How we read a 366 GB Time Capsule backup after macOS 27

Published: 2026-10-29 · Capsule Bridge

Short answer: we measured a real Time Capsule, found that only AFP still answered, and wrote our own AFP client that only reads. Nothing was installed on the device and nothing was written to it.

The disk we started with

A 2013 Time Capsule (firmware 7.6.7) with about 608 GB of data. One old Time Machine backup of a MacBook Pro, a sparsebundle, took 366 GB of it. The rest was videos, photos and documents.

What we found on the network

The Time Capsule announced SMB sharing, but the SMB port was closed. The AFP port (548) and the AirPort management port (5009) were open. The login used an older method, called DHCAST128, which Apple's newer file sharing no longer needs.

What we built

• An AFP client that logs in with that older method and lists folders.
• Reading files in small parts, so a lost connection resumes where it stopped instead of starting over.
• A strict rule for the first version: no write commands in the code at all.

What we learned

• Listing folders and adding up sizes gave correct results on the real device.
• Large files are the hard part. Reading them in pieces matters more than speed.
• The device is old and slow. Heavy work at the same time makes everything worse, so one job at a time.

Where this went

The same reader now powers Capsule Bridge, an app for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android that is coming soon. See why a Time Capsule does not show up in Finder and 4 ways to get your files off it.