Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant
Use Migration Assistant to copy some or all of your content from one Mac to another Mac.
What does Migration Assistant do?
Migration Assistant transfers documents, apps, user accounts, and settings from one Mac to another. It doesn’t delete information from your old Mac or replace the operating system (macOS) on your new Mac.
Migration Assistant can also transfer from a Windows PC.
Get ready
OS X El Capitan or earlier, connect them to the same Wi-Fi network.
If antivirus, firewall, or VPN software is in use on either Mac, turn off that software until you're done.
Use Migration Assistant
Migration Assistant is included with your Mac—both as an app and as part of the setup assistant that opens when you first start up a new Mac.
On your new Mac
Open Migration Assistant:
If your Mac starts up to a setup assistant, which asks for details like your country and network, skip to the next step, because migration is part of that setup.
If you already completed initial setup of your new Mac, open Migration Assistant. You can find it in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. Or
On your old Mac
Open Migration Assistant, then click Continue.
When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer to another Mac. Click Continue.
On your new Mac
When asked to select a Mac, Time Machine backup, or other startup disk, select the icon of other Mac. Click Continue.
On your old Mac
If you see a security code, make sure that it's the same code shown on your new Mac. Click Continue.
On your new Mac
Migration Assistant calculates how much storage space is used by all of your information, including apps, user accounts, files, folders, and settings. Select the checkbox next to each category of files that you want to transfer. Or click the disclosure arrow
If asked for the password of an existing user who is already authorized on your new Mac, click Authorize, then enter that account's password.
Large transfers might need hours to complete, and might seem to pause occasionally. After Migration Assistant is done, quit Migration Assistant on both computers, then log in to the migrated account on your new Mac.
Learn more
Migration Assistant transfers your email, but to access it you might first need to set up your email account again in your email app.
In macOS Ventura 13 and later, you can also open Migration Assistant as follows: Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, click Transfer or Reset on the right, then click Open Migration Assistant.
If you're not keeping your old Mac, learn what to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your old Mac. Those steps include the option to erase your old Mac and reset it to factory settings.
