Carryover compared with Migration Assistant, Time Machine and a Brewfile

Updated 8 October 2026

Carryover sets up a new Mac from your old one: the apps, the command-line tools and the settings you pick. It does not move documents, user accounts, mail or passwords. So it is usually used alongside one of Apple's tools, not instead of them.

The short version

Migration Assistant

Apple's Migration Assistant moves documents, apps, user accounts and settings from one Mac to another, wirelessly or from a backup. You can tick whole categories or open one and pick items. It does not change the old Mac. Apple notes that mail comes across but you may have to set the account up again in your mail app.

Use Migration Assistant if you want everything moved, including documents, Photos and Music libraries and user accounts, or you want the new Mac to be a copy of the old one.

Restoring from Time Machine

A Time Machine backup holds your apps, music, photos and documents, though not macOS itself or the apps that came with it. You restore it with the same Migration Assistant, choosing the backup as the source.

Use a restore if the old Mac is lost, broken or gone, and you need your data back without it.

A Homebrew Brewfile

brew bundle dump writes the formulae, casks, taps and App Store entries you have installed into a text file, and brew bundle installs them on the next Mac. It does not cover macOS settings, which need defaults write scripts, or your dotfiles, which you carry in git or another tool.

Use a Brewfile if you already keep your setup in git, set up many Macs, or want a repeatable text file and no extra app.

Where Carryover fits

Carryover is for a clean start that still feels like your Mac. The two Macs pair over your own network with a short code, and Carryover shows what differs under Apps, Tools and Settings. You tick what to bring over. Apps are never copied between Macs: each one is installed fresh from the App Store, a Homebrew cask or the developer's own site, so you get current, properly signed versions. Homebrew, Apple's command-line tools and your formulae come across, and so do the Dock, Finder, trackpad, keyboard, hot corners, menu bar and screenshot settings you choose.

A common pattern is Migration Assistant or iCloud for your documents and Carryover for everything you would otherwise spend an afternoon reinstalling and re-ticking. Make a Time Machine backup first either way. There is a free 14-day trial; after it ends you can still compare Macs.