What doesn't Time Machine back up / restore?

[jent]

If I don't exclude anything in my Time Machine settings, what doesn't macOS actually back up / restore? I recently sent my Mac in for a hardware repair and was surprised to find that the technicians wiped my hard drive, so I'm restoring from a Time Machine backup I made right before taking it in to the Genius Bar, but I'm just curious if there is anything at all that doesn't make it over. I believe items in the Trash are not backed up, which has a logic to it, and I presume cache and temporary folders don't get backed up but I'm not sure. Thanks for any help!

 

[usagora]

If I don't exclude anything in my Time Machine settings, what doesn't macOS actually back up / restore? I recently sent my Mac in for a hardware repair and was surprised to find that the technicians wiped my hard drive, so I'm restoring from a Time Machine backup I made right before taking it in to the Genius Bar, but I'm just curious if there is anything at all that doesn't make it over. I believe items in the Trash are not backed up, which has a logic to it, and I presume cache and temporary folders don't get backed up but I'm not sure. Thanks for any help!

As far as I know, it backs up absolutely everything that's on your hard drive. Someone posted a link to this archived Apple website page:

What does Time Machine back up?

Does Time Machine backup system files, kernel files and other OS-related files? I have corrupted system drivers and files and I want to do a fresh install of OS X but I also want to back up my

apple.stackexchange.com

Mac Basics: Time Machine

<p>Learn how to set up Time Machine to perform backups, how to restore items (or your entire system) from a Time Machine backup, how to migrate existing Time Machine backups to a new Mac, and more.</p>

web.archive.org

 

[0128672]

Also "Important: Time Machine doesn’t backup system files or apps installed during macOS installation."

Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac

Use Time Machine to back up your entire Mac, including music, photos, and documents.

support.apple.com