How to burn a CD or DVD on Mac
If you own a Mac and need to transfer files between devices, make a temporary backup, or share files with others, sometimes burning to a CD or DVD still does. Fortunately, macOS makes it easy. Here's how to do it.
What will you need?
If you don't already have one, you will need a CD or DVD drive that works with your Mac. The Apple USB SuperDrive is a great choice for Macs. Simply plug it into a backup USB-A port on your Mac, and you're ready to go. If your Mac only has USB-C ports, you will also need an adapter like the Apple USB-C to USB adapter. You will also need a blank CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R or DVD-RW.
Also, keep in mind that CD-R and DVD-R discs are not a good option for long-term backups as they can become unreadable within a few years to a few decades. (We actually recommend backing up any burned disks you have now before they become defective.)
Given this date, only copyable optical discs should be used as a temporary data storage solution. For more powerful backups, consider buying a NAS, using an external hard drive with Time Machine, or using iCloud.
How to burn a disc on Mac
When you are ready to rip files from Mac to CD or DVD, first insert a blank disc into the CD or DVD drive. If the Finder is configured in a certain way, the disc will appear on your Mac desktop as "Untitled CD" or "Untitled DVD". And even if not, you'll see a "untitled" disk shortcut in the sidebar of each Finder window.
To copy files or folders to disk, you have several options. You can open the blank disk as a Finder folder (by double-clicking its icon or clicking its sidebar shortcut) and drag items to the window or use Copy and Paste. Or you can drag the files directly to the blank disk shortcut in the sidebar.
Once you drag the files to the blank disk, macOS tracks these files in a private area before you burn them to disk permanently. If you open the "untitled" disk in the Finder, you will notice that the files have arrows because they are temporary shortcuts - they are not actually written to the CD yet.
At any time before ending the disc with burning, you can remove files from the disc by opening the "untitled" disc in the Finder and dragging them to the trash in the dock. It will not affect your original files, only temporary shortcuts.
When you are done transferring files to CD or DVD and are ready to burn them permanently to disc, click the small burn icon next to the disc in the sidebar (which looks like the nuclear radiation icon.) or you can open the "Untitled" disc in the Finder and click the "Burn" button in the upper-right corner of the window.
After clicking the "Copy" button (or icon), type a name for the disk and click "Copy" again. You will see a progress bar giving you an estimate of how much the copying process is complete. When you're done, you'll hear a ring (if the Mac speakers aren't muted) and the new disc is ready. Take it out and take it wherever you want.
When you insert it into your Mac again, you will see the disc in the sidebar (or on the desktop), and you can copy the files from it as if it were a regular folder in the Finder. Happy burn!