Backups filling up with video clips
QHow can I stop iMovie and Final Cut Pro from filling my Mac’s Time Machine backups with old edits, but still back my work up?
AWhen Time Machine backs up to HFS+ you can clean up those backups by deleting working folders and files. Despite its strengths, when Time Machine in Big Sur backs up to an APFS volume, you can no longer change backups, only delete a complete backup. However, excluding your working folder from backups altogether would mean you’d need to make alternative arrangements, perhaps using Carbon Copy Cloner (MF369) to make backups of your work in progress.
There is an ingenious alternative to use with Time Machine, which exploits the fact it backs up volumes separately, and the way that APFS volumes share free space. On your normal working disk, where you’d keep your clips and edits, create a APFS volume using Disk Utility. Move the files you need for editing to that volume, then remove it from Time Machine’s exclusion list so that it gets backed up.
Once you’ve finished editing, move just the files you want to keep from that project back to your normal working volume. You can then delete the working volume and all its backups, which should return plenty of free space to your backup storage.