install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install mackup

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install mackup

MacPorts ports tree · sysutils/mackup/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install mackup

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · mackup · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#mackup

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ma/mackup/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Keep your Mac's application settings in sync

Project links

Commands and aliases

mackup

history

Project history and usage

Mackup is a Python command-line tool for backing up, restoring, and synchronizing application settings across workstations. Its official README frames the tool around repeatable workstation setup: install Mackup, run `mackup backup` on one machine, and run `mackup restore` on a new one.

Project history

The official GitHub repository was created in April 2013. Mackup grew out of the Mac and Unix dotfile culture of keeping user preferences portable, but it packages that workflow around application-specific configuration knowledge rather than asking each user to maintain every path by hand.

The project originally emphasized linking configuration files into a synced storage directory, but the current README documents both copy mode and link mode. The README now warns that link mode is unsafe for preferences on macOS Sonoma and later, making copy-based backup and restore the preferred path on current macOS systems.

Adoption history

Mackup is distributed through Homebrew and pip in its own quickstart, and the batch input records additional package-manager presence in DNF, MacPorts, and Nix. The repository metadata captured during this run showed more than fifteen thousand GitHub stars and hundreds of forks, making it one of the better-known tools in the Mac settings-sync niche.

How it is used

The common workflow is `mackup backup` to copy supported application settings into a Mackup storage directory, then `mackup restore` on another workstation. The CLI can scope commands to a single supported application, and `mackup list` reports the known application identifiers.

Mackup supports storage backends documented as Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, and a generic filesystem directory. Users customize behavior in `.mackup.cfg`, including storage selection and application allow or ignore lists, and can add custom application definitions under `~/.mackup/` or the XDG Mackup applications directory.

Why package nerds care

For package-manager users, Mackup is a bridge between installing software and making that software feel configured. It is significant because it turns a messy collection of per-application preference paths into a repeatable CLI operation that fits bootstrap scripts, Homebrew-driven Mac setup, and dotfile repositories.

Timeline

2013: Official GitHub repository created.
2025: 0.10.x releases published.
2026: 0.11.x releases published, with current documentation emphasizing copy mode for modern macOS.

Related projects

Mackup sits near dotfile managers, Homebrew bootstrap scripts, cloud-synced configuration folders, and application preference backup tools. Its own docs relate it to Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, and Git-backed storage.

Sources

https://api.github.com/repos/lra/mackup
https://github.com/lra/mackup
https://github.com/lra/mackup#readme
https://github.com/lra/mackup/blob/master/doc/README.md
source_facts.package-manager

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for mackup. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.mackup.cfg$MACKUP_CONFIG$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mackup/mackup.cfg~/.config/mackup/mackup.cfg

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`mackup`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version0.11.1

manager updated2026-06-16

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/lra/mackup

infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/lra/mackupnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:mackup
Version	0.11.1
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mackup
Homepage	https://github.com/lra/mackup
Repository	https://github.com/lra/mackup
Upstream docs	https://github.com/lra/mackup#readme
License	GPL-3.0-or-later
Source archive	https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/6f/2a/18e5ee6076391166710340aff9c4c0aa53594aaaa713183fd368cd206765/mackup-0.11.1.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-16T12:17:54+02:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	python@3.14
Bottle	available (on all)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	mackup
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

mackup

nix profile install nixpkgs#mackup

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mackup

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mackup/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

dnf95%

mackup 0.10.3-2.fc45

Keep your application settings in sync

https://github.com/lra/mackup

sudo dnf install mackup

License: GPL-3.0-only
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: noarch
Source Package: python-mackup
4 dependencies
3 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Mackup

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mackup from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

mackup

sudo port install mackup

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mackup

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/mackup/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/mackup.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install mackup with Homebrew, dnf, MacPorts, Nix