Published 2022-08-03 by TechNet New England
When a Mac runs low on storage, performance drops, apps crash, and macOS updates cannot install. Here is how to reclaim space. ## Check What Is Using Space 1. Click the **Apple menu > System Settings > General > Storage**. 2. macOS shows a color-coded bar with categories: Applications, Documents, System Data, macOS, and more. 3. Click on each category to see what is consuming space. ## Method 1: Optimize Storage (Built-in) macOS has built-in recommendations: 1. In **System Settings > General > Storage**, look for the recommendations section. 2. Common options include: **Store in iCloud**: Moves old files to iCloud and frees local space. Only useful if you have enough iCloud storage. **Optimize Storage**: Automatically removes watched Apple TV content and keeps only recent email attachments locally. **Empty Trash Automatically**: Deletes items from Trash after 30 days. ## Method 2: Empty the Trash This sounds obvious, but the Trash on Mac does not auto-empty by default. Files you "delete" stay in Trash until you empty it. 1. Right-click the **Trash** icon in the Dock. 2. Select **Empty Trash**. Check how much space the Trash is using in the Storage breakdown before emptying. ## Method 3: Delete Large and Old Files 1. Open **Finder**. 2. Press **Command + F** to search. 3. Change "Kind" to **File Size** and set it to **is greater than 100 MB**. 4. Sort results by size. 5. Review and delete files you no longer need (old downloads, installer DMGs, large videos, etc.). ## Method 4: Clear the Downloads Folder 1. Open **Finder > Downloads**. 2. Sort by Date Modified. 3. Delete old installers (.dmg, .pkg files), zip files, and downloads you already used. ## Method 5: Remove Unused Applications 1. Open **Finder > Applications**. 2. Sort by Size (right-click the column headers to add a Size column). 3. Drag applications you no longer use to the Trash. 4. Empty the Trash. For a more thorough removal that also deletes application support files, use a free tool like AppCleaner. ## Method 6: Clear System Cache and Logs 1. Open **Finder** and press **Command + Shift + G**. 2. Type: `~/Library/Caches` 3. Select folders inside Caches (do not delete the Caches folder itself) and move them to Trash. 4. Repeat for `/Library/Caches` (system-level caches). These files will be recreated as needed. Clearing them is safe and can free up several GB. ## Method 7: Manage Time Machine Snapshots If you use Time Machine, your Mac stores local snapshots that can consume significant space. macOS usually manages these automatically, but you can force cleanup: 1. Open **Terminal**. 2. Run: `tmutil listlocalsnapshots /` 3. To delete old snapshots: `sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS` Replace the timestamp with the actual snapshot date from the list. ## What NOT to Delete Do not delete anything inside `/System` or `/usr`. Do not delete `/Library` (the system Library, not your user Library). Do not delete `.app` files from inside `/System/Applications`. ## When to Call IT If your Mac is managed by an organization and you cannot free enough space, your IT provider may need to clear MDM profiles, remove old system images, or move data to network or cloud storage.