Time Machine With Wasabi via Cyberduck

  • Updated on Dec 24, 2025
  • Published on Dec 12, 2025
  • 2 minute(s) read
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How to Back up macOS Using Time Machine to Cyberduck

This article explains how to use CyberDuck to back up your Time Machine to Wasabi.  Cyberduck has been validated for use with Apple’s Time Machine to back up your Time Machine to the cloud. 

Prerequisites

  • External storage device connected to Mac 

  • Mac shared as a network backup destination 

  • Network-attached storage (NAS) device 

  • AirPort Extreme Base Station or AirPort Time Capsule 

  • A virtual disk image such as a sparsebundle.  Please note to create a sparsebundle you will need to use terminal. dfg

1.1. To create a sparsebundle (optional):  

Recommended Disk Size: >1.5x used system space

hdiutil create -size <disk-size> -type SPARSEBUNDLE -fs HFS+J -volname "<volume-name>" <path-to-sparsebundle>.sparsebundle 

Command variables:

  • <disk-size-in-GB>: Size of the virtual disk in GB (e.g., 500)

  • <volume-name>: The name shown in /Volumes/ (e.g., TimeMachineDisk)

  • <path-to-folder>: Folder where the sparsebundle will be saved (e.g., ~/)

  • <sparsebundle-name>: Name of the sparsebundle file (e.g., TimeMachineDisk)

Example:

hdiutil create -size 500g -type SPARSEBUNDLE -fs HFS+J -volname "TimeMachineDisk" ~/TimeMachineDisk.sparsebundle

1.2. Mount the Drive (if virtual):

Mount the Drive (if virtual) 

hdiutil attach <path-to-sparsebundle>.sparsebundle 

Command variables:

  • <path-to-folder>: Folder where the sparsebundle will be saved (e.g., ~/)

Example:

hdiutil attach ~/TimeMachineDisk.sparsebundle

The volume will be mounted under /Volumes/<volume-name>. 

sudo tmutil setdestination /Volumes/<volume-name>

  • <volume-name>: The name shown in /Volumes/ (e.g., TimeMachineDisk)

Example:

sudo tmutil setdestination /Volumes/TimeMachineDisk

Time Machine will now treat this mount as a backup disk.

3.1. Time Machine to complete a full system backup. (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access)

3.2 Back Up: This may take several hours depending on system size. (System Settings > Time Machine > Right Click the Mounted Drive)


4. Connect to CyberDuck using your Wasabi Credentials

  • Choose your desired Wasabi bucket 

  • Ensure you are using the correct Service URL for your desired region 

  • Ensure you have an Access Key & Secret Key with API permissions enabled 

  • Once in Cyberduck and in the correct storage bucket navigate to file then select upload 

  •  

  • Go to your Time Machine Drive in locations 

  • And press upload 

  •  

When complete you will see an upload complete in your transfers in CyberDuck. 

 

 

5. Automate the Sync with Cyberduck (Optional)

5.1. Find the full path of duck:

which duck

Example Output:

/usr/local/bin/duck
5.2. Create a scheduled sync task using duck mirror:

Cyberduck supports --mirror for syncing a local folder with remote storage.

Example: Daily sync at 6 PM

0 18 * * * /usr/local/bin/duck --mirror ~/TimeMachineDisk.sparsebundle s3://<your-bucket-name>/ --upload

Example: Weekly sync at 6 PM every Friday

0 18 * * 5 /usr/local/bin/duck --mirror ~/TimeMachineDisk.sparsebundle s3://<your-bucket-name>/ --upload

In your crontab command:

  • <minute>: Minute of the hour (e.g., 0 means :00)

  • <hour>: Hour in 24-hour format (e.g., 18 means 6 PM)

  • <day-of-month>: Use * for any day

  • <month>: Use * for any month

  • <day-of-week>: 0 = Sunday, 1 = Monday, ..., 5 = Friday

  • <path-to-folder>: e.g., ~/

  • <sparsebundle-name>: e.g., TimeMachineDisk

  • <remote-name>: The name you assigned in rclone config

  • <bucket-name>: The Wasabi bucket name

5.3. Edit the crontab:
crontab -e

5.4. Use crontab to schedule regular syncs:


5.5. Save and Exit Crontab

If using nano:

  • Press Ctrl + O to save

  • Press Enter to confirm

  • Press Ctrl + X to exit

If using vi:

  • Press Esc

  • Type :wq

  • Press Enter

Tips:

  • If encountering Permission denied, check .sparsebundle ownership and run with sudo

  • You may compress .sparsebundle to .dmg or .zip for other backup methods