In setting up a new Time Machine, how can I limit how much disk space Time Machine has access to? I am only interested in answers relevant to Big Sur's change to AFPS for Time Machine.
- Before 10.13, a command exists to set a maximum size in Terminal
I have no reason to expect this has changed, other than hearsay this summer. I am asking this question because I cannot find any sources that directly address the issue of limiting Time Machine's size in Big Sur. The change in file format seems like a big enough update that it could change how Time Machine operates.
I am looking for an answer that "definitively" answers how to limit Time Machine in Big Sur. Even if the answer is the same as in Mojave and Catalina, that is still valuable information.
With Time Machine's support of APFS destinations in Big Sur, how can I limit the size of Time Machine data on the external drive?
Best Answer
You can use the same strategy you would use with any of the other drive formats, namely creating a new partition.
Create a new APFS partition (aka container) with a single volume (as opposed to creating a new volume within an existing APFS container.) Time Machine will expand the volume such that it uses the entire container, but it cannot use any space not belonging to the container in which its volume resides.