Steam and game storage on a Mac: libraries and caches

If Steam is taking up too much space on your Mac, the space is almost always the games themselves. Steam installs them in ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps, one folder per game, and a single modern game can ask for well over 50 GB. Steam's own Storage settings show what each game takes.

The fix is to uninstall games you've finished from Steam's Library, or to move them to another drive from Storage. Don't delete the steamapps folder in Finder: Steam's support notes that it holds your game downloads and any local save files, and Steam can't tell what you meant to keep.

Saves in Steam Cloud survive an uninstall. Saves a game keeps only in its own folder don't, so check before you remove anything you care about. Steam's download cache, by contrast, isn't where the space is: clearing it refreshes Steam's settings, not your library.

Other launchers work the same way. Epic Games, Battle.net and GOG Galaxy each remove their games from their own app, App Store and Apple Arcade games go from the Apple Games app, and Windows games in CrossOver live inside a bottle that's removed as a whole.

Where Steam keeps games on a Mac

Steam keeps nearly everything inside one folder in your Library, and that's why its size surprises people. Nothing in the Applications folder hints at it.

Where is the steamapps folder?

The default library is ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps; some installations spell it SteamApps. Each game sits in its own folder inside common, and Steam keeps download data and small records about each game alongside.

To look, open Finder, hold down Option, choose Go › Library, then open Application Support and Steam. The Library folder is hidden by default, which is why it isn't in your home folder. Steam's folder is often the largest in the Application Support folder on a gaming Mac.

Why doesn't Steam's space show up under Applications?

Storage settings counts the apps in your Applications folder under Applications. Steam games aren't there: they're inside Application Support, and Apple's guide says System Data includes app support files.

So a large Steam library usually makes System Data look large, not Applications. If System Data has grown and you play games, Steam is the first place to check. The post on what System Data holds covers the other usual suspects.

What's inside the Steam folder?

Folder	What it holds	Remove it in Finder?
steamapps	Installed games, downloads, some saves	No: uninstall games in Steam
steamapps/common	One folder per installed game	No: same reason
steamapps/workshop	Workshop items you subscribed to	No: unsubscribe instead
userdata	Local copies of Steam Cloud files, client settings	No
logs	Steam's logs, including its cloud log	Not worth it

Steam's support documents userdata as the local home of cloud files, with a folder for each Steam account that has signed in on the Mac. It's small next to the games, and it's where a game's synced saves live between syncs.

How big are Mac games?

Steam's store lists each game's requirements, including how much free space a Mac needs. The range is huge: a small indie game can need under a gigabyte, while a large role-playing game asks for well over 100 GB.

• Baldur's Gate 3150 GB
• Cyberpunk 207792 GB
• Dota 260 GB
• Civilization VII25 GB
• Civilization VI17 GB
• No Man's Sky15 GB
• Stardew Valley0.5 GB

From the macOS system requirements on each game's Steam store page, checked in October 2026. It's the free space a game asks for, which can be more than its installed size, and updates and add-ons can change it.

Three or four large games can fill a 256 GB Mac on their own. That's why Steam's own tools for seeing and moving games matter more than any cache.

Why is Steam taking up too much space on a Mac?

Most of it is the games you've installed. A few other things add to them, and it helps to know which can come back on their own.

Big games, updates and add-ons

Games are the bulk, and they grow. Updates add content, and downloadable content (DLC) you own may install alongside the main game. Steam's download page labels each update's parts as game content, downloadable content, Workshop content or shader pre-caching.

A game you haven't opened in a year still takes its full size and keeps receiving updates while it's installed. Uninstalling it is the single biggest win, and Steam keeps it in your Library, ready to download again.

Workshop content and mods

Games that support the Steam Workshop download the items you subscribe to: maps, mods, skins and more. For a heavily modded game, Workshop items can rival the game itself.

They download automatically, in the background, as soon as you subscribe. Valve's documentation for developers says that unsubscribing removes an item after the game quits, so the space comes back once you've closed the game.

Shader pre-caching and the download cache

Both sound like caches worth clearing, and neither is where the space goes. Valve introduced shader pre-caching in 2017 for OpenGL and Vulkan games: Steam downloads shaders built for your graphics hardware to cut stutter in the first few launches.

The download cache is different again. Steam's support says clearing it makes Steam flush cached configuration data and fetch it again from Steam's servers. It's a fix for download errors, not a way to free space.

More than one account

Steam's default library lives in your own Library folder, so another person who uses Steam in their own macOS account has a separate library. Two accounts with the same games pay for them twice.

The userdata folder also keeps a folder for each Steam account that has signed in on the Mac. Those are small; the games are what's duplicated.

See what each game takes in Steam's Storage settings

Steam has its own storage manager, and it's more accurate than poking around in Finder. Start there before you remove anything.

How do you open Storage in Steam?

1. Open Steam and choose Steam › Settings.
2. Click Storage.
3. If you have more than one library folder, choose the drive or folder at the top.

Steam's support describes this page as the place to see your default installation drive, add library folders, and move games between them.

What does Storage show?

It shows each library folder's drive and the games installed there, with the space each one takes. The handful of games that hold most of the space usually stand out at a glance.

The … menu beside a library folder has Repair Folder, which Steam's troubleshooting guide suggests when a folder's permissions break and games won't update. It fixes permissions; it doesn't free space.

How do you uninstall a Steam game?

1. In Steam, click Library.
2. Control-click the game you no longer play.
3. Choose Manage › Uninstall, and confirm.

The game stays in your Library, marked as not installed. Click Install whenever you want it back; it downloads again in full, so a slow connection is the real cost.

What happens to your saves when you uninstall?

That depends on the game. Steam's support explains that developers decide which files Steam Cloud uploads, and that many games don't use Steam Cloud for saves at all. Each developer decides how and where to store save files.

Saves in Steam Cloud aren't affected by an uninstall, and come back when you reinstall on any Mac or PC signed in to your account. Saves a game keeps only in its own folder are removed with it.

How can you tell whether a game uses Steam Cloud?

The game's store page shows a Steam Cloud logo when the game uses it. Steam's support adds that you may need the developer or the community to know exactly which files are included.

You can also check that syncing is on. For one game, Control-click it, choose Properties, and look at the cloud setting under General. For every game, choose Steam › Settings, click Cloud, and check that Steam Cloud sync is turned on.

Should you back up a game before uninstalling?

Only if downloading it again would be painful. Steam has a backup feature for games that download, install and patch entirely through Steam:

1. Control-click the game in your Library and choose Properties.
2. Click Installed Files, then Backup game files.
3. Choose a folder, ideally on an external drive, and click Create Backup.

To restore, choose Steam › Restore Game Backup… and point it at the backup. Steam warns that backups of Valve's own games don't include saved games or custom maps, so copy those separately.

What	Lost when you uninstall?	How to keep it
The game itself	Yes, until you install it again	Nothing to do; it stays in your Library
Saves in Steam Cloud	No	Make sure cloud sync is on
Saves only in the game's folder	Yes	Back them up, or ask the developer where they are
Workshop items	Yes, with the game	Subscribe again later
Screenshots and settings in userdata	No	Nothing to do

Moving Steam games to another drive

If you'd rather keep a game than uninstall it, move it. Steam does this itself, keeps its records straight, and doesn't need you to download anything again.

How do you add a library folder on another drive?

1. Connect the drive and make sure it shows up in Finder.
2. In Steam, choose Steam › Settings, then Storage.
3. Click the + button at the top and choose a folder on the drive.

Steam's support says you can create a library folder on any drive and choose it whenever you install a game. You can also make it the default, so new games go there.

How do you move installed games?

1. Open Storage and select the drive that holds the games.
2. Select the games you want to move.
3. Click Move, and choose the other library folder.

Moving needs a second library folder to exist first; that's the step people miss. A large game takes a while to copy, especially to a slower drive. When it's done, the space on your Mac comes back without emptying the Trash.

Which format should the drive use?

Steam doesn't document a required format for library folders on a Mac. Apple's Disk Utility guide describes APFS as the file system macOS 10.13 and later use, and exFAT as the choice for drives shared with Windows.

For a drive used only with your Mac, APFS is the natural choice. If the same drive moves between a Mac and a PC, exFAT is the shared option. The post comparing APFS and exFAT explains what each gives up.

Should Steam itself go on an external drive?

Steam's support says it doesn't recommend installing Steam itself on an external hard drive, because of potential performance issues. Keep the app and its own folder on your Mac, and put library folders for games on the drive.

Speed matters for games, too. A fast external SSD over a good connection loads games far better than an old spinning disk. Games that stream a lot of data while you play feel the difference most.

What if the drive isn't connected?

Games on an external drive aren't playable without it, and Steam can't update them until you plug it back in. Connect the drive before you launch Steam if you plan to play those games.

Don't let the drive become the only copy of anything irreplaceable, either. Games download again, but local saves on that drive are as safe as the drive. The guide to freeing space with an external drive covers what else is worth moving off your Mac.

Caches and other Steam files: what's safe to clear

Steam's other folders are small next to its games, and most of them aren't caches in the sense of throwaway files. Here's what each Steam setting really does.

Item	Where	What clearing or changing it does
Download cache	Settings › Downloads, Clear Cache	Refreshes Steam's configuration; your games stay
Shader pre-caching	Settings, its own entry	Stops downloading pre-built shaders for OpenGL and Vulkan games
Workshop items	Each item's Workshop page	Unsubscribing removes the item after the game quits
A game's local files	Properties › Installed Files	Verify repairs files; it doesn't shrink them
The whole Steam folder	~/Library/Application Support/Steam	Removes every game and local save; avoid it

Does clearing Steam's download cache free space?

Not in any way that matters. Steam's support lists Clear Cache, under Steam › Settings › Downloads, as a fix for update and installation errors: it flushes locally cached configuration data and fetches it again.

Your installed games aren't touched. If a download keeps failing, it's worth a try; if you want space back, uninstall or move games instead.

Should you turn off shader pre-caching?

Valve's 2017 notes describe the feature for OpenGL- and Vulkan-based games on supported hardware. It may use a little extra bandwidth, and Valve added a setting to turn it off. They don't say how much disk space it takes, or how it applies to games on a Mac.

So it isn't a good lever for space. If you leave it on, the trade-off Valve describes is shorter load times and less stutter in the first few launches.

How do you clear Workshop items?

Open the game's Workshop page in Steam, find the items you subscribed to, and unsubscribe from the ones you don't use. Valve's developer documentation says an unsubscribed item is removed after the game quits.

If you uninstall the game, its Workshop items go with it. Subscribing again later downloads them again.

Should you delete the Steam folder to start over?

Only if you mean to remove Steam completely. Steam's own steps for a Mac are to quit Steam, drag it from Applications to the Trash, then open ~/Library/Application Support/Steam in Finder.

To keep your games, Steam says to delete everything in that folder except the SteamApps folder, which holds game downloads and local saves. To remove everything, it says to delete the whole Steam folder. Either way, the Trash lets you change your mind until you empty it.

Other launchers: Epic Games, Battle.net and GOG Galaxy

Each launcher manages its own games and its own folders. The rule is the same everywhere: remove games in the launcher, so it knows they're gone.

Epic Games Launcher

Epic's help describes uninstalling a game from the launcher's Library, through the menu beside the game, then confirming. The launcher keeps its own data in ~/Library/Application Support/Epic, according to Homebrew's record of what it installs.

Some games sell on several stores at once. Cyberpunk 2077's Mac version, for example, came out on the Mac App Store, GOG, Steam and the Epic Games Store, so check you aren't keeping the same game installed through two launchers.

Battle.net and its cache

The Battle.net app keeps a cache in /Users/Shared/Blizzard/Battle.net, in the Shared folder that every user on the Mac can reach. Blizzard says removing it doesn't affect your game data, and it can hold outdated files that cause problems with some games.

Quit Battle.net, move that folder to the Trash, and Battle.net creates it again the next time it opens. The Battle.net cache page has the details. Remove games themselves from the Battle.net app; Blizzard's support describes moving a game as uninstalling it and installing it again in a new location.

GOG Galaxy

GOG's support describes uninstalling a game by selecting it in your Installed list, clicking the customization button next to Play, then choosing Manage Installation › Uninstall.

Homebrew's record of GOG Galaxy lists a GOG.com folder in /Users/Shared and another in your Library's Application Support, plus a background service. If you stop using GOG Galaxy altogether, the post on leftover files after uninstalling apps explains how to check each one.

Why do launchers use the Shared folder?

/Users/Shared is the one folder every account on a Mac can read and write. Launchers use it so all users can share one set of game files instead of each keeping a copy. It also means those files don't appear in your own Library when you look for them.

Launcher	Remove a game	Folders worth knowing
Steam	Library, Control-click, Manage › Uninstall	~/Library/Application Support/Steam
Epic Games	Library, the menu beside the game	~/Library/Application Support/Epic
Battle.net	In the Battle.net app	/Users/Shared/Blizzard/Battle.net (cache)
GOG Galaxy	Manage Installation › Uninstall	/Users/Shared/GOG.com
Apple Games	Library, Control-click, Delete Game	The Applications folder

App Store and Apple Arcade games

Games from the Mac App Store, Apple Arcade included, are ordinary apps. They install in your Applications folder and count under Applications in Storage settings, unlike Steam's.

Where do App Store games go?

Apple's guide to the Apple Games app says downloaded games are saved to the Applications folder on your Mac, and stay there until you delete them. They also show up in the Apple Games app's library and in Spotlight.

That makes them easy to size. Sort the Applications list in Storage settings by size, or check them in Finder. The post on sizing every app on a Mac walks through both.

How do you delete a game in the Apple Games app?

1. Open the Apple Games app.
2. Click Library.
3. Control-click the game, then choose Delete Game.

Apple's guide says deleting games there is a way to free up space on your Mac. You can also drag a game from the Applications folder to the Trash, as with any app, and download it again from your purchases in the App Store.

Does deleting a game delete your progress?

Apple says that on supported games, iCloud and Game Center keep your progress, high scores and game saves up to date across your devices. To get them back, sign in to iCloud and Game Center with the same Apple Account you played with.

Apple doesn't list which games are supported, and the developer decides. If a game matters to you, check that it shows your progress on another device before you delete it.

What about Apple Arcade games after a subscription ends?

Apple says you can't play Apple Arcade games without a subscription, even if they're downloaded, and suggests deleting them if you don't need them anymore. Not every Arcade game is available on the Mac, either.

If you plan to subscribe again, you might keep them. Otherwise they're full-size apps you can't open, which makes them easy candidates to remove.

Windows games through CrossOver and virtual machines

Some people play Windows games on a Mac through CrossOver or a virtual machine. Both keep games inside one large container, which changes how you clean up.

What is a CrossOver bottle?

CrossOver runs Windows apps inside bottles: self-contained Windows environments, each with its own apps and settings. CodeWeavers says the default location is ~/Library/Application Support/CrossOver/Bottles.

Everything a Windows app installs lives in its bottle. A bottle with a Windows copy of Steam and its games is as large as those games, and it sits in your Library like Steam's own folder does.

How do you remove a Windows game in CrossOver?

CodeWeavers' support says that to delete a Windows application, you delete the bottle that contains it. Removing an app while keeping its bottle isn't supported.

1. In CrossOver's sidebar, find the bottle in the Bottles list.
2. Control-click it and choose Delete Bottle.
3. Read the warning and click Delete.

If the bottle holds other apps or saves you want, deal with those first. A Windows launcher inside the bottle can uninstall single games, which keeps the bottle and its other contents.

Can bottles live on an external drive?

Yes. In CrossOver, choose CrossOver › Settings, open System Integration, and use the Bottle Folder setting to pick a new location. CodeWeavers says the drive should be formatted APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), otherwise you risk bottle corruption.

That's stricter than Steam, which doesn't document a format. Keep game bottles off exFAT drives.

What about Parallels and other virtual machines?

A Windows virtual machine stores games inside its virtual disk, which grows as you install them and doesn't always shrink when you remove them. Uninstall games inside Windows first, then use the virtual machine app's own tools to reclaim the space. The post on virtual machine disk space covers Parallels, UTM and VMware Fusion.

Choosing which games to keep

With sizes in front of you, the decision is usually quick. A few rules of thumb make it quicker.

Which games should you remove first?

• Games you've finished. They stay in your Library, and their saves usually stay in the cloud.
• Games you haven't opened in months. They take full size and keep updating.
• Duplicates across launchers. One copy is enough.
• Arcade games without a subscription. You can't play them anyway.
• Huge games on a small drive. Move them to an external SSD instead.

Will removing games make your Mac faster?

No. Freeing space doesn't speed up a Mac that already has room to work. It helps when the disk is nearly full, because macOS needs free space for updates, swap and temporary files. The aim is room, not speed.

Mistakes to avoid

• Deleting steamapps in Finder. Use Steam's Uninstall, so local saves don't go by surprise and Steam's records stay right.
• Deleting userdata. It holds local copies of cloud saves and your client settings, and it's small.
• Clearing the download cache to free space. It refreshes settings; it frees almost nothing.
• Moving games by hand. Steam's Move keeps its library records straight; dragging folders doesn't.
• Emptying the Trash straight away. Give it a day, in case something you needed went with a game.

Keeping game storage under control

Look at Steam's Storage page every few months, and uninstall what you've stopped playing. Make your external library folder the default if your Mac is small, so new games land there.

Games aren't the only media that quietly fill a Mac. Music and video apps keep offline downloads too; the post on streaming apps' downloads and caches covers Spotify, Prime Video and others.

A worked example: making room on a 512 GB Mac

Here's how the steps above play out on an imagined but typical setup. The sizes are the free space each game's Steam page asks for on a Mac, so treat them as approximate.

The starting point

Say a 512 GB MacBook has Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Dota 2 and Civilization VI installed through Steam, roughly 320 GB between them by their store pages. Storage settings shows System Data as the largest category, and the Mac is nagging about space before a macOS update.

The owner plays Dota 2 every week and Civilization VI now and then. Cyberpunk 2077 is finished. Baldur's Gate 3 is half done, and they want to return to it.

Checking saves first

The store pages of the two games they're changing, Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3, both list Steam Cloud, so their saves sync. To be sure, they open Steam › Settings › Cloud and check that sync is on, then launch both games once while online so the latest saves upload.

If a game had no cloud saves, this is where they'd use Backup game files, or ask the developer where saves live, before going any further.

Uninstall one, move one

Cyberpunk 2077 goes: Library, Control-click, Manage › Uninstall. That alone gives back the largest single chunk, and the game stays in their Library for another playthrough.

Baldur's Gate 3 moves instead. They connect an APFS-formatted external SSD, add a library folder on it with + in Storage, select the game and click Move. It's still installed and playable whenever the drive is connected.

The result

Dota 2 and Civilization VI stay on the Mac, where they load fastest. Together, the uninstall and the move free well over 200 GB of the internal disk, nothing had to go through the Trash, and no save was put at risk.

Storage settings can take a few minutes to catch up. When it does, System Data is smaller, because that's where Steam's games were counted all along.

How the app does it

Wombit scans your disk, explains every item in plain language, and moves what you choose to the Trash, where you can put it back. File names and paths never leave your Mac.

Steam's steamapps folder appears on the map with its real size. Select it, and the inspector explains it from the catalog: what it holds, why the games should be uninstalled in Steam, and what you lose when you do.

It's Review first. The app doesn't move the folder or anything inside it; it points you to Steam's own Uninstall instead, because a game folder can hold the only copy of a save.

The Battle.net cache is Safe: Battle.net recreates it, so it starts checked in Cleanup and counts in the safe-to-remove total. If Battle.net is open, the review sheet leaves the cache out and offers to quit the app first.

• ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/{steamapps,SteamApps}

  Steam games

  Games you installed with Steam, their downloads, and any saves they keep in the game folder.

  Review first · Explained only: the app shows you how

• /Users/Shared/Blizzard/Battle.net

  Battle.net cache

  Temporary files that the Battle.net app keeps for Blizzard games.

  Safe · Moves it to the Trash

Seeing all of this is free. Cleanup 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.