Removing Local Time Machine Snapshots

If you are unable to find the “sudo tmutil disablelocal” command to remove all local copies of Time Machine snapshots, you can manually delete them using the following steps.

Step 1: List Local Snapshot Dates

To begin, open the Terminal application on your Mac and enter the following command:

tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates / | grep 2019 | while read f; do tmutil deletelocalsnapshots $f; done

In this command, “grep 2019” can be replaced with any text you want to use as a filter to limit the snapshots to be removed. This helps ensure that only specific snapshots are targeted for deletion.

Explanation of the Command

Let’s break down the command to understand what each part does:

• tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates /: This lists all the local snapshot dates on your system.

• grep 2019: This filters the snapshot dates and only selects the ones that contain the text “2019” (or any text you specify). You can modify this part based on your requirements.

• while read f; do tmutil deletelocalsnapshots $f; done: This iterates over each snapshot date and deletes the corresponding local snapshot using the tmutil deletelocalsnapshots command.

Important Notes

• This process only removes local copies of Time Machine snapshots and does not affect any backups stored on external drives or network locations.

• Please exercise caution when using Terminal commands. Make sure you enter the commands correctly to avoid any unintended consequences.

• Before proceeding with any modifications, it is advisable to have a backup of your important data.

I hope this guide helps you remove the local Time Machine snapshots successfully. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.