What is backupd on Mac?

backupd is the part of macOS that runs Time Machine backups. It's safe, and when it's busy a backup is running.

Key points

• backupd copies your files to your Time Machine disk.
• It's busiest during the first backup, or after many files changed.
• Don't quit it: to stop a backup, choose Skip This Backup in the Time Machine menu.

What backupd does

Every hour or so, Time Machine backs up what changed since the last backup. backupd does the copying; backupd-helper is its partner, which starts backups on schedule and prepares the disk. It knows what changed from fseventsd, macOS's record of file changes, so it doesn't have to read every file each time.

Why is backupd using so much CPU?

The first backup copies everything, and that can take hours. After that, backups are small, unless lots of files changed: a big download, a photo import, or a project folder that rebuilds constantly.

In one reading of a MacBook Pro (M1 Max, 64 GB) on October 10, 2026, backupd was running (2 copies), but as a system process it can be measured only with administrator permission, which that reading didn't have.

To make backups lighter, leave out folders that don't need a backup (downloads you can fetch again, build folders, virtual machines) in System Settings → General → Time Machine → Options.

Can I quit backupd?

Leave it running: macOS needs it. To stop a backup in progress, open the Time Machine menu in the menu bar and choose Skip This Backup.

How to check it

1. Open Activity Monitor: press Command-Space, type "Activity Monitor" and press Return.
2. Type backupd in the search field at the top right.
3. Look at % CPU and Memory.

Questions

Is backupd a virus?

No. backupd is part of macOS: it runs Time Machine backups.

What is backupd-helper on Mac?

Time Machine's partner process: it starts backups on schedule and gets the backup disk ready. It's part of macOS too.

How do I stop backupd?

Don't quit it. Choose Skip This Backup in the Time Machine menu, and the backup stops safely.