Dear LazyWeb.....

[SimonMac]

I have a folder on my MacBook Pro that I would like regularly backed up to another folder on the same machine, whats the easiest way to do this, on windows I know I can just create a scheduled task to run a simple script, whats the equivalent on a Mac? Automator looks a bit more workflowy for what I need

[Sysman]

You can use cron to do regular jobs but the recommended Apple way is to use launchd. A couple of utilities exist to help you create the plist files used by launchd:

Lingon open sauce version - free but no more development
Lingon 3 - a whole $3 from the App Store

I was happy with the first one to get me going. I now roll my own.

[stek]

One word..

rsync

[Sysman]

And there's a GUI wrapper for rsync which includes scheduling.

Backuplist+ Make sure you pick the download suitable for your version of OS X from that page.

Because Apple can lag with various bits of CLI software, Backuplist+ contains an up to date version of of rsync, compiled with suitable options for the job in hand..

[SimonMac]

One word..

rsync

I know to use rsync do to the actual copying, I am just unsure how to schedule it, was hoping that I could just CRON something but will take a look at Lingon

[FiveTimes]

scheduling an automator workflow -

How to Run an Automator Workflow to a Schedule