The short answer
Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar: it shows “Latest backup” with a date and time. System Settings → General → Time Machine shows the same under your backup disk, with the next backup. In Terminal, tmutil latestbackup prints the newest backup, named with its date and time, while the backup disk is connected. If the date is days old, check the disk is connected and has space, then choose Back Up Now and watch for an error.
On this page
In the menu bar and System Settings
- Menu bar. If the Time Machine icon (a clock with an arrow) is in the menu bar, click it. The menu shows the latest backup, or the one in progress. To add it, open System Settings → Control Center (Menu Bar on newer macOS) and set Time Machine to show in the menu bar.
- System Settings. Open System Settings → General → Time Machine. Each backup disk is listed with its latest backup and the next one scheduled.
In Terminal with tmutil
tmutil latestbackup/Volumes/.timemachine/…/2026-10-02-091502.backup/2026-10-02-091502.backupThe name ends with the backup's date and time: 2 October 2026 at 09:15:02. The backup disk needs to be connected for this to work. If it isn't, tmutil reports an error instead of a path.
tmutil listbackupstmutil destinationinfotmutil statustmutil listlocalsnapshots / lists the snapshots Time Machine keeps on your Mac's own disk. They're handy for getting a file back, but they live on the same disk as your data, so they aren't a backup if the Mac is lost or the disk fails.
When the last backup is days old
- Is the backup disk connected? A laptop that's rarely at its desk can go weeks without seeing its backup disk, and it's easy not to notice.
- Is automatic backup on? In System Settings → General → Time Machine → Options, check Back up frequency isn't set to Manually.
- Is the disk full or failing? Time Machine removes the oldest backups to make room. If it still can't, the backup fails. Disk Utility's First Aid checks the disk.
- Try Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu, and watch for an error message.
- Read Time Machine's log for the reason:
log show --last 1d --style compact --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.TimeMachine"' | grep -iE 'error|fail' | tail -20Backups that run but take hours usually have a lot to copy, such as virtual machine disks. Excluding what you can download or rebuild again makes them lighter; what backupd is doing covers that.
Other backup apps
Backblaze, Arq, Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper each show their last successful run in their own window or menu bar item. Check them the same way: the date of the last successful run, not just that the app is installed.
The faster way: Backup health in iKnowMyMac
iKnowMyMac shows your last successful Time Machine backup in its popover, with the destination, whether it's connected and the next scheduled backup in an optional Overview section. It warns you when backups stop, so you find out on day 3 rather than the day you need a file back.