Send background email alert if Time Machine backup fails Curious if there is an easy way to send a background email alert if a Time Machine backup fails (or continuously fails rather than just one time)

I've found TM Error Logger however, it cannot run in the background, and also generates the email through the systems default mail client, which then needs to be manually sent.

Ideally I'd like a solution that does this in the background without any input or action from the end user - so that I can be notified if their machines aren't backing up.

The trouble is many users don't realize that Time Machine may not be working for them - they don't know to look for the "!" in the TM menu bar icon (or often what it means)
This is a great use case for a simple shell or python or ruby script and launchd.

I'll assume you can find on this site how to configure the launchd item or want to buy Lingon which is a great timesaver. (Be aware Lingon 3 is for Lion and there is another also paid version for Snow Leopard just named Lingon on the App store)

You also will need to set up an internal mail server that accepts command line mail from all your clients, so there is that large chunk of setup.

With all that "hand waving" to explain broad concepts - you now could use these core commands to get the job done:


tmutil latestbackup
date "+%Y-%m-%d"
mail -s "TimeMachine Failure Report from $HOSTNAME" "This mac needs attention"


Depending on how much fun this sounds, you can pick apart each task and work on them or look into software that is designed to do this for you like Apple Remote Desktop or Robot Cloud.