The com.apple folders in your Library belong to macOS and to Apple's own apps. Apple asks every app to name its folders after its bundle identifier, and Apple's identifiers start with com.apple, so com.apple.Safari is Safari's, com.apple.Music is Music's and com.apple.dt.Xcode is Xcode's. Hundreds of them are normal.
Most are tiny. The ones that get big are a short list: the Safari, Music and Xcode caches, the cache of a photo analysis service called mediaanalysisd, downloaded aerial wallpapers, Apple's container tool, the data of Podcasts, Books, Voice Memos and Notes, and Mail's copies of attachments.
Where a folder sits decides what you can do with it. In Caches, Apple's folders are mostly safe to clear with the app quit. In Application Support, Containers and Group Containers, they usually hold data, so you manage them in the app.
Apple documents its naming rules and its apps' settings, but not most individual folders. This post says so wherever that's the case.
What the com.apple folders in your Library are
Your Library folder is where apps keep what isn't a document: caches, settings, databases and downloaded content. Apple's own apps and the background services of macOS use it the same way third-party apps do.
Why are they named com.apple?
Because of a convention Apple sets for every developer. Apple's guide to the Mac's folder layout says an app should keep its cache files, and its support files, in a folder whose name matches the app's bundle identifier.
A bundle identifier is a reverse web address that names an app uniquely. Apple's start with com.apple, then the app or service: com.apple.Safari, com.apple.mail, com.apple.Notes. Developer tools add dt, as in com.apple.dt.Xcode.
Why are there hundreds of them?
Because macOS is made of many small programs, and each can have folders of its own. Background services, widgets, share extensions, Quick Look previews and settings panels all count.
On one Mac running macOS 27 Golden Gate, 742 of the 761 folders in Containers belonged to Apple. A count like that is normal, and it says nothing about how much space Apple's folders use.
How do you tell what a folder belongs to?
Read the name from the end. The last part usually names the app or service. A folder for an app's extension adds a word after the app's name, such as com.apple.Notes.WidgetExtension, and belongs with the app.
A name ending in a lowercase d, such as parsecd or nsurlsessiond, is usually a background service, a daemon. Group containers begin with a team ID, a code of letters and digits, or with group.
| Name pattern | What it usually is | Example |
|---|---|---|
com.apple. and an app's name | One of Apple's apps | com.apple.Safari |
com.apple.dt. | Xcode and Apple's developer tools | com.apple.dt.Xcode |
A name ending in d | A background service of macOS | com.apple.nsurlsessiond |
An app's name plus Extension or Widget | A part of that app | com.apple.Notes.WidgetExtension |
A team ID, then com.apple | A group container shared by Apple's apps | 243LU875E5.groups.com.apple.podcasts |
group.com.apple. | Another form of group container | group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared |
Not every Apple folder starts with com.apple
Some of the largest Apple data in your Library has plain names. iPhone and iPad backups are in MobileSync, contacts in AddressBook, and your email in the Mail folder. The post on the Application Support folder goes through those.
Group containers can hide the name too. Podcasts uses 243LU875E5.groups.com.apple.podcasts, the iWork apps 74J34U3R6X.com.apple.iWork. Read the whole name before deciding a folder isn't Apple's.
Where does Apple document these folders?
In three places, none of them complete. Apple's developer documentation sets the rules: what belongs in Caches, Application Support and containers, and how folders are named. Apple's support articles explain each app's own storage settings.
The manual pages that come with macOS describe many of its background services in a sentence or two. What Apple doesn't publish is a list of its folders and what each holds. For most com.apple folders, the honest answer to "what's inside?" is that Apple doesn't say.
| Question | Does Apple document it? | Where |
|---|---|---|
| What belongs in Caches and Application Support | Yes | Apple's guide to the Mac's folder layout |
| How folders are named | Yes, as a convention | The same guide |
| When group containers are created and removed | Yes | Apple's developer documentation |
| What a background service does | Often, briefly | The manual pages that come with macOS |
| How to manage an app's content | Yes, for its own apps | Apple's support articles for each app |
| What a particular com.apple folder holds | Rarely | Nowhere, for most folders |
How to find the large com.apple folders in Finder
You don't need to look at every folder. Sort by size, and the few that matter rise to the top.
How do you open the folders?
Your Library folder is hidden in Finder, but Go › Go to Folder reaches it. Type ~/ and press Return, then do the same for ~/, ~/ and ~/.
The steps are the same in macOS 27 Golden Gate and macOS 26 Tahoe. The tilde stands for your home folder, so these are your own folders, not those of other accounts.
How do you sort them by size?
Open the folder, choose View › as List, then View › Show View Options, and select Calculate all sizes. Click the Size column heading to put the largest first. Finder may take a minute on a folder with many items.
For one folder, select it and choose File › Get Info. Finder counts everything inside and shows the size when it's done.
Why does Containers show app names instead of com.apple?
Finder can show a container by its app's name, not its folder's name, so several items can appear as Notes or Mail: one for the app and others for its extensions. Select one and choose File › Get Info to see more about it.
Why do some sizes look wrong or ask for permission?
macOS protects other apps' containers. Apple's documentation says that since macOS Sonoma, the system asks you before an app reads another app's container. A disk tool without permission may show a container as empty or tiny.
Some folders in Application Support, such as com.apple.sharedfilelist, are protected, so apps without permission can't look inside. That's macOS guarding your settings, not a sign that something is wrong.
What sizes should you expect?
Small ones, mostly. On one Mac we measured, the user Caches folder held about 19 GB, and none of the com.apple folders we could measure in it reached 50 MB. The gigabytes belonged to package managers, browsers and other developer tools.
Apple's folders get big when an app keeps content: browsing, music, podcasts, mail, books, recordings, analysis of a large photo library. The ranges below are typical on Macs that have these items at all.
- Podcasts downloads1–250 GB · Usually safe
- Safari cache1–150 GB · Safe
- All app caches together2–30 GB · Safe
- Xcode caches and Previews1–20 GB · Safe
Typical ranges on Macs that have these items at all, from the research behind the app's catalog. Most com.apple folders are far smaller, often under a megabyte.
The com.apple folders in Caches
Caches is the one part of your Library that Apple reserves for data that can be recreated. Apple's guide says apps should never rely on cache files existing, and Apple's own apps mostly follow that rule.
Is it safe to delete com.apple folders in Caches?
Mostly, yes. The catalog's rule for app caches covers them: quit the app, move its folder to the Trash, and the app builds a new one. Expect slower loading at first, not lost files.
There's one exception, below, and a practical limit: most of these folders are so small that clearing them gains almost nothing. Start with the few large ones, and with folders of apps you've removed.
com.apple.Safari
Safari keeps the files websites send it here, such as pages, images and scripts, along with previews of your open tabs. Your history, bookmarks, passwords and cookies are stored elsewhere, so you stay signed in. It's Safe, and Safari's container has a second Caches folder that follows the same rule.
Website data is different. What sites save to remember you, such as local storage and databases, is in Safari's container and is Usually safe: you may be signed out. Remove it in Safari: choose Safari › Settings, click Privacy, then click Manage Website Data.
com.apple.Music
The Music app keeps album artwork, Apple Music pages and other downloaded data here. None of it is your library: songs, playlists and downloads are stored elsewhere. It's Safe; artwork and pages load more slowly at first while Music downloads them again.
com.apple.dt.Xcode and com.apple.dt.xcodebuild
Xcode and its command-line build tool keep cached network responses and other temporary data here. Both are Safe, and Xcode may take a little longer to open afterwards.
They're rarely Xcode's largest folders. DerivedData, simulators and device support files live in the Developer folder in your Library, not in Caches, and they take far more.
Is it safe to delete com.apple.nsurlsessiond?
Leave it. Apple's manual page describes nsurlsessiond as the per-user service that carries out background transfers for apps: downloads and uploads that continue while an app isn't running. Its folder holds downloads it's working on.
The catalog leaves this one folder out of its general cache rule. If it's large, an app is probably downloading something in the background; let it finish, or manage the download in the app that started it.
com.apple.bird and the CloudKit folder
Apple's manual page says bird is one of the services behind iCloud Drive, and cloudd the one behind CloudKit, which apps use to sync with iCloud. Their folders are in Caches and, for bird, in Group Containers too. Apple doesn't document what either keeps there.
The catalog's general cache rule covers both folders in Caches, so they're Safe like other caches. Reports on Apple's forums, though, tie a very large bird folder to iCloud Drive syncing that hasn't finished. Clearing the folder then doesn't fix the cause, so give iCloud Drive time to finish syncing first.
Small service caches
Many folders belong to background services: helpd, which Apple's manual page says manages software documentation, parsecd for Siri and Spotlight Suggestions, intelligenceflowd for sessions with intelligence services, and dozens more. On the Mac we measured, they ranged from kilobytes to a few dozen megabytes.
They follow the same rule as the rest of Caches. Services can't be quit like apps, so if you do clear one, restart afterwards so the service starts with a fresh cache.
Folder in ~/Library/Caches | Belongs to | Level | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
com.apple.Safari | Safari's web cache and tab previews | Safe | Quit Safari, move it to the Trash |
com.apple.Music | Music's artwork and store pages | Safe | Quit Music, move it to the Trash |
com.apple.dt.Xcode, com.apple.dt.xcodebuild | Xcode's cached data | Safe | Quit Xcode, move them to the Trash |
com.apple.nsurlsessiond | Background downloads and uploads | Not covered | Leave it |
com.apple.bird, CloudKit | iCloud Drive and CloudKit syncing | Safe | If large, check iCloud Drive's syncing first |
Other com.apple. folders | macOS services and Apple's apps | Safe | Usually too small to matter |
The post on whether Library caches are safe to delete covers what happens after you clear any cache, Apple's or not.
The com.apple folders in Application Support
Apple's guide says Application Support holds an app's own data and support files. That makes it a different kind of folder from Caches: what's here can be your data, and an app may not be able to recreate it.
Most of Apple's folders here are small and hold settings, state and records. A couple can be large.
com.apple.wallpaper and aerial videos
When you choose an aerial in System Settings › Wallpaper, Apple's guide says you click it to download it before you can use it. On one Mac running macOS 27, the downloaded videos were in ~/ and took 687 MB.
Apple doesn't document the folder, how large it can grow, or a way to remove downloaded aerials. In a TidBITS discussion, one person found about 46 GB of aerial videos in a related system-wide folder, com.apple.idleassetsd, in the Library folder at the top of the disk.
Can you delete downloaded aerial wallpapers?
There's no setting for it, so there's no supported way to choose which aerials stay. Removing the videos in Finder isn't something Apple describes, and macOS may download them again while an aerial is your wallpaper or screen saver.
If they take more space than you can spare, the documented choice is to pick a still picture instead of an aerial or Shuffle Aerials. Apple doesn't say whether macOS then removes the videos it downloaded.
com.apple.container
Apple's open-source container tool, which runs Linux containers on a Mac, keeps its images, container file systems, volumes and kernels here. The catalog rates it Review first, because volumes can hold data you made.
The tool has no app. Its own commands report how much space images, containers and volumes use, delete the ones you no longer need, and prune those nothing uses. Deleted images download again when you next need them; data in deleted volumes is gone.
Folders that hold settings and state
The rest are mostly small records macOS keeps for you, such as the lists behind Recent Items in com.apple.sharedfilelist. Apple doesn't document most of them, and some are protected so that apps without permission can't read them.
None of these are caches. Removing them can reset settings or permissions and gains a few kilobytes, so leave them alone.
Folder in ~/Library/Application Support | Belongs to | Size on one Mac | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
com.apple.wallpaper | Downloaded aerial wallpapers | 687 MB | Choose a still picture if space matters |
com.apple.container | Apple's container tool | Depends on images | Use the tool; Review first |
com.apple.sharedfilelist | Lists macOS keeps, such as recent items | Protected | Leave it |
Other com.apple. folders | Settings and records of macOS services | Kilobytes to a few MB | Leave them |
The com.apple folders in Containers and Group Containers
Containers hold the data of sandboxed apps, and many of Apple's apps and services are sandboxed. Each container has its own Library inside, with its own Caches, Application Support and Preferences, so the same rules apply one level down.
Group containers hold data a set of apps share, such as an app and its widgets. Apple's documentation says macOS creates one the first time an app needs it and never removes it. The post on Containers and Group Containers explains both in detail.
What is com.apple.mediaanalysisd?
It's a background service that, by most accounts, analyzes the content of photos and videos. Apple doesn't document it, and unlike many services it has no manual page. Its cache is inside ~/.
Since macOS Sequoia, many people have reported it growing to tens of gigabytes, and some to over 100 GB, as Michael Tsai collected in July 2025. Reports continued into macOS 26 Tahoe. Apple hasn't said what triggers it.
Is it safe to delete the mediaanalysisd cache?
The folder inside the container named Caches falls under the catalog's rule for Sandboxed app caches, which is Safe: it holds results macOS can work out again. Quit Photos first and move only that Caches folder, never the whole container.
Expect two costs. The analysis runs again, using the processor for a while, and people report the folder growing back. Some reported the problem stopped after a macOS update, so install pending updates first.
com.apple.photoanalysisd
Apple's manual page describes photoanalysisd as the agent that processes photo libraries in the background for Memories, People and search by scene or object. Your photos themselves are in the Photos library, which you manage only in Photos.
com.apple.Safari and com.apple.mail
Safari's container holds a second cache, Safe, and website data, Usually safe, as described above. Mail's container holds Mail Downloads: copies of attachments you opened, so other apps can open them.
Mail Downloads is Usually safe. Unedited copies are made again when you reopen an attachment, but one you edited and saved in place may exist only there. Mail's messages themselves aren't in the container; they're in the Mail folder in your Library, and you manage them in Mail.
Books, Podcasts and Voice Memos
These three keep your content in Apple folders and track it in their own records, so removing files in Finder leaves items the app can't open or play. Use each app's own controls.
- Books, in com.apple.BKAgentService, is Review first. Purchases can be downloaded again, but EPUB and PDF files you added may exist only here. In Books, click a book's More button, click Remove, then Remove Download.
- Podcasts, in its group container, is Usually safe. Click Downloaded in the sidebar, click the More button, then Remove All Downloads. Episodes a show no longer offers can't be downloaded again.
- Voice Memos, in group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared, is Review first. Delete recordings in Voice Memos; deleting one for good removes it from your devices signed in to the same Apple Account.
Notes and the other Apple group containers
Notes keeps its data in Apple's containers too. The catalog has no rule for it and Apple doesn't document the folders, so treat them as your data: delete notes and attachments in Notes, never in Finder.
There are dozens of other Apple group containers, for Calendar, Contacts, Siri, the menu bar and more. Group containers can hold shared databases, settings and caches, and Apple doesn't document these ones. Leave them.
Apple Configurator's firmware cache
If you manage iPhones or iPads with Apple Configurator, its group container keeps the software files it downloaded, several gigabytes each, one per device model and version. That Firmware folder is Safe; the next update or restore of each model downloads its software again.
| Folder | Belongs to | Level | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
com.apple.mediaanalysisd, its Caches folder | Photo and video analysis | Safe | Quit Photos, move only the Caches folder |
com.apple.Safari, website data | What sites save | Usually safe | Manage Website Data in Safari |
com.apple.mail, Mail Downloads | Copies of opened attachments | Usually safe | Check for edited files first |
com.apple.BKAgentService | Books and PDFs | Review first | Remove downloads in Books |
243LU875E5.groups.com.apple.podcasts | Podcast episodes | Usually safe | Remove downloads in Podcasts |
group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared | Your recordings | Review first | Delete in Voice Memos |
K36BKF7T3D.group.com.apple.configurator | Firmware for iPhone and iPad | Safe | Move its Firmware folder to the Trash |
Apple folders that aren't for cleaning
Some com.apple items look like the ones above but do a different job. Removing them gains little space and costs settings, state or, worse, files on every device.
com.apple files in Preferences
The Preferences folder in your Library holds many files named com.apple and an app or service name, ending in .plist. They're settings for macOS and Apple's apps. Apple's guide says apps should never write there directly, only through the system's settings interface.
They're small, and they aren't caches. Removing them resets settings, sometimes in ways that are hard to put back, and frees almost no space.
Saved Application State
This folder holds what apps need to reopen their windows where you left them, in folders named com.apple and an app's name. It's app state, not a cache, and it's tiny. Leave it.
com~apple~ folders in Mobile Documents
The Mobile Documents folder is iCloud Drive, with folders named com~apple~CloudDocs and com~apple~ followed by an app's name. They look like Apple's other folders but hold your documents.
Deleting a file here deletes it from iCloud and from your other devices. To free space on this Mac only, Control-click items in iCloud Drive in Finder and choose Remove Download, or turn on Optimize Mac Storage for iCloud Drive.
com.apple folders outside your home folder
The Library folder at the top of your disk has its own Caches and Application Support, shared by every account, with com.apple folders of its own. Its caches are Usually safe: removing them needs an administrator's password, and a service may only rebuild its cache after a restart.
The Library folder inside System belongs to macOS. Leave everything in it alone.
How to decide what to do with a com.apple folder
Four questions settle almost every case. Ask them in order, and stop at the first clear answer.
Which folder is it in?
In Caches, or in a Caches folder inside a container, it's meant to be recreated, so it's likely safe. In Application Support, a container or a group container, it's data until you know otherwise.
Does the app have its own control?
Apple's apps that store a lot usually do: Safari's Manage Website Data, Podcasts' Remove All Downloads, Books' Remove Download, deleting in Voice Memos and Notes, Remove Attachments in Mail. The app's own control keeps its library consistent and is the only safe route for your content.
Does anyone document it?
If neither Apple nor the catalog explains a folder, there's no way to know what removing it does. A small undocumented folder isn't worth the risk. A large one is worth understanding first, by finding which service writes to it and why it grew.
Will it come back, and is that a problem?
Caches come back by design; clearing them is worth it only when one is large or its app is gone. Some services rebuild with real cost, like mediaanalysisd's analysis. Your content, such as notes and recordings, doesn't come back at all.
| What you found | What to do |
|---|---|
| A large com.apple folder in Caches | Quit the app, move the folder to the Trash |
| A folder of an Apple app you've removed | It's likely a leftover; check its name and size first |
| Apple app content in a container | Use the app's own control |
| A folder for syncing or downloads | Let iCloud or the app finish; leave the folder |
| A large folder nobody documents | Leave it until you know what writes to it |
| Anything in Preferences or Saved Application State | Leave it |
A worked example from one Mac
Here's how those questions played out on one Mac running macOS 27, sorted by size in Finder. It's a developer's Mac, so Apple's apps weren't its biggest users of space.
- com.apple.intelligenceflow.intelligenceflowd in Caches, 47 MB. The largest Apple cache on the Mac. It's a cache, so it's safe, but 47 MB isn't worth a restart. Left alone.
- com.apple.helpd in Caches, 27 MB. The service that manages software documentation, according to its manual page. Safe, and too small to matter.
- com.apple.wallpaper in Application Support, 687 MB. Downloaded aerial videos, with no documented way to remove them. With nothing documented, the choice is the aerial or the space; here, the aerial stayed.
- 742 Apple folders in Containers. Most belong to services and extensions. There's nothing to do unless one of them is large.
The space on that Mac was in package manager caches, browser data and developer tools, not in Apple's folders. Sorting by size first saved going through hundreds of com.apple names one by one.
Mistakes to avoid with Apple's folders
Most problems come from treating every com.apple folder alike. They range from disposable caches to the only copy of your notes.
Removing every com.apple folder at once
Clearing all of Apple's folders in Caches gains little, because most are tiny, and it makes many services rebuild at once. Doing the same in Application Support or Containers can reset permissions, settings and app data across macOS.
Removing a container to reset an Apple app
Deleting the container of Notes, Books or another Apple app to fix a problem can delete content stored only on this Mac. Notes kept On My Mac, books you added and attachments you edited are examples. If an Apple app misbehaves, start with Apple's support articles for that app.
Clearing folders while apps and services are running
An app that's open may write to the folder you just moved, recreate it at once or show errors. Quit the app first. For background services, which can't be quit, restart after you've cleared their folders.
Following Terminal recipes
Some guides suggest commands that delete Apple's folders in bulk, or tricks that stop a service from writing to its cache. They skip the Trash, so there's no undo, and a service that can't write where it expects can misbehave in ways that are hard to trace back.
How the app does it
Wombit shows what's using your storage and explains every item in plain language, from a catalog written and checked by hand with sources. Select a com.apple folder on the map to see whose it is, what removing it costs, and its level, with a Move to Trash or Clean Up button where it applies.
Apple's caches are Safe and start checked. Apple app content that can be downloaded again, such as Podcasts episodes, is Usually safe, and your own content, such as Books you added and Voice Memos recordings, is Review first and waits for your choice. Only Safe items count in the headline number.
For a folder no rule explains, the app gives a Best guess, written on your Mac by Apple Intelligence and labelled as a guess. Folders macOS didn't let it read are listed, not skipped, and file names and paths never leave your Mac.
~/
Library/ Caches/ com.apple.Safari Copies of web pages, images and scripts, and previews of your tabs, that Safari saves so pages load faster.
Safe · Moves it to the Trash
~/
Library/ Caches/ com.apple.Music Album artwork, Apple Music pages and other downloaded data the Music app saves so they load faster next time.
Safe · Moves it to the Trash
~/
Library/ Caches/ com.apple.dt.Xcode Cached network data and other temporary files that Xcode and its command-line build tool keep so they don't have to fetch them again.
Safe · Moves it to the Trash
~/
Library/ Containers/ */ Data/ Library/ Caches Cached data that sandboxed apps, such as most apps from the App Store, keep inside their own containers.
Safe · Moves it to the Trash
~/
Library/ Group Containers/ 243LU875E5.groups.com.apple.podcasts Downloaded podcast episodes and the Podcasts app's library of the shows you follow.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Library/ Group Containers/ group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared/ Recordings The audio recordings you made or synced in Voice Memos.
Review first · Explained only: the app shows you how
Seeing every folder explained is free. Cleanup, which moves items to the Trash with a review sheet and a log, is PRO: one payment of $4.99 with lifetime access. Every Pro tool's review is free to open, so you see what would go and why before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
What are the com.apple folders on my Mac?
They're folders that macOS and Apple's own apps create in your Library, named after each app's bundle identifier, as Apple asks every developer to do. com.apple.Safari is Safari's, com.apple.Music is Music's, and names ending in d belong to background services. Hundreds of them are normal.
Can I delete all the com.apple folders in Library Caches?
You can clear most of them, but it's rarely worth it, because most are tiny and macOS rebuilds them. Quit the app first, move only the large folders to the Trash, and leave com.apple.nsurlsessiond, which holds background downloads. Never remove the Caches folder itself.
Why is com.apple.mediaanalysisd taking up so much space?
It's a background service that, by most accounts, analyzes photos and videos, and since macOS Sequoia many people have reported its cache growing to tens of gigabytes or more. Apple hasn't documented why. The Caches folder inside its container can be moved to the Trash with Photos quit, but the analysis runs again and the folder may grow back.
What is com.apple.nsurlsessiond in Caches?
It belongs to nsurlsessiond, the service that carries out downloads and uploads apps hand over to run in the background. Its folder can hold downloads still in progress. Leave it, and let the downloads finish or cancel them in the app that started them.
What is com.apple.bird and can I remove it?
bird is one of the services behind iCloud Drive. Its folder in Caches counts as a cache, but reports tie a very large one to syncing that hasn't finished, and clearing it won't fix that. To free space on this Mac, use Remove Download on iCloud Drive items instead of deleting them, which removes them everywhere.
Where does a Mac store downloaded aerial wallpapers?
On a Mac running macOS 27, the videos for your account are in the Application Support folder of your Library, in com.apple.wallpaper. Apple doesn't document the folder or offer a way to remove downloaded aerials. Choosing a still picture instead of an aerial is the only documented choice.
Are the com.apple plist files in Preferences safe to delete?
No. They're the settings of macOS and Apple's apps, not caches, and each is tiny. Removing them resets settings and frees almost no space.
Sources
- macOS Library Directory Details (File System Programming Guide) · Apple
- Accessing files from the macOS App Sandbox · Apple
- containerURL(forSecurityApplicationGroupIdentifier:) · Apple
- Wallpaper settings on Mac · Apple
- Fixing mediaanalysisd Storage and CPU Use · Michael Tsai
- container command reference · Apple (GitHub)