How to Free Up Disk Space on a Mac
macOS makes it surprisingly hard to see what is eating your storage. Here is how to find and clear the hidden files, downloads and caches that are slowing you down.
Use the built-in Storage Management tool
Go to Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info > Storage Settings. This gives you a breakdown of what is using your storage by category. Click Manage to access recommendations including emptying the bin automatically, removing downloaded films you have already watched, and storing older files in iCloud.
Clear out the Downloads folder
The Downloads folder is often the single biggest source of wasted space on Macs. Many people download files, use them once and never delete them. Open Finder, click Downloads and sort by size. Delete anything you no longer need — old installers, documents you have already processed and archive files you have extracted.
Remove large applications
Open Finder, go to Applications, and view by size using View > Show View Options > Sort by Size. Applications you have not opened in the past year are good candidates for removal. Dragging an app to the trash does not always remove all its associated files — use a tool like AppCleaner for a complete removal.
Clean up system and application caches
macOS and its applications create cache files to speed things up. These accumulate over time and can take up gigabytes of space. You can safely delete many of them by navigating to the Caches folder inside your user Library. Hold Option and click Go in Finder to see the Library folder, then open Caches and delete folders for applications you use infrequently.
Check for duplicate files and photos
Duplicate photos are a major source of wasted storage on Macs, particularly if you have ever imported a photo library more than once. The Photos app has a built-in Duplicates album in newer macOS versions. Free tools can find duplicates across your entire drive, though the built-in macOS storage management in System Settings handles most cases adequately.
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