# Install mackup with Homebrew, dnf, MacPorts, Nix Keep your Mac's application settings in sync. Version 0.11.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-16. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:mackup ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install mackup ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install mackup ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/mackup/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install mackup ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mackup from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#mackup ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mackup/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:mackup - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.11.1 - **Source summary:** Keep your Mac's application settings in sync - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-3.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-16T12:17:54+02:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - mackup (cli) - mackup (alias) ## Dependencies - python@3.14 ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on all ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.11.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-16 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/lra/mackup - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## 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 - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes 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. ## 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 - Unix: ~/.mackup.cfg, $MACKUP_CONFIG, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mackup/mackup.cfg, ~/.config/mackup/mackup.cfg ## 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:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - mackup: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mackup/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - dnf - mackup - 0.10.3-2.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mackup from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Keep your application settings in sync | https://github.com/lra/mackup - MacPorts - mackup: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/mackup/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Archive and compression packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/archive-compression-tools/) - Matched archive or compression metadata. - [python@3.14](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/python-3-14/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [dockutil](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dockutil/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, macos, productivity. - [toml-bombadil](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/toml-bombadil/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, dotfiles, productivity. - [cdargs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cdargs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity. - [clipper](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/clipper/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, macos, productivity. - [clippy](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/clippy/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, macos, productivity. - [doxx](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/doxx/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity. - [eureka](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/eureka/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity. - [evernote-backup](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/evernote-backup/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: backup, cli, productivity. - [gcalcli](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gcalcli/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, productivity, python, python-3-14, your. - [gyb](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gyb/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: backup, cli, productivity, python, python-3-14. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/mackup.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/mackup.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph