Restore Macros After a Clean Install

Questions & Suggestions
1

After a nuke n pave I need to re-install my macros from a clone back up, but I can't find them.

I thought they might be in /Library/Application Support or /Library/Preferences but no such luck.

Any ideas? (I'm also lost without them!)

2

~/Library/Application Support/Keyboard Maestro/

** Note that’s originating in the USER folder.

Paste the path into the Finder after hitting ⌘⇧G to bring up the Go-To sheet.

If you're not finding anything there you're in trouble...

3

Did you use the File-->Sync options to store your macros in iCloud, Dropbox, or some other cloud location?

4

That's really helpful thanks. I need to get the same path that's on my CCC (clone) back up. I can't seem to do that manually. Any idea what the path would look like? It's on an external drive which just has the CCC clone on it?

Many thanks.

5

It's going to look like this:
/Volumes/Name of your CCC Backup Drive/Users/Your User Name/Library/Application Support/Keyboard Maestro

Probably easiest way to get there is to double-click the icon of CCC External Drive to open it, then double-click the folder that is called "Users", then the folder that has your username, then "Library", then "Application Support" and look for the folder called "Keyboard Maestro".

6

Unfortunately the clone drive doesn't seem to have a Library inside the User - I'll investigate with CCC. Really appreciate your help though.

7

It is possible that it is hidden. You should still be able to get there by using the Finder's Go Menu.

Go>Go to Folder...

And type in (or paste) the full path (replacing the items in bold with the correct names):

/Volumes/Name of your CCC Backup Drive/Users/Your User Name /Library/Application Support/Keyboard Maestro

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253575032

Once you have the files you will need to copy them to the same place on your restored machine. To get to the User Library folder on the restored machine, hold down the Option key when you invoke the Finder Go Menu and the Library will get listed as a place to go. By default the User Library is hidden.

8

You can also, if it's easier:

  1. In the Finder, open the CCC Backup volume
  2. Double-click "Users"
  3. Double-click the desired user's home folder
  4. ⌘⇧G
  5. Type in ./Library and hit Return

...playing off the fact that ./ means "from the current directory...".

2 Likes
9

Seem is probably the operative word...

This sort of problem is exactly why I recommend that all Mac users spend the paltry sum of $6.00 US and buy a copy of @Thomas_Tempelmann's Find Any File (FAF).

Having the ability to hard-search your volumes is a life (and hair) saver in times like these.

A good free alternative is EasyFind.

For decades my go-to find utility was File Buddy. Sadly the author Larry Harris died unexpectedly, and it's never been updated to 64bit. His son (a software engineer) planned to release FB 11, but unfortunately that appears to have fallen through...

10

Okay. Some progress but no solution. I needed to 'reveal' the hidden files in CCC which I did and was able to identify the KM files. I copied that over: no change - none of my macros were there. I then tried TimeMachine and restored the files from a date when I know they were there: no joy. (I was getting them from /Users//Library/Application Support/Keyboard Maestro