macOS Cloud Backup with KopiaUI: OneDrive, Google Drive & NAS (Step-by-Step)

macOS Backup Kopia OneDrive NAS Jun 24, 2026

How to Set Up Cloud Backup on macOS with KopiaUI
OneDrive · Google Drive · NAS Integration Guide

A step-by-step guide to building a cloud backup on macOS with KopiaUI, using OneDrive, Google Drive, or a NAS as the repository. It covers everything from installing KopiaUI to creating a repository, excluding files, scheduling automatic backups with a snapshot retention policy, and finally running a restore test — giving you a safe macOS backup with point-in-time snapshots, encryption, and deduplication.

OSmacOS 12 or later

Backup toolKopiaUI v0.23.1

RepositoryOneDrive · Google Drive · NAS

Install methodHomebrew

The backup you copy to an external drive "every now and then" falls apart the moment you lose a file and find yourself asking, "When did I last copy this?" Accidentally overwritten files, ransomware, and disk failures arrive without warning — and a plain copy or sync only protects the single current state.

Kopia solves this with point-in-time snapshots. You can roll back to an hour ago, yesterday, or any point last week, and because everything is encrypted locally with AES-256-GCM before upload, not even the cloud provider can read it. Thanks to block-level deduplication, backing up every hour barely increases your storage usage. On top of that, it reuses the OneDrive, Google Drive, or NAS you already have as the repository — so there's no extra cost.

This guide walks through how to use KopiaUI as a backup tool on macOS, from connecting OneDrive, Google Drive, or NAS cloud storage to scheduling automatic backups, setting a retention policy, and running a restore test — all configured the way you'd actually run it.

Choosing a backup tool — why KopiaUI? (vs. Kopia CLI & Restic)

Several tools can do the same job.

Tool	Characteristics
Kopia CLI	Same engine as KopiaUI. Great for scripted automation in the terminal. Preferred in server environments.
Restic + Rclone	Restic for snapshot backups, Rclone for cloud connectivity. A powerful combination, but the CLI setup is complex.
KopiaUI	GUI based. Easy even for non-developers and general users who'd rather avoid the CLI. Open source and free.

💡

KopiaUI and the Kopia CLI share the same repository. You can set things up in the GUI and still automate with the CLI — mixing both works fine.

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Why use Kopia instead of plain mirroring?

If you just use OneDrive or Google Drive, your files do sync to the cloud — that's true. But there are problems, listed below.

Issue	Plain mirroring	Kopia backup
Versioning	Keeps only the current state. Delete a file by mistake and it's gone from the cloud too.	Keeps point-in-time snapshots. Restore to any past point.
Special characters in filenames	Names like .hidden, file:name, a/b that OneDrive/Google Drive reject can't sync.	Stores file contents as encrypted chunks, so there are no filename restrictions.
Dotfiles & config files	Hidden files like .env, .ssh, .claude are limited or missed in sync.	Can back up every file.
Symbolic links	Links break or get ignored.	Preserves link metadata (and can follow the target too, as an option).
Encryption	The cloud provider can read your content.	Encrypted locally with AES-256-GCM before upload. Even the provider can't read it.

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1

Install KopiaUI (Homebrew · macOS)

brew install --cask kopiaui

If you don't have Homebrew, install it first from brew.sh. KopiaUI requires macOS 12 (Monterey) or later, and the install package bundles both the kopia CLI binary and the GUI. To download it directly, see the official installation docs.

Launch it from Launchpad or Spotlight (⌘ + Space → KopiaUI).

💡

A macOS security warning may appear on first launch → System Settings → Privacy & Security → Allow.

Once it starts, the Select Storage Type screen appears.

KopiaUI first launch — the Select Storage Type screen

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2

Connect cloud storage — OneDrive · Google Drive · NAS

KopiaUI has no dedicated cloud-integration menu. Instead, you install each cloud service's native macOS app, let it mount as a local folder, and then point KopiaUI to that local path.

✅

Why this approach works well No need to install rclone, no OAuth admin approval required.
The cloud app handles syncing, so Kopia just behaves as if it's writing to a local disk.

2-1. OneDrive (Microsoft 365)

brew install --cask onedrive

Launch the app → sign in with your Microsoft 365 account → after the sync completes, check the mount path:

ls ~/Library/CloudStorage/
# OneDrive-YourCompany

mkdir ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive-YourCompany/KopiaBackup

2-2. Google Drive

brew install --cask google-drive

Launch the app → sign in with your Google account, then set the sync option to "Stream files".

Google Drive preferences — choosing Stream files (saves local disk space)

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Stream files vs. Mirror files
Stream files keeps files in the cloud only and downloads them on access, so it uses almost no local disk space.
When Kopia takes a snapshot it automatically pulls the files it needs, so backup works even without mirroring.

After the sync completes, check the mount path:

ls ~/Library/CloudStorage/
# GoogleDrive-your@gmail.com

mkdir ~/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-your@gmail.com/My\ Drive/KopiaBackup

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For Google Drive you must create the folder under My Drive. You can't write directly under GoogleDrive-*/.

2-3. NAS (Synology, etc.)

If you have a personal NAS, you can connect it two ways.

Option A — Network mount (SMB)
Finder → ⌘K → enter smb://nas-ip/share → after mounting, point KopiaUI's Local Directory to /Volumes/ShareName/.

# Verify the mount
ls /Volumes/
# ShareName  ...

mkdir /Volumes/ShareName/KopiaBackup

Option B — SFTP (built into KopiaUI, recommended for Synology)
SFTP mounting on macOS is cumbersome because it needs extra tools (macFUSE, etc.). KopiaUI has a built-in SFTP backend, so it can connect directly without mounting.

On the Select Storage Type screen, choose "SFTP Server", then:

Field	Example
Hostname	192.168.1.100 or the NAS domain
Port	22
Username	NAS account
Path	/volume1/backup/KopiaBackup
Key auth	Register an SSH key and no password is needed

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On Synology, enable SSH in DSM Control Panel → Terminal & SNMP first.
If you already use the Synology Drive app, it mounts at ~/Library/CloudStorage/SynologyDrive-xxx/, so the Local Directory approach works too.

Repository path summary

Service	Method	Path / setting
OneDrive	Local Directory	~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive-xxx/KopiaBackup
Google Drive	Local Directory	~/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-xxx/My Drive/KopiaBackup
NAS (SMB)	Local Directory	/Volumes/ShareName/KopiaBackup
NAS / Synology	SFTP Server	Hostname + Port 22 + remote path

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3

Create a KopiaUI repository

3-1. Choose "Local Directory or NAS"

On the Select Storage Type screen, click "Local Directory or NAS".

3-2. Enter the Directory Path

Enter the path of the backup folder you created earlier.

# OneDrive
/Users/your-username/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive-YourCompany/KopiaBackup

# Google Drive
/Users/your-username/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-you@gmail.com/My Drive/KopiaBackup

Enter the repository path, then click Next

3-3. Set the repository password

Kopia encrypts the repository with AES-256-GCM.

⚠️

Lose the password and the data is unrecoverable Be sure to store it separately somewhere safe, like 1Password or Bitwarden.

Setting the repository encryption password

Click "Create Repository" → the repository is created.

Repository created — the My Repository screen

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4

Set up file exclusions (Ignore)

Exclude files/directories you don't need to back up, to save time and space.

Method 1: Policy UI (KopiaUI)

Snapshots → select a snapshot → Edit → "Files" tab → enter patterns under Ignore Files.

.DS_Store
.Spotlight-V100
.Trashes
.fseventsd
Library/Caches
Library/CloudStorage

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The ~/ tilde doesn't work. Enter paths relative to the backup root.
The Effective column shows, in real time, the patterns that will actually apply.

Ignore Files setup — checking Defined / Effective patterns

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Excluding Library/CloudStorage is especially important
It prevents duplicate backups of data already in the cloud, such as OneDrive or Synology Drive.

Method 2: .kopiaignore file

Create a .kopiaignore file in the directory being backed up and Kopia reads it automatically. It uses the same syntax as gitignore.

cat > ~/.kopiaignore << 'EOF'
.DS_Store
.Spotlight-V100
.Trashes
.fseventsd
Library/Caches/
Library/CloudStorage/
EOF

If you register .kopiaignore under Ignore Rule Files in the Policy UI, the .kopiaignore files in subdirectories are applied automatically too.

Symbolic links

By default Kopia backs up only the symbolic link itself (its metadata) and doesn't follow the target. Turning on the "Follow symlinks" option in the Policy → Files tab follows the target and backs up the actual contents.

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Be careful on macOS if ~/Desktop or ~/Documents are symlinked into iCloud Drive.

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5

Run your first snapshot (backup)

Snapshots tab → "New Snapshot" → enter the local path to back up → click "Snapshot Now".

Once the backup starts, you can watch progress in real time on the Tasks tab.

Backup in progress — live view on the Tasks tab

When it finishes, check the result in the snapshot list.

Backup complete — 1.3 TB, 277,268 files

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6

Set up scheduling & retention policy

Under Policies → "Edit Policy", configure Scheduling and Retention together.

⏱️ Scheduling — snapshot frequency

Setting the Snapshot Interval to 1 hour or 2 hours is recommended.

💡

If you lose a file by mistake while coding, you can instantly restore to its state from at most 1–2 hours ago.
Because it's an incremental backup that stores only changed files, running it every hour barely uses any space.
If hourly feels like too much, 4 hours or Daily are good alternatives.

Scheduling tab — the Snapshot Frequency dropdown

🗄️ Retention — snapshot retention policy

The more often you back up, the more the cleanup rule for old snapshots matters. Configure it in Policies → Edit Policy → Retention.

Setting	Recommended	Description
Keep Latest	10	Always keep the 10 most recent snapshots — instantly undo a mistake you just made.
Keep Hourly	24	Keep hourly history for the past 24 hours.
Keep Daily	7	Keep daily history for the past week.
Keep Weekly	4	Keep weekly history up to a month back.
Keep Monthly	12	Keep monthly history up to a year back.

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In short
"Back up automatically every 2 hours, and let Kopia clean up old snapshots on its own, keeping a full year of history at a fine granularity."

Retention tab — retention policy configured

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7

Test a restore

🔑

A backup is only real once it restores. Always finish with a restore test.

7-1. Select a snapshot

Snapshots → click the snapshot point you want to restore.

7-2. Browse with the file browser

Click "Browse" → review the directory/file list.

Snapshot file browser — explore files at a given point in time

7-3. Run the restore

Click "Restore Files & Directories" → enter the Destination path → "Restore".

Restore destination and options

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8

Practical operation tips

Automate with the CLI

KopiaUI and the kopia CLI share the same repository. Create the repository in the GUI, then script repetitive tasks with the CLI.

# Check repository connection status
kopia repository status

# Back up a specific path immediately
kopia snapshot create ~/Developer

# List snapshots / restore a specific one
kopia snapshot list
kopia restore k1a2b3c4... ~/restore-test

# Clean up old snapshots per the retention policy + reclaim unused blocks
kopia snapshot expire --all --delete
kopia maintenance run --full

💡

Schedule kopia snapshot create with cron or launchd and backups run in the background without KopiaUI open. Just use only one scheduler so it doesn't overlap with the GUI's.

Storage & performance

• Deduplication + compression: On top of block-level deduplication, zstd compression is applied by default, so the actual upload size is often smaller than the original.
• Only the first backup is heavy: The initial snapshot uploads everything, but after that it's incremental — only changed blocks are sent — so hourly runs are light.
• Confirm the cloud sync finished: After Kopia writes to the local mount folder, the OneDrive/Google Drive app must finish the actual upload for the backup to exist "remotely." Right after a large backup, check the cloud app's sync status too.

Operate safely

• The password is the data: Lose the repository password and the entire backup is permanently unrecoverable. Always keep it separately in 1Password, Bitwarden, etc.
• The 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, on 2 different media types, with 1 off-site. Don't rely on a single cloud — add one more repository on a NAS or external disk.
• Test restores regularly: Run a real restore at least once a quarter to guarantee it's a "backup that restores."

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Wrap-up

If you've followed along, you now have an encrypted snapshot backup that runs automatically every 2 hours. To recap:

• Install KopiaUI → mount cloud/NAS as a local path → create an encrypted repository
• Exclude unnecessary files with Ignore to save time and space
• Use scheduling + retention to automatically manage a full year of point-in-time history
• Confirm it's a "backup that actually works" with a restore test

It comes down to one line: a backup is finished not when you set it up, but when a restore succeeds. Once you're set up, run a restore test today.

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Reference links
· Kopia official docs: kopia.io/docs
· Getting started: kopia.io/docs/getting-started
· GitHub releases: github.com/kopia/kopia/releases

At a glance

• Deduplication + compression: Block-level dedup and zstd compression use cloud storage efficiently.
• Retention policy: Set how many latest/hourly/daily/weekly/monthly snapshots to keep in Policies → Edit Policy → Retention.
• Mix GUI & CLI: Use kopia snapshot list, kopia restore, and more against the same repository.
• Back up the password: Without the password, the data simply can't be recovered.
• Restore is the real backup: Run restore tests regularly to ensure reliability.