Before a reinstall, back up any important data to storage that is independent of the Mac being rebuilt. That includes source code, build artifacts you care about, configuration files, credentials stored locally, and any databases or application data tied to the system.
- Export or sync repositories and project files.
- Save configuration and environment notes.
- Back up any local-only data.
- Verify that backups are readable before proceeding.
- Record anything you will need to rebuild the workflow afterward.
The right time to think about recovery is before you click reinstall, not after.