Where did my Mac storage go?
A practical way to find out what is actually taking your disk space on a Mac, starting with what macOS tells you and ending with the folders it will not show you.
How to free up space on a Mac, in the order that actually works
An order of operations for clearing space on macOS: the big wins first, the risky ones last, and the things not worth doing at all.
Most advice on this subject is a list of twenty things, in no order, with the two that matter buried in the middle. Here is the order, from most space for least risk, to least space for most.
1. Empty the Trash
Obvious, routinely skipped, and sometimes tens of gigabytes. Also empty the Trash in Photos and in Mail, which keep their own.
2. Downloads, sorted by size
Open ~/Downloads in list view and sort by size rather than date. Disk images, installers and exports live there for years. Everything in that folder was downloaded once and can be downloaded again.
3. Developer leftovers, if they apply
On a Mac used for software, this is usually the single largest win: Xcode derived data, unused simulator runtimes, node_modules in projects you have finished, Rust target directories, Docker images. Tens of gigabytes is normal.
4. Caches
Clear ~/Library/Caches per application rather than wholesale, so you can see what you are removing. Browsers, video editors and package managers are the usual offenders.
5. Applications you no longer use
Dragging an app to the Trash leaves its caches, containers, preferences and login items behind. Uninstall it properly — with the files it left — or those remain as System Data forever.
6. Duplicates
Worth doing, with one caveat: on APFS, a copy can share its blocks with the original and take no space at all. A duplicate finder that does not know this will promise space it cannot deliver.
7. Large media you have backed up
Last, because it needs judgement. Find files over a gigabyte you have not opened in a year, check they exist somewhere else, then move them off.
Things not worth doing
- Memory "cleaners". macOS manages memory; free RAM is wasted RAM.
- Deleting language files to save a few hundred megabytes.
- Removing local Time Machine snapshots by hand — macOS thins them when it needs space.
- Anything that promises to speed up your Mac by cleaning a registry. macOS does not have one.
DiskDuo does steps two to seven from a single scan, shows you every file first, and moves everything to the Trash rather than deleting it.
More
Also worth reading.
What is “System Data” on a Mac, and how do you shrink it?
System Data is the bucket macOS uses for everything it could not classify. Here is what is usually inside it, and which parts are safe to clear.
How to find duplicate files on a Mac (and why some free nothing)
What a duplicate actually is on APFS, why some copies cost no space at all, and how to remove the rest without losing the original.