how to check what is taking up space on mac

In this age of terabyte flash drives and cloud storage, information technology'due south easy to forget that storage space is finite. Just it is, and equally software gets more sophisticated and must-accept apps become more plentiful, you can eat through a 1TB SSD in no fourth dimension at all.

Sure, in theory, if your Mac difficult drive gets total you can simply upgrade, but at around $800 for a 2TB iMac SSD and $2800 for a 4TB SSD neither option is exactly affordable. Plus, it's not merely room for files that you go from a difficult drive, it directly affects functioning too. Let your difficult drive get full and see how sluggish your Mac runs. Actually, don't practise that you'll drive yourself crazy.

For optimum operation, yous should continually monitor Mac hard drive space to make sure there's ever room for your next big download. Keep reading to larn how to find storage on your Mac and utilize it more efficiently.

How to check storage on your Mac?

The simplest way to check Mac hard drive space is by accessing About This Mac.

Click on the Apple icon and choose About This Mac.
Click on Storage.

Note: If y'all're running an older version of OS 10, yous may need to click More Info to discover the Storage option.

The Storage tab volition show you how much space is beingness taken up by the System, Documents, Apps, and more. It volition also display available infinite.

What to practise when your hard drive is full?

If your Mac hard drive is nearing capacity, your system will allow you know with a "disk almost full" warning prompting you lot to free up some space.

If you lot see this alert it's best to act on it. To free up space on your startup deejay you'll need to do one or all of these iii things:

Delete files
Motility files over to deject storage or an external difficult drive
Install a 2nd hard drive or add a larger startup disk

Options ane and 2 are the easiest, only if you lot're thinking of upgrading your existing disk, cheque out our guide.

If y'all're running macOS Sierra or higher, you can get some free space by optimizing your storage with in-build tools. To do this, go to the Apple menu and select About This Mac. Here, become to the Storage tab and printing Manage.

In the window that appears, you can run into some tips on reclaiming free space. Hither'south how to manage storage on your Mac:

Click Store in iCloud. Choose what data y'all want to transfer to iCloud and confirm.
Click Optimize to remove movies and TV programs.
Turn on Empty Bin Automatically.
Click Reduce Ataxia to review all your documents.

This is a quick and easy fashion to gratis upwardly infinite but information technology's not platonic. You encounter, when files are moved to iCloud, junk and useless files are moved likewise. This means you lot max out your iCloud storage quicker and end up having to pay for more. For this reason, nosotros recommend using CleanMyMac X to detect junk files and completely remove them from your arrangement.

Delete large and old files offset

Commonly, old large files are the biggest infinite wasters on our Macs. It probably happens to anyone: you open your brand new MacBook and download multiple files, which seem to be very useful at showtime. But, afterward, y'all forget well-nigh these items, and they stop up cluttering your storage. Information technology'due south fourth dimension to dig up these old massive files. And CleanMyMac X tin can assist you out with that job.

With a defended Large & One-time Files module, you tin apace clear your Mac.

Download CleanMyMac X (a gratis trial is available).
Install and launch the app.
Go to the Big & Old files module.
Press Browse.

Now, all you lot have to practice is select quondam files that CleanMyMac X has establish and press Remove.

Some other CleanMyMac X useful feature is Space Lens. It builds a virtual map of your storage, so you tin see where all your space is gone. Y'all demand just to hover over whatever folder to find out its weight or click it to view its contents.

Scan completed in Space lens module in CleanMyMacX

How to free up Mac hard bulldoze infinite manually

Deleting files manually is a simple chore, but it can also be time-consuming. The best way to go almost it is to find old documents, downloads, music, and applications you no longer need and drag them to the Trash.

When yous exercise this you'll need to recall to empty the Trash, otherwise, files will only sit there and gratis up no infinite at all.

Right-click Trash in the Dock.
Select Empty Bin and confirm.

You lot tin can also remove onetime iTunes Library backups, iOS backups and updates, and clear cached files using the Finder.

Open a Finder window and select Go in the carte bar.
Click on Go to Binder and enter ane of the following commands:

Caches: ~/Library/Caches

iTunes Library backups:
~/Music/iTunes/Previous iTunes Libraries
iOS backups:
~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Fill-in/
iOS software updates iPad:
~/Library/iTunes/iPad Software Updates
iOS software updates iPhone:
~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates

iii. Browse each of the folders and delete whatever files y'all no longer demand.

As said, clearing files manually is like shooting fish in a barrel but it comes with 1 rather sizeable caveat: moving things to Trash leaves behind a residue — leftover pieces of files that serve no purpose other than to take up hard drive space. There y'all are doing your best to remove files only for Mac to exist incapable of fully deleting whatever y'all want to become rid of.

So, what can you do nigh that? Yep… CleanMyMac X.

Freeing upwardly Mac difficult bulldoze space with CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X scours your organization for all old, outdated, and broken files, and completely removes them from your system. It's the quickest and easiest way to free up a lot of space at one time.

If y'all need to optimize disk infinite in a hurry, download CleanMyMac X and select the pick to make clean up Organization Junk. This will remove old enshroud files and logs, broken app data, unused languages, and excessive versions of documents in a couple of clicks.

Download and launch CleanMyMac X.
Choose System Junk from the card.
Click Scan.
Click Clean.

CleanMyMac X - System junk scan complete

A full deejay is something all Mac users feel at some indicate. Thankfully, it's easy to reclaim space using Mac's ain optimization feature or the Finder if yous're doing things manually, or CleanMyMac 10 if you prefer a more than comprehensive solution. Equally you'll likely need to make clean upward the difficult drive a few times a yr, we'd suggest going downward the CleanMyMac 10 route only, of course, we're biased. Try the different methods and see what works best for y'all.

Go on your Mac in good shape

I hope y'all managed to detect out what exactly took too much space on your Mac. Here're some tips to prevent clutter in your storage in the future:

Clear old files

To utilize your storage more efficiently, you demand to declutter your Mac once in a while. Remove apps, documents, photos, and media that you don't need on your Mac. Transfer your data to the hard drive or shop it in the deject. A perfectly organized storage also boosts your productivity, which is another advantage of keeping your space tidy.

Delete apps completely

And by "completely," I hateful together with all the files associated with the app. Dragging an app to the Trash volition probably exit its data in your organization. So, make sure y'all remove your apps using native uninstallers or special tools, like CleanMyMac Ten.

Empty Trash

This is pretty straightforward communication, but many of us all the same forget to do it. Trashed files can take gigantic amounts of space. Think to clear the Bin after y'all deleted some files on your Mac.

Update your software

When you Mac acts laggy, you may think it's running out of space. But, outdated software tin can cause the same symptoms. Updates often incorporate bug fixes and improvements that can positively affect how your app and your Mac run. Updating both Os and apps to the latest version volition ensure the smooth operation of your automobile.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is taking upwardly so much infinite on my Mac?

To find out what'due south taking storage on your Mac, go to the Apple carte du jour. Here, cull About This Mac. Go to the Storage tab and click Manage to come across how much space takes each category.

How to discover large files on Mac?

In Finder, printing the lilliputian gear icon and select Show Search Criteria. Click Kind filter and cull Other. And so select File Size from the list. Select "is greater than" criteria in the second box. Enter the size (for example, 400 MB), and and then the search results will update, showing yous the large files on your Mac.

How much space should the system have upwards on Mac?

Mac's system takes well-nigh 20 GB on average. If your Mac's system is considerably bigger than 20-25 GB, try emptying the Trash. Performing a clean install may be necessary in some cases – it will reinstall your Bone and clear your storage. Just, brand certain to back up your data starting time.

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