Allow the plan to become due.
Check the menu-bar status and recent activity for a completed run.
Reveal that run in Finder and restore the changed file to a temporary folder.
Repeat after changing storage, credentials, permissions, or schedule settings.

The restore is the important step. A timer firing proves scheduling; a successful restored file proves scheduling, access, encryption, repository commit, and recovery worked together.

Automatic backup or continuous sync?

Azivault creates scheduled repository history. It is not a real-time bidirectional sync engine. If the goal is immediate collaboration or the same current file on several devices, use a sync service. If the goal is recovery from deletion, bad edits, ransomware, or device loss, preserve independent completed backup runs.

FAQs

Can Azivault back up automatically when the main app is closed?

Yes. The approved Azivault Scheduler login-item helper evaluates due folder and Photos plans and runs backups while the main app UI is closed.

Does an exact-time backup always start at the exact minute?

No. Sleep, power, login state, macOS scheduling, permissions, network access, and destination availability can delay execution. An overdue plan remains due.

Can automatic backups run when a Mac is powered off?

No. The Mac and required storage or network services must be available.

What happens to scheduled backups after a subscription expires?

Automatic scheduled execution pauses when paid access ends. Manual backups and Finder, app, and CLI restores remain free.