What is revisiond?

revisiond is a process you might see in Activity Monitor. It handles file version history.

What is revisiond?

revisiond manages document versions, the history that macOS keeps for files saved by apps that support it. When you use "File", then "Revert To", then "Browse All Versions" in an app, you are looking at the versions revisiond has been tracking.

How does versioning work?

Apps that use Apple's document model (NSDocument) get versioning for free. Each time you save a document, macOS keeps a copy of the old version. revisiond manages these copies:

• Storing old versions without wasting space (using APFS snapshots and copy-on-write)
• Removing old versions to free up disk space when needed
• Showing the version timeline when you browse versions
• Handling clashes when a file is edited on more than one device

Which apps support it?

Most Apple apps do: TextEdit, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Preview. Many third-party apps that use Apple's document system support it too. Apps that manage their own file formats (like Adobe apps or Microsoft Office) typically handle versioning themselves.

Does it use a lot of disk space?

Versions are stored using APFS copy-on-write, so only the differences between versions take up space. macOS also removes old versions when disk space runs low.

Should you worry?

No. It is a standard macOS feature that quietly protects your work. If you overwrite a file by mistake, versioning lets you go back to an earlier copy.

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