Contacts on Mac: choose selected vCards or an all-contacts archive

Choose the export scope before creating a file. A handoff of a few people and a backup of the address book are different jobs. This source-based procedure covers Apple Contacts on Mac, using Apple's macOS Tahoe 26 guide. It assumes you are authorized to export the relevant contacts. It does not cover iPhone, iCloud.com or a managed account's undisclosed restrictions.

Match the format to the purpose

Intended purpose	Documented Mac route	File scope
Export selected people	Select one or more contacts, then File → Export → Export vCard; choose a location and Save.	Selected contacts in .vcf.
Make an all-contacts backup copy	File → Export → Contacts Archive; choose a location and Save.	All contacts in .abbu.

Apple documents these under Export selected contacts and Export all contacts. Selecting a few names does not turn Contacts Archive into a selected-card export. If the intended recipient needs only those people, resolve that scope before choosing the all-contacts route.

Decide what information may leave

For vCards, Contacts → Settings → vCard has controls for notes and photos. These vCard controls do not establish what an archive omits. Enable private me card concerns information shared from your own card; do not treat it as a privacy filter for every contact. Apple also warns that exporting through Numbers includes fields you opted not to share. Do not substitute that workflow while relying on vCard privacy choices. Apple — Exclude information when exporting; Export contacts using Numbers.

Prepare a short handoff note: intended people or scope, file type, destination app and version, and whether notes or pictures are required or excluded. Keep actual names and addresses in the authorized private workflow, not public troubleshooting feedback. If ownership, recipient or required fields are unclear, stop at that question rather than making a broader file “just in case.”

Keep export and restoration separate

Apple warns that importing an archive replaces current contact information. An .abbu file is therefore not a harmless way to add a few cards. This guide supplies no archive-import or overwrite instructions. Apple's separate import documentation also describes duplicate review when it finds duplicate contact cards; that is not proof that every apparent duplicate will be detected. Apple — Import contacts into Contacts on Mac.

A saved file alone does not establish that a destination app accepted it or retained every field, photo, list or relationship. These sources do not certify cross-app preservation or a successful restoration. If destination compatibility or recoverability is decisive, leave it unresolved until that exact destination and evidence are available. Do not delete the source contacts based on this preparation.

Evidence and refresh

Version-pinned Apple pages checked 2026-10-05T05:43:20Z; no page update dates were displayed. Ten synthetic manual decisions were checked against this draft and the documentation. No contact, account, export, import or restoration was accessed or performed. At 2026-10-05T05:47:35Z, a distinct AI checker reopened both version-pinned Apple pages, verified the standard reference and checked the ten author branches plus six additional manual boundaries. Author and checker share the site operator; these source/desk checks do not supply independent formal review.

Recheck by 2026-11-05T00:00:00Z, or when the Mac version, export choices, privacy settings or destination requirements change. Feedback should identify the exact revision, Mac version and documented step that differs, without attaching private contact files. This procedure follows the contact portability standard [current article].