The quickest way to free up space on a Mac is to find the few large things that take most of it, and remove each one where it belongs: in Finder, in Storage settings, or in the app that made it. Deleting thousands of small files rarely makes a difference.
Start in System Settings › General › Storage. Turn on the recommendations that suit you, empty the Trash, then work down the largest categories: old downloads and large files, apps you don't use, iPhone backups, Photos and Messages, caches and, on a developer's Mac, build files and local AI models.
Before you remove anything, ask two questions. Will it come back by itself, like a cache? Or is it the only copy of something, like a backup or a video? The first kind is safe to clear. The second needs a decision, and sometimes a copy somewhere else first.
A few things should never be removed at all: macOS's own folders, the Library folder itself, the insides of the Photos library, and iCloud Drive files you only want off this Mac. The sections below go through every major place space goes, roughly in the order worth trying.
See what's using your Mac's storage
Look before you remove. On most Macs a handful of things take most of the space, and they're different on every Mac: one is full of video, another of iPhone backups, another of Xcode.
How do you check storage on a Mac?
Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Storage. A bar at the top shows used and available space, split by kind. It can take a minute to finish counting, so let the numbers settle before you read them.
Before macOS Ventura, the same view was in Apple menu › About This Mac: click Storage, then Manage. The categories and recommendations are much the same; only the way in has changed.
What does each category in Storage settings hold?
Below the bar is a list of categories. Most have an information button. Click it to see the largest items, then select one you don't need and click Delete, or click Show in Finder to look at it first.
| Category | What it holds | What you can do there |
|---|---|---|
| Applications | Apps you installed, not the ones that come with macOS | Delete apps you don't use |
| Documents | Files in your home folder that fit no other category | Sort by size or last opened; browse folders |
| iOS Files | iPhone and iPad backups and software update files | Delete old backups and update files |
| Messages | Conversations and their attachments | Review and delete large attachments |
| Photos | Your System Photo Library | Manage it in the Photos app |
| Trash | Items waiting to be deleted for good | Empty it |
| macOS | The system itself, including Apple Intelligence's models | Nothing: macOS manages it |
| System Data | Caches, logs, virtual memory and anything without a category | Nothing in Storage settings |
Other categories appear when you have something in them: iCloud Drive, Mail, Music Creation for GarageBand and Logic content, and TV, Music, Books and Podcasts for purchases you can remove and download again.
Three categories only show a size: macOS, System Data and Other Users & Shared. You can't delete anything from them in Storage settings. What's inside System Data is managed in Finder or in the apps that made it.
Why don't the numbers add up?
Finder, Storage settings and Disk Utility often disagree, and none of them is broken. Finder counts purgeable space, such as Time Machine's local snapshots and iCloud files macOS can download again, as available. Storage settings works its figures out in the background, so they can move while you watch.
That matters when you need room for something specific, such as a macOS update. Disk Utility lists used, purgeable and free space separately, and the free figure is what's there right now.
How to free up space on a Mac with Storage settings' recommendations
Storage settings opens with a few recommendations. Each one hands part of the job to macOS, so space keeps coming back after today. Read what each one costs before you turn it on.
Store in iCloud
Store in iCloud moves the files in your Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud Drive, your photos and videos to iCloud Photos, and your messages and attachments to iCloud. When space is needed, your Mac keeps only recently opened files and smaller versions of photos, and downloads the rest when you open them.
It's the biggest single switch for most people, with two costs. Everything it stores counts against your iCloud storage plan, and opening an older file or a full-size photo needs an internet connection. If your iCloud storage is already full, it can't help until you make room there.
You can change each part later: in the iCloud pane of your Apple Account settings, in Photos settings and in Messages settings.
Optimize Storage
Optimize Storage removes Apple TV movies and shows you've already watched, and keeps only recent email attachments on this Mac when space is needed. Purchases can be downloaded again, and older attachments download when you open them.
Empty Trash automatically
Empty Trash automatically erases items that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days. It's the same setting as Remove items from the Trash after 30 days in Finder's settings, under Advanced. The cost is a deadline for changing your mind: after 30 days, an item is gone for good.
| Recommendation | What it does | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Store in iCloud | Keeps Desktop, Documents, photos and messages in iCloud, with recent items on the Mac | iCloud storage, and a connection to open older items |
| Optimize Storage | Removes watched Apple TV movies and shows; keeps only recent mail attachments | Downloading them again if you want them |
| Empty Trash automatically | Erases items after 30 days in the Trash | No way back after 30 days |
What does macOS clear by itself?
When space runs low, macOS also clears caches and logs it knows are safe to delete: temporary database files, interrupted downloads, staged macOS and app updates, and Safari's website data. Time Machine's local snapshots go too, as they age or when the space is needed.
Starting up in safe mode clears certain system caches as well. Apple suggests it when you need room for something like a macOS update; restart normally afterwards. It's a one-off gain, because the caches come back as you use your Mac.
If your disk is divided into partitions, the recommendations work only on the one that holds your home folder.
The Trash, Downloads and large old files
Why doesn't deleting a file free any space?
Moving something to the Trash doesn't free space. The item stays on the disk, in a hidden Trash folder, until the Trash is emptied, so you can put it back if you change your mind. That's also why a cleanup can look as if it did nothing.
Click the Trash in the Dock to look inside. To put an item back, select it and choose File › Put Back. To empty it, click Empty at the top right of the window, or choose Finder › Empty Trash, and confirm.
Emptying the Trash is permanent. Look through it first, especially after a large cleanup, because nothing in Finder brings an item back afterwards. A Time Machine backup may still have it.
Where are the other Trashes?
Each external drive keeps its own Trash. Items you delete from a drive stay in a hidden folder on that drive, and their space comes back only when you empty the Trash while the drive is connected.
Items you delete from iCloud Drive are removed after 30 days whatever your Finder settings, and Storage settings doesn't count them in its Trash category.
Apps keep bins of their own. Photos and Messages keep deleted items in Recently Deleted for up to 30 days, and they take space until then. Mail keeps deleted messages until you erase them.
What can you delete from the Downloads folder?
Open Downloads from the Dock, or choose Go › Downloads in Finder. Choose View › as List and click the Size column heading to put the largest files first.
Three kinds of file are often fine to let go once you've checked them:
- Disk images and installer packages (.dmg and .pkg). Once an app is installed, it runs from Applications and doesn't need them. Keep any you couldn't download again, such as a paid app's installer from a developer that has gone.
- Archives you've already opened (.zip and similar). Safari expands many downloads by itself, and opening an archive in Finder puts its contents next to it. Check the extracted copy is there first.
- Files you saved to look at once, such as a PDF, a video or photos someone sent you.
Everything in Downloads is your own choice. A file there may be the only copy you have, so open it or Quick Look it before you move it. The post on clearing the Downloads folder goes through each kind of file.
How do you find large files on a Mac?
Storage settings has the quickest route. Click the information button next to Documents to see your largest files, and sort them by Name, Kind, Last Accessed or Size. Buttons switch between large files and downloads, and File Browser shows how much each folder holds.
Sorting by Last Accessed is the useful trick. A file of several gigabytes you haven't opened in a year is a good candidate: an old screen recording, an exported video, a disk image from a finished project.
Before moving one to the Trash, ask whether it's the only copy. If it might be, copy it to an external drive, open the copy to check it works, then remove the original.
Old macOS installers
If you downloaded a full macOS installer and didn't run it, an app such as Install macOS Tahoe sits in your Applications folder and takes many gigabytes. You only need it to install that version again or to make a bootable installer, and Apple lets you download installers again for the versions your Mac supports.
Keep it, but somewhere else
Large files you want to keep don't have to stay on the startup disk. Copy finished projects, old videos and archives to an external drive, check the copies open, then remove the originals.
Compressing files you rarely open helps too: Control-click them and choose Compress. It saves the most on documents and text, and little on photos, video and music, which are compressed already.
Apps you no longer use
An app is often smaller than the data around it. Still, a few large apps you've stopped using, such as games, video editors or old creative suites, can add up to a lot.
How do you uninstall an app on a Mac?
Click the information button next to Applications in Storage settings to see your apps by size, or open the Applications folder in Finder. Quit the app before you remove it, including any icon it has in the menu bar.
If the app came in a folder with an uninstaller, usually named with the app's name and Uninstall or Uninstaller, double-click it and follow the steps. Apps that install drivers, system extensions or background services often include one, and it removes more than Finder can.
Otherwise, drag the app to the Trash, or select it and choose File › Move to Trash, then empty the Trash when you're sure. You can't remove apps that macOS needs, such as Mail, Music or Notes.
What does dragging an app to the Trash leave behind?
Only the app goes. Its caches, its data in Application Support or in its container, its login items and any helper tools stay, sometimes for years. Most of that is small, but some apps leave gigabytes behind.
Some of it may be your own work, such as a library, a chat history or projects saved only inside the app. Caches and logs of a removed app are safe to remove; its Application Support folder or container needs a look first. The guide to uninstalling apps properly goes through each folder.
Don't clear an app's preferences or saved window state to free space. They're tiny, and removing them only resets the app.
Turn off what a removed app left running
Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions. Under Open at Login and App Background Activity, remove or turn off anything that belongs to an app you've removed. It frees little space, but it stops helpers from running for an app that isn't there.
iPhone backups, Photos, Messages and Mail
Apple's own apps keep some of the largest things on a Mac, and they share one rule: manage them in the app, not in their folders. Their libraries are databases, and removing files inside them in Finder leaves the app with missing items or a damaged library.
How do you delete old iPhone backups on a Mac?
Every iPhone or iPad you back up to this Mac keeps a backup that can take tens of gigabytes. Backups of devices you sold, and copies you archived before an update, stay until you delete them.
The simplest way: click the information button next to iOS Files in Storage settings, select a backup and click Delete. Or connect a device, select it in the Finder sidebar, click Manage Backups in General, Control-click a backup and choose Delete.
A backup may be the only copy of what's in it. On the device, check it backs up to iCloud first. An encrypted backup also holds saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings and Health data, which go with it.
The same list shows software update files for iPhone and iPad, several gigabytes each. Those are safe to remove: Finder downloads the current version again when it needs one. The iPhone backups guide has more on both.
How do you make the Photos library smaller?
Never delete files inside the Photos library in Finder. It's one package that Photos manages, and changing it from outside can damage it. There are two supported ways to make it take less room on your Mac.
With iCloud Photos, open Photos, choose Photos › Settings, click iCloud, and select Optimize Mac Storage. When space is limited, Photos keeps smaller versions on the Mac and the full-size originals in iCloud, and downloads an original when you open it.
Without iCloud Photos, or with a library larger than your iCloud plan, move it to an external drive. Quit Photos, drag Photos Library from your Pictures folder to a drive formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then double-click it in its new place to open it.
Check that everything is there before you move the original to the Trash. Don't use a drive you use for Time Machine, an SD card, a USB flash drive or a network drive. If you use iCloud Photos, make the moved library your System Photo Library.
Deleting photos you don't want helps too, but they keep their space for 30 days in Recently Deleted, in the Utilities section of the sidebar, unless you delete them there as well. With iCloud Photos on, a photo you delete on your Mac is deleted on your other devices too.
Messages attachments
Messages keeps a copy of every photo, video and file in your conversations. Remove them in Messages: select a conversation, click the contact or group icon at the top, Shift-click the attachments you don't need, Control-click them and choose Delete.
To let Messages do it for you, choose Messages › Settings, click General, and change Keep messages from Forever. Conversations older than the period you choose are removed, attachments included.
With Messages in iCloud, deleting on your Mac deletes on your other devices too.
Mail, music and other media
In Mail, choose Mailbox › Erase Deleted Items to clear what you've deleted. To keep fewer attachments on the Mac, set Download Attachments to Recent or None in Mail › Settings › Accounts › Account Information, or turn on Optimize Storage.
Music, TV, Books and Podcasts keep downloads you can usually get back. In Music, click the More button next to a downloaded album and choose Remove Download; it stays in your library to stream. Songs you imported yourself may exist only on this Mac, so keep a copy before deleting those.
iCloud Drive and Optimize Mac Storage
If you use iCloud Drive, your Mac keeps a downloaded copy of the files you've opened. Optimize Mac Storage lets macOS remove those copies of older files when more space is needed, and download them again when you open them. If space isn't needed, everything stays on the Mac.
To turn it on, open System Settings, click your name at the top of the sidebar, click iCloud, then Drive, and turn on Optimize Mac Storage.
Remove Download, not Delete
To free space now, open iCloud Drive in Finder, Control-click files or folders you don't need on this Mac, and choose Remove Download. The file stays in iCloud and on your other devices, and shows a cloud icon here.
Deleting a file in iCloud Drive is a different thing: it deletes it from iCloud and from every device. That's the most common way people lose files while freeing space.
What happens with Desktop and Documents in iCloud?
With Desktop & Documents Folders turned on in the same Drive settings, those two folders move into iCloud Drive, and Optimize Mac Storage applies to them. Your Desktop can then show files whose contents are only in iCloud until you open them.
Other cloud storage apps work on the same idea under their own names, such as online-only files. Use the app's own setting rather than deleting files in its folder, which deletes them everywhere.
Caches, System Data and snapshots
System Data is everything Storage settings can't put in another category, and it's often tens of gigabytes. It isn't one thing, so there's no single button to clear it. The System Data guide takes it apart; here are the parts you can do something about.
Is it safe to clear caches on a Mac?
Mostly, yes. Apps keep caches so they can load things faster, and Apple's guidelines say an app should keep only data there that it can recreate. Remove a cache and the app builds it again, more slowly at first, and some apps download data again.
Clearing caches frees space; it doesn't make a Mac faster. If anything, apps are a little slower while they rebuild. Caches also grow back as you use your apps, so clearing them is a one-off gain unless the app that made them is gone.
The best targets are caches of apps you've removed, and caches that have grown far beyond the others. For a browser, clear its cache in the browser's own settings.
How do you clear app caches in Finder?
- Quit the apps whose caches you want to remove.
- In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder, type
~/and press Return.Library/ Caches - Each folder is usually named after an app or its identifier, such as com.developer.appname. Select one and choose File › Get Info to see its size.
- Move the folders you've chosen to the Trash. Never move the Caches folder itself, and leave the rest of the Library folder alone.
- Open the apps again, check they work, then empty the Trash.
Time Machine's local snapshots
If you back up with Time Machine, your Mac also keeps snapshots on its own disk: one about every hour, each kept for 24 hours, plus one of your last successful backup and one before each macOS update. A snapshot holds on to files you've changed or deleted since it was taken.
That's why deleting a large file sometimes frees nothing at first. Your Mac counts this space as available, and Time Machine removes snapshots as they age or when the space is needed, so most of the time there's nothing to do.
When you need the space now, open System Settings › General › Time Machine, click Options, set Backup Frequency to Manually, wait a few minutes, then set it back. Or open Disk Utility, choose View › Show APFS Snapshots, select your startup disk's volume, then select a snapshot in the list and click Delete Snapshot.
Either way, you can no longer restore files from the removed snapshots. Backups on your Time Machine disk aren't affected.
Swap, temporary files and the sleep image
When apps need more memory than your Mac has, macOS moves some of it to swap files on the disk, and it can save memory to a sleep image. It also keeps private temporary folders for each user.
Leave all of these to macOS. Restarting clears the swap files, and quitting apps that use a lot of memory keeps them small.
What about Apple Intelligence's models?
Apple says Apple Intelligence needs up to 8 GB of storage, or up to 14 GB on Macs with M3 or later and at least 12 GB of unified memory. Storage settings counts the models under macOS, not System Data.
There's no supported way to delete them. If you don't use Apple Intelligence, turning it off in System Settings › Apple Intelligence & Siri lets macOS manage that space, though it may not come back right away.
Developer files and local AI models
On a developer's Mac, the largest folders usually belong to tools, not documents. Most of it lands in System Data, and much of it can be made again.
Xcode
Xcode keeps build products for every project you've opened, a simulator for every device you've tested on, a runtime for every OS version you've installed, and debug symbols for every OS version your devices have run. Updating Xcode removes none of it.
DerivedData is safe to clear in Finder with Xcode closed: Xcode rebuilds it, at the cost of a slower next build. Remove simulator runtimes in Xcode › Settings › Components, not in Finder. Keep the archives of builds you shipped, because their debug symbols turn crash reports into readable function names.
The Xcode guide goes through each folder, including device support files and simulators.
Docker, package caches and project folders
Docker Desktop keeps every image, container and volume inside one disk image file, Docker.raw. Don't delete that file: it takes your volumes' data with it. Remove images, containers and volumes you don't need in Docker Desktop's dashboard, and Docker gives the space back to your Mac.
Package managers such as npm, pnpm, Yarn, pip, uv and Homebrew keep a cache of everything they download, and download it again when it's needed. Each has its own cleanup command, usually with no button in an app. Some caches are plain folders: Homebrew's, in ~/, can go to the Trash in Finder.
Every JavaScript project keeps its own node_modules folder of dependencies, often hundreds of megabytes. Removing it from a finished project loses nothing you wrote: it can be installed again from the project's package.json and lock file.
Virtual machines from UTM, Parallels or VirtualBox each hold a whole computer's disk. Delete them in the app that made them, and only when you're sure.
Local AI models
A local language model is one of the largest files most people keep: a few gigabytes for a small one, tens of gigabytes for a large one. Every model you try stays until you remove it.
Remove them in the tool that downloaded them. In LM Studio, open My Models, click the menu next to a model and choose Delete. Ollama stores models as layers that models share, so remove them through Ollama, never in Finder; its app can also keep models on another disk with Model location in its settings.
Some apps download models of their own. Chrome, for example, can keep a Gemini Nano model of several gigabytes; turn off On-device AI in Chrome's Settings › AI Innovations to remove it and stop it downloading again. The local AI models guide covers Hugging Face's cache and the rest.
- App caches2–30 GB · Safe
- Logs and crash reports0.1–5 GB · Safe
- Xcode DerivedData5–100 GB · Safe
- Downloads and large old files5–100 GB · Review first
- Messages attachments5–100 GB · Review first
- Local AI models20–150 GB · Review first
- iPhone and iPad backups10–200 GB · Review first
- Swap and sleep image1–20 GB · Managed by macOS
Typical ranges on Macs that have these items at all, from the research behind the app's catalog. Many Macs have far less, and some have none.
How to decide what to remove
For anything you're unsure about, four questions settle most cases. Ask them in this order, and stop at the first one that gives a clear answer.
Will it come back by itself?
Caches, logs, build products and download caches are made again by the app that owns them. Removing them costs time, never data. They're the place to start.
Can you get it again, and at what cost?
Some things come back only if you fetch them: apps, installers, purchased media, AI models, a project's dependencies. Removing them is fine if you know where they come from and don't mind the download.
Is it the only copy?
Backups, videos, archives, documents, chat histories and app libraries may exist nowhere else. They need a decision item by item, and a copy elsewhere if there's any doubt.
Does macOS or an app manage it?
Snapshots, swap, the Photos library, iCloud Drive and Apple Intelligence's models are managed for you. Use the setting or the app that controls them, never Finder.
| What you found | Comes back by itself? | Only copy? | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
App caches in ~/Library/Caches | Yes | No | Quit the app, move its folder to the Trash |
.dmg and .pkg files in ~/Downloads | No, download again | Rarely | Trash the ones you can get again |
| An iPhone backup | No | Possibly | Delete it after checking the device's iCloud backup |
| Messages attachments | No | Possibly | Delete them in Messages |
| The Photos library | No | Often | Optimize in Photos, or move the library |
| Xcode DerivedData | Yes | No | Move it to the Trash with Xcode closed |
| Time Machine local snapshots | No | Rarely | Let Time Machine remove them |
| Ollama models | Download again | Not usually | Remove them in Ollama |
What does that look like in practice?
Say Storage settings shows a large Documents category, a large iOS Files category and a System Data figure that has grown. Start with Documents: sort by Last Accessed, move finished videos to an external drive, and trash installers you can download again.
Next, iOS Files: delete backups of devices you no longer own, and keep the latest backup of any device that doesn't back up to iCloud. Then System Data: restart to clear swap, clear caches of apps you've removed, and check for snapshots if a large deletion didn't show up.
What never to remove
Some folders look like obvious targets and aren't. Removing them can lose data, break apps or leave macOS repairing itself.
| Don't remove | Why | Instead |
|---|---|---|
/System and other macOS folders | macOS protects and manages them | Nothing: macOS handles them |
| The Library, Caches or Application Support folders themselves | They hold every app's data and settings | Remove single items inside, after checking |
| Files inside the Photos or Music library | They're databases; changing them can damage the library | Manage them in Photos or Music |
| iCloud Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive files you only want off this Mac | Deleting removes them everywhere | Remove Download, or the app's online-only setting |
| An app's preferences or saved window state | They're tiny; removing them only resets apps | Leave them |
| Docker.raw | It holds every image, container and volume | Clean up in Docker Desktop |
| Swap files and the sleep image | macOS is using them | Restart |
Why not delete the whole Developer or Caches folder?
Advice to move ~/ or the whole Caches folder to the Trash is common, and it's the version to avoid. Xcode's folder holds archives of builds you shipped and debug symbols for devices you no longer have, which can't be made again. The Caches folder itself is one apps expect to exist.
Reinstalling macOS to shrink System Data rarely helps either. The space comes back from the same apps, snapshots and caches.
Don't paste Terminal commands from a web page
A guide that asks you to paste a command into Terminal to free space is one to close. Commands that delete files can't be undone, and fake cleanup guides are a known way to install malware. Everything here works through Finder, System Settings and the apps themselves.
What about other people's files on this Mac?
Other Users & Shared counts the files of other accounts on this Mac, which you can't see from yours. Don't remove them from your account. If someone no longer needs their account, an administrator can delete it in System Settings › Users & Groups: click the information button next to the user, then Delete User.
Choose carefully between the options. Delete the home folder frees the space. Save the home folder in a disk image keeps everything in /, where it still takes space until someone checks it and removes it. Disk images from accounts deleted years ago are worth looking for.
Keep your Mac from filling up again
Caches, snapshots, attachments and backups grow without you saving anything, so most Macs fill up the same way twice. A short look every month or two catches the growth before it gets in the way.
- Open Storage settings and note the three largest categories. One that has grown since last time is where to look.
- Look through the Trash, then empty it.
- Sort Downloads by size and clear what you've finished with.
- Delete backups of devices you no longer have.
- Remove apps you haven't opened in months, and their leftovers.
- On a developer's Mac, clear build folders of finished projects and models you no longer use.
How much free space should a Mac have?
Apple doesn't publish a single figure. What matters is room for the largest thing you do: a macOS update, a video export or a big download each needs space to work, and can stop when it isn't there.
When you've cleared what you can and still run short, what's left is your own data. Then more room is the answer rather than more deleting: an external drive for archives, video and the Photos library, or a larger iCloud plan with Store in iCloud on.
How the app does it
Wombit is a native Mac app that shows what's using your storage, explains every item in plain language, and clears it safely: Trash first, undoable and logged. It scans the whole disk or any folder, reading only names, sizes and dates, and file names and paths never leave your Mac.
The map is the home screen. Select anything to see what it is, how safe it is to remove and what removing it costs, with a Move to Trash or Clean Up button.
Explanations come from a catalog written and checked by hand, with sources. Items no rule explains get a Best guess, written on your Mac by Apple Intelligence and labelled as a guess.
Items the catalog knows get one of four levels:
- Safe: the owner recreates it and nothing is lost, such as app caches and Xcode's DerivedData. These start checked, and only they count in the headline number.
- Usually safe: it comes back at a cost, such as a project's
node_modulesor an old macOS installer. - Review first: it may be the only copy, such as iPhone backups, Messages attachments and large old files. Nothing starts checked; you choose.
- Managed by macOS: snapshots, swap and the Photos library are explained and handled through macOS's own mechanism, never moved.
System Data, explained splits that one number into named buckets and shows how much it couldn't explain. Folders macOS didn't let it read are listed, not skipped, and hard links and APFS clones count once.
Tools with their own cleanup command run that command instead of having their files deleted, after the review sheet. What a command removes can't be put back, and the sheet says so.
What the app runs, after you review itPRO
- npm cache clean --force
- npm's download cache
- docker --context desktop-linux builder prune --force
- Docker's build cache
The analyzer, the map, the explanations, System Data explained, Undo, Put Back and Empty Trash are free. Cleanup, the Apple Data actions for iPhone backups, installers and large old files, the uninstaller, Time Machine snapshots and What Changed are 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
Why is my Mac storage full when I haven't saved much?
Much of what fills a Mac isn't saved by you: caches, Time Machine's local snapshots, Messages attachments, iPhone backups and app data all grow on their own. Open System Settings, click General, then Storage, and look at the largest categories first. System Data is often the surprise, and it's usually caches, snapshots and developer files.
Does clearing the cache speed up a Mac?
No. Clearing caches frees space, but apps rebuild them as you use them, and they're a little slower while they do. It's worth doing for caches of apps you've removed or caches that have grown very large, not as a way to make a Mac faster.
Is it safe to delete System Data on a Mac?
System Data isn't one thing, so it can't be deleted as a whole. Some parts are safe to clear, such as app caches and logs; others, such as swap files and local snapshots, are managed by macOS and should be left to it or removed through Time Machine's settings. Never delete anything in the System folder.
Why didn't my free space go up after I deleted files?
Usually because the files are still in the Trash, or because a Time Machine local snapshot still holds them. Empty the Trash to free the space. Snapshots are removed as they age or when space is needed, or sooner if you set Time Machine's Backup Frequency to Manually for a few minutes.
How can I free up space on my Mac without deleting anything?
Turn on Store in iCloud in Storage settings, Optimize Mac Storage for iCloud Drive and Photos, or move large files and the Photos library to an external drive. Your files stay in iCloud or on the drive and come back when you open them. Both need room elsewhere: an iCloud plan with space, or a drive formatted for Mac.
Does dragging an app to the Trash uninstall it completely?
It removes the app but not its caches, its data in Application Support or its container, or the login items and helpers it installed. Use the app's own uninstaller if it has one. Caches and logs of a removed app are safe to clear; check its data folders before removing them, because they can hold your work.
What should I never delete on a Mac to free space?
Leave alone the System folder, the Library folder and its Caches and Application Support folders themselves, the files inside the Photos and Music libraries, and app preferences. Don't delete iCloud Drive files you only want off this Mac; use Remove Download instead. And never paste Terminal commands from a web page to free space.