DMG and PKG files on Mac: safe to delete after installing?

Yes. Once an app is installed and opens from your Applications folder, you can delete DMG files on a Mac, and the .pkg installers that came with them. The app doesn't need the file you downloaded. A disk image was only the box the app arrived in, and a package was the set of instructions that put it in place.

There's one check first: make sure you're not running the app from the disk image itself. If the image is still open in the Finder sidebar, eject it, open the app from Applications, and only then move the .dmg to the Trash.

Keep the few installers you couldn't get again: a paid app from a developer that's gone, an older version you hold a license for, an installer you use on a Mac without internet, or a disk image with an uninstaller inside. A .dmg can also hold your own files, so open it before you decide.

What you should never delete are package receipts. They're macOS's record of what each package installed, kept in a folder macOS manages, and they take very little space.

What DMG and PKG files are

Apps from outside the App Store usually arrive in one of two containers. Apple's install guide says to double-click "the disk image or package file", and notes that a package looks like an open box. The two work very differently, though, and that changes what you do afterwards.

What is a .dmg file?

Apple describes a disk image as a compressed copy of the contents of a disk or folder, with .dmg at the end of its name. Double-click one and it opens like a disk: it appears on the desktop or in a Finder window, and in the Finder sidebar under Locations.

Apple asks developers for distribution disk images that are read-only and compressed, and signed so nothing inside can change after signing. Many add a shortcut to the Applications folder, so installing means dragging the app onto that shortcut.

What is a .pkg file?

An installer package. Opening one starts Installer, macOS's own app for packages, which walks you through a few steps and usually asks for an administrator's password. Installer then copies files into place and records what it did.

Apple's developer documentation says a package is the best choice when a product has several parts, must be copied to specific locations, or needs to run its own code during installation. Drivers, plug-ins, audio software and apps with background helpers often come this way.

Why do some downloads come as both?

Developers can nest the containers. Apple's documentation gives the example of an app inside an installer package on a disk image, each signed in turn. You open the disk image, and inside it is a package to double-click.

VirtualBox works this way: its manual says it ships as a disk image, and you double-click the package in the window that opens. Older macOS versions do the same, downloading from Apple as a .dmg that holds a .pkg, which puts the Install macOS app in Applications.

What about .iso, .xip and .mpkg files?

The catalog's entry for installers in Downloads counts these as the same kind of leftover. An .iso is a disk image of a disc, often an operating system for a virtual machine. A .xip is an archive Xcode is often downloaded in, which expands into the app. An .mpkg is an older style of package that bundles several.

File	What it is	What opens it	After installing
.dmg	A disk image: a read-only copy of a disk	Finder, as a disk in the sidebar	Eject it, then delete it
.pkg	An installer package	Installer, step by step	Delete it, or let Installer do it
.mpkg	An older package holding several	Installer	Delete it
.iso	A disk image of a disc	Finder or a virtual machine app	Keep it while a VM needs it
.xip	An archive, often of Xcode	Archive Utility	Delete it once the app is expanded

Why deleting the installer doesn't touch the app

People hesitate because the installer and the app look connected. They stop being connected the moment installation finishes.

Where does the app go when you install from a disk image?

When you drag the app from the disk image onto Applications, Finder copies it, because the two are on different disks. Apple's list of Mac keyboard shortcuts says that Command-dragging to another volume moves an item "instead of copying it", so a plain drag copies.

The copy in Applications is a complete app of its own. The disk image still holds the original, untouched, and nothing in Applications points back to it. Delete the .dmg and the app carries on as before.

Where does a package put its files?

Wherever its developer chose. Apps usually go to Applications, but a package can also put helpers, plug-ins, fonts or drivers in the Library folders. Homebrew's documentation describes macOS's installer as applying a package's payload, its scripts and its receipt.

Once that's done, the package file is never read again. macOS doesn't keep a link to it, and updates come from the developer, not from the file in your Downloads folder.

Developers say so too. Oracle's installation guide for Java, which arrives as a package inside a disk image, says that once the software is installed you can delete the .dmg file to save disk space.

Does deleting the installer uninstall anything?

No. Removing a .dmg or a .pkg removes only that file. Everything it installed stays, and keeps working.

The reverse is true too. Moving an installer to the Trash doesn't remove the app, and removing the app doesn't remove what a package put elsewhere. Apple's guide says to look in an app's folder for an uninstaller, and the post on files apps leave behind after uninstalling covers the rest.

Does Installer offer to delete the package for you?

Yes. On macOS 27, when a package finishes installing, Installer asks whether you want to move the installer to the Trash, with Keep and Move to Trash. If the package came from a disk image, Installer's own text says Keep leaves both the package and the disk image where they are.

Choosing Move to Trash is safe for the same reasons as doing it yourself. The file goes to the Trash, so you can still put it back until the Trash is emptied.

How to delete DMG files on a Mac, step by step

The order matters a little: check the app, eject the image, then remove the file. It takes a minute, and each step can be undone.

Check that the app is in Applications

1. In Finder, click Applications in the sidebar, or choose Go › Applications.
2. Find the app and open it from there.
3. If you're not sure which copy is running, Control-click its icon in the Dock and choose Options › Show in Finder. The window that opens shows where it lives.

If the app opens from Applications, the installer has done its job. If it doesn't appear there at all, install it now by dragging it from the disk image onto Applications.

Eject the disk image

Apple lists three ways to eject a disk, and an open disk image works the same way:

• Click the eject button next to its name in the Finder sidebar.
• Select it and choose File › Eject, or press Command-E.
• On the desktop, drag it to the Trash, which turns into an eject symbol.

Ejecting closes the image; it doesn't delete the .dmg file. The file stays in Downloads, still taking its full size.

What if the disk image won't eject?

Apple says a disk usually won't eject because an app or another user is using files on it. Its fix is to quit the apps using the disk, or close documents on it, then try again.

With a disk image, the app using it is often the app you just installed, running from inside the image. That's the mistake covered in the next section, and the fix is quick.

Move the file to the Trash

1. Open Downloads, or wherever the file is.
2. Select the .dmg or .pkg and choose File › Move to Trash, or drag it to the Trash.
3. Do the same for any older versions of the same installer beside it.

Until you empty the Trash, File › Put Back returns the file to where it was. That's the safety net if you find you needed it after all.

When does the space come back?

Only when the Trash is emptied. Apple's storage guide says space from a file in the Trash isn't available until then. Choose Finder › Empty Trash once you're sure, or turn on Empty Trash automatically in System Settings › General › Storage to remove items after 30 days.

Avoid deleting installers from the Documents list in Storage settings. Its Delete button removes files immediately, without the Trash, so there's nothing to put back.

The mistake: running the app from the disk image

Apple's documentation for developers notes that people may run an app from the disk image instead of moving it. It works, at first, which is why it's easy to miss.

How can you tell an app runs from its disk image?

• The disk image is still in the Finder sidebar under Locations, days after you installed.
• Ejecting fails, saying the disk is in use.
• The app isn't in your Applications folder at all.

What does macOS do when an app runs from a disk image?

It runs the app from the image's read-only disk. Nothing can be written into the app, so an update can't replace it, and when the image is ejected the app goes with it.

Sparkle, the update framework many Mac apps use, refuses outright. Its messages say an app "can't be updated because it was opened from a read-only or a temporary location", and tell you to copy it to the Applications folder, relaunch it from there and try again.

What about apps opened straight from Downloads?

A similar thing happens with apps that come in a .zip archive. Opening the archive leaves the app in Downloads. Apple's security guide says that when necessary, Gatekeeper opens apps from randomized, read-only locations, to stop plug-ins shipped beside an app from loading automatically.

Sparkle has a message for that case too: an app "can't be updated if it's running from the location it was downloaded to". The fix is the same as for a disk image.

How do you fix it?

1. Quit the app.
2. Drag it from the disk image, or from Downloads, onto Applications in the Finder sidebar.
3. Eject the disk image.
4. Open the app from Applications. If an old icon stays in the Dock, drag it off and add the new one.
5. Move the .dmg, or the leftover copy in Downloads, to the Trash.

Your settings usually survive, because apps keep them in your Library folder, not inside the app.

When to keep an installer

Most installers are worth nothing once the app is in place. A few are worth more than the app itself, because you couldn't get them again.

Apps you can't download again

Developers stop trading, and download pages disappear. If an app matters to you and its developer has gone, the installer may be the only way to put it on a new Mac or reinstall it after a problem.

The same goes for drivers and utilities for hardware the maker no longer supports, such as an older scanner, audio interface or printer. Those often come as packages, and old ones are rarely kept online.

Old versions you hold a license for

Some apps you paid for once, years ago, at a version the developer no longer offers. The current version may need a new license or a subscription. If you rely on the old one, its installer is part of what you paid for. Keep it with its license key.

An old version also helps if an update breaks something you depend on. Check that an older installer still runs on macOS 27 or macOS 26, though; old apps sometimes stop working after a major update.

Installing without internet, or on several Macs

A package that installs a large app or library offline is useful on a Mac without a fast connection, or when you set up several Macs. Large sound and content libraries are the usual examples.

Uninstallers that live in the disk image

Some developers put the uninstaller next to the installer, in the disk image, instead of in Applications. VirtualBox's manual, for example, says to remove it by opening the disk image and double-clicking the uninstall icon inside.

Before you delete a disk image for software that came as a package, open it and look. If there's an uninstaller, keep the image, or check that the developer offers the same version for download.

Disk images that hold your own files

Not every .dmg is an installer. Disk Utility can make a disk image from a folder, and Apple suggests an encrypted disk image for confidential documents. Such an image may be the only copy of what's inside. The guide to Disk Utility and storage covers making and checking them.

Apple also warns that if you forget an encrypted image's password, you can't open it or see the files. If a .dmg asks for a password you don't recognize, don't delete it until you know what it is.

Where should installers you keep go?

Move them out of Downloads into a folder of their own, such as an Installers folder in Documents, or onto an external drive. Then the next tidy-up can't sweep them away, and you can find them when you need them.

Situation	Keep or delete?	Why
App installed, still offered for download	Delete	The developer's site has it, often newer
Paid app, developer gone	Keep	It may be the only copy
Old version you hold a license for	Keep, with the key	The current version may need a new license
Package with an uninstaller in its disk image	Keep	The uninstaller may live only there
Disk image you made yourself	Keep	It may be the only copy of your files
Several versions of the same installer	Keep the newest, if any	Old ones are superseded

Package receipts: macOS's records, not leftovers

Some guides tell you to clear out installer receipts to free space. Don't. They aren't leftovers of a deleted file; they're macOS's own record of what Installer did.

What is a package receipt?

When Installer installs a package, it writes a receipt: the package's identifier, its version, and a list of the files it installed. Apple's manual page for its package tool calls this the receipt database used by the Installer.

On macOS 27 the receipts sit in /private/var/db/receipts, one pair of small files for each package. That's inside /private/var/db, a folder macOS manages, and Apple's manual adds that where receipts are stored may change.

Can you see them without Terminal?

Yes, in summary. Hold down the Option key, choose Apple menu › System Information, and click Installations under Software in the sidebar. It lists what's been installed, with each item's version, its source and the date.

You'll see your own packages there next to Apple's: macOS updates, security data, and the sound libraries GarageBand and Logic download. Apps from the App Store show up too, because they install as packages.

Why should you never delete them?

• They free almost nothing. On the Mac measured below, every receipt together came to about 100 MB.
• They don't uninstall anything. Apple's manual says forgetting a receipt doesn't touch the installed files.
• Tools rely on them. Homebrew's documentation says a package's ID is often enough to uninstall it completely, and prefers that to deleting files by name.
• The folder is macOS's. Changing what's in it is never part of freeing space.

• All receipts together106 MB
• Xcode's receipt39 MB
• iMovie's receipt18 MB
• GarageBand's receipt13 MB
• Keynote's receipt11 MB

Measured in October 2026 on one Mac running macOS 27, with 27 packages recorded. A receipt lists an app's files, so larger apps have larger receipts.

Then where is the space after a package install?

In what the package installed, not in its records. A package for a sound library or an audio app can put gigabytes in the Library folders. To see how much each installed app takes, read about the apps taking up space on a Mac; to remove one completely, start with its own uninstaller.

macOS installers and app update downloads

Two other kinds of installer sit on most Macs, and neither is in Downloads. One is macOS's own; the other is a dozen apps' quiet updates.

Install macOS apps and macOS disk images

A full macOS installer is an app in Applications, such as Install macOS Tahoe, and it takes many gigabytes. The catalog rates macOS installers as Usually safe: you'd need to download it again to reinstall that version or make a bootable installer.

Older versions come from Apple's website as a disk image holding a package, which in turn makes the installer app. All three are copies of the same thing. The post on old macOS installers and update files explains which to keep.

What do app updaters leave behind?

Apps that update themselves download each new version first. The catalog knows four updaters, and rates what each leaves as Safe: if an update was waiting to install, the app downloads it again next time it checks.

• Sparkle keeps downloads and the files it prepares in a folder named org.sparkle-project.Sparkle inside each app's folder in ~/Library/Caches. It removes items older than 10 days by itself.
• Squirrel, used by many apps built with Electron, stages updates in a folder ending in .ShipIt in ~/Library/Caches.
• electron-updater keeps a pending folder inside a cache folder named after the app, ending in -updater.
• Google Updater keeps the last package for Chrome and each other Google app, so the next update can be smaller.

Is it safe to delete app update downloads?

Yes, with the app quit. Remove only the folder named above, not the app's whole cache folder, and the cost is a download. For Google's copies, the next update may download the full package instead of a smaller one.

Updater	Where its downloads are	What removing them costs
Sparkle	~/Library/Caches/*/org.sparkle-project.Sparkle	A waiting update downloads again
Squirrel (ShipIt)	~/Library/Caches/*.ShipIt	A waiting update downloads again
electron-updater	~/Library/Caches/*-updater/pending	A waiting update downloads again
Google Updater	~/Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleUpdater/crx_cache	The next update may be a full download
Homebrew	~/Library/Caches/Homebrew	Reinstalls download again

Homebrew's copies of installers

If you install apps with Homebrew, it downloads each app's installer into its own cache and keeps it after installing. The Homebrew cache is Safe, and Homebrew's regular cleanup removes outdated downloads and any older than 120 days.

Homebrew is a command-line tool, so there's no window for this. The post on Homebrew's cache and old versions explains what its cleanup removes and what it keeps.

Finding installers you've forgotten about

Installers pile up quietly: one per app, one per update you downloaded by hand, and sometimes two of each. Here's how to round them up in Finder.

How do you find installers in Downloads?

1. Open Downloads and choose View › as List.
2. Click the Group button in the toolbar and choose Kind.
3. Look at the Disk Image and Installer flat package groups, which is what Finder calls .dmg and .pkg files.
4. Click the Size column heading to put the largest first.

The post on cleaning up the Downloads folder goes through every other kind of file you'll find there.

What about installers in other folders?

Press Command-F in a Finder window, make sure This Mac is selected, and type dmg or pkg. From the suggestions, choose to match file names only, so documents that mention the word stay out. Desktop, Documents and old project folders are common places.

Installers on an external drive or USB stick don't use space on your startup disk. Leave them there unless you need the room on that drive.

Is that big file an installer at all?

Not always. A large file in Downloads might be a video, an exported project or a backup someone sent. Select it and press the Space bar for Quick Look before you decide.

Downloads you make inside apps don't land here at all. Films and episodes saved for offline viewing live inside each app, and the post on the downloads streaming apps keep shows where.

Where did this installer come from?

Select the file and choose File › Get Info. Under More Info, Where from often shows the address it was downloaded from, which tells you whether you could get it again.

It also helps you spot installers you never meant to download. Pop-ups that claim your Mac is infected and offer a disk image to fix it are a known trick; the post on cleanup scams and fake warnings describes the common ones. If you didn't choose it, delete it without opening it.

Will macOS warn you about a bad installer?

Usually. Apple says that when you install software from outside the App Store, macOS checks the developer's signature, and the first time you open a new app it asks whether you want to open it. Notarized software has been checked by Apple for known malicious software.

That check happens when you open the file, not when you download it. An installer you never open does nothing, which is one more reason to remove the ones you don't need.

A worked example: one Downloads folder, six installers

Say you open Downloads, group it by kind, and find six installers. Here's how the questions above sort them in a few minutes.

The easy ones

• A browser's disk image from last spring. The browser is in Applications and updates itself. Eject the image if it's open, and move the .dmg to the Trash.
• Three disk images of the same note-taking app, versions 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3. The app is on 4.3 and still sold. All three go.
• A .xip of Xcode. Xcode is in Applications and opens. The archive goes too, and it's often the largest file of the lot.

The ones to look at first

• A package for an audio interface's driver. Its maker still offers it, but only for newer models. Keep it, in a folder named after the device, with a note of which macOS it worked on.
• A disk image for a virtual machine app installed with a package. Opening it shows an uninstaller next to the package. Keep it with the driver.
• A .dmg named "Tax papers" that asks for a password. That's an encrypted disk image someone made in Disk Utility, not an installer. It moves to Documents, and the password goes in a password manager.

What came back

Four files went to the Trash, and two moved to an Installers folder where the next pass can't touch them. One file turned out to be documents, which is the case that makes opening a disk image before deleting it worthwhile. After a day of normal use, emptying the Trash returned the space.

Mistakes to avoid

Deleting installers is about as safe as tidying gets. The mistakes come from removing the wrong thing, or from removing too early.

What are the usual mistakes?

• Removing the app instead of the installer. An installer and the app can have similar names. Check the Kind column: the app you use says Application, and installers say Disk Image or Installer flat package.
• Trashing a disk image that's still open. Eject it first. If it won't eject, an app is running from it.
• Deleting receipts or other files in protected folders. They free almost nothing, and macOS manages them.
• Deleting an image that holds your own files. Open it first, and keep anything with a password you don't recognize.
• Using Storage settings' Delete. It skips the Trash. Use Show in Finder and remove the file there.
• Pasting commands to clear installers. They delete files outright instead of using the Trash, so a wrong path can't be undone.

Does deleting installers make a Mac faster?

No. It frees space, nothing more. A Mac with very little free space can struggle to install updates, so having room helps with that, but apps don't run faster because Downloads is empty.

How often should you clear installers?

Right after you install, if you can: eject the image and move the file to the Trash in the same minute. If not, a monthly look through Downloads catches them. The post on a simple storage maintenance routine fits this into a few minutes a month.

What if you deleted an installer you needed?

If the Trash hasn't been emptied, open it, select the file and choose File › Put Back. If it has, download it again from the developer, or find the version you need in a Time Machine backup of your Downloads folder.

How the app does it

Wombit explains installers like everything else on the disk. Select a .dmg or .pkg on the map or in the list, and the inspector says what it is, what you lose by removing it, and where the explanation comes from. File names and paths never leave your Mac.

Disk images and installer packages in Downloads are Review first, and so are archives: one may be the only copy of something, so nothing starts checked. macOS installer apps are Usually safe. App updaters' downloads and Homebrew's cache are Safe: they start checked and count in the headline number.

• ~/Downloads/*.{dmg,DMG,iso,ISO,pkg,PKG,mpkg,xip}

  Disk images and installer packages in Downloads

  Disk images and installer packages you downloaded, often for apps you've already installed.

  Review first · Moves it to the Trash

• ~/Downloads/*.{zip,ZIP,tar,gz,tgz,bz2,xz,7z,rar}

  Archives in Downloads

  Compressed archives you downloaded, such as .zip files. Often you've already opened them and have the extracted copy.

  Review first · Moves it to the Trash

• ~/Library/Caches/*/org.sparkle-project.Sparkle

  Sparkle update downloads

  Updates that apps using the Sparkle framework downloaded and prepared for installation.

  Safe · Moves it to the Trash

• ~/Library/Caches/*.ShipIt

  Squirrel update files (ShipIt)

  Updates that apps built with Electron, such as VS Code, downloaded and staged here before installing them, plus the updater's logs.

  Safe · Moves it to the Trash

• ~/Library/Caches/*-updater/pending

  electron-updater pending updates

  Updates that apps built with electron-builder downloaded and are waiting to install.

  Safe · Moves it to the Trash

• ~/Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleUpdater/crx_cache

  Google Updater download cache

  Update packages for Google Chrome and other Google apps, kept by Google Updater so later updates can be smaller.

  Safe · Moves it to the Trash

• /Applications/Install {macOS,OS X} *.app

  macOS installers

  Full macOS installer apps, such as Install macOS Tahoe, left in your Applications folder after a download.

  Usually safe · Moves it to the Trash

• ~/Library/Caches/Homebrew

  Homebrew cache

  Packages, app installers and package lists that Homebrew downloads before it installs or upgrades software.

  Safe · Moves it to the Trash

Without Full Disk Access, the scan skips Downloads, so give it access to see your installers. Items no catalog entry explains, such as package receipts, are never offered for removal.

The Apple Data pages let you choose installers one by one; nothing there is selected for you. Everything goes to the Trash first, with Undo, Put Back and a log. Seeing all of this is free. Cleanup and the Apple Data actions are PRO, one $4.99 payment with lifetime access, and every Pro tool's review is free to open.