How to free up space on a Mac? What is a “Mac Startup Disk”? Your Mac startup disk is a volume or a partition of a drive that contains a usable operating system. You can set your Mac to automatically use a specific startup volume, or you can temporarily override this choice at startup. If you need to clear off space from your Mac's hard drive, there are some places you should look first. You may have some old iPhone backups, installers,. Check Out Your Disk To See What is Taking Up Space and Locate Files. If you would want to. Firstly, launch Finder on your Mac and from its sidebar, go the Devices section, and select the root directory. Here, you can view all the partitions and external devices. Select the Macintosh HD (or Fusion drive). Right-click to get the context menu and go to the 'Get Info' section. Remove duplicate files. Removing duplicate files is one of the heavy tasks to perform.
Not only Windows PC gets filled quickly but also the MacBook gets short of memory space. But no worries there are few methods to quickly free up the memory space to make some room for your essential files and documents. To delete big and bulky files, you can search and delete them manually. But the real task comes in if your Mac is full of temporary files, duplicate data, unused data, and trash cans. It’s not possible to clear them all manually.
In case you fail to clean up your Mac, it might show up “Your drive is full” error. Instead of piling up the data, it’s better to clear these documents now with the help of a few methods that are going to be discussed below.
To make your task more comfortable, you can Cleanmymac software to eliminate all the unused files. This software helps you quickly remove all the extra files, duplicate files, and the data left behind after uninstallation of any application. CleanMyMac is one of the best mac cleaner software.
Besides the software, we have a list of ways to clean up the trash files occupying the memory space.
Contents
- 1 How to Free Up Space on Mac
How to Free Up Space on Mac
1. Remove duplicate files
Removing duplicate files is one of the heavy tasks to perform. You cannot delete the duplicate files manually, as it would be time-consuming to search for such duplicate files. It becomes an issue for those users who have been using their MacBook for a long time. To overcome this, we have Gemini 2, a software that would help you remove all the trash and unused files occupying your system. The software comes with a user-friendly interface.
You can check out for this app on the app store to enjoy the software’s services. There are more software options for you to choose from.
2. Empty the trash cans
Trash cans mean all the unused goes into this location. It is the same as recycle bin in Windows. If the data goes into the trash cans, it does not get deleted permanently; instead, you can restore it if you want the data. Once you delete the data, it all goes into the trash cans. Trash can’t get wholly occupied at some point, so it’s necessary to empty those buckets. Mac has more than one trash can, so multiple cans get filled up that later on becomes a heavy task to remove the data.
3. Uninstall unused applications
It’s necessary to remove all the applications and data that are none of your use. Instead of keeping the unused software, you should completely uninstall apps on mac to free up the memory space. To delete those applications, go to the finder window to select the applications you don’t want. Select and drag the application icon to the trash can. This way, you can quickly get rid of that extra application that will make much space on your Mac.
Also, you can check which of the application is occupying how much memory space. Go to the Finder windows and select application. Now choose the ‘Show items in the list’ toolbar and see all the applications as per the app’s memory.
4. Remove the vast iTunes backup.
If you have created a backup of your iPhone or iPad using iTunes, then you might have a bunch of backup data occupying tons of memory space in your Mac. You would be able to restore around GBs of data after deleting those backup files.
It’s better and safe to use Cleanmymac that clears the confusion between the files you want to delete. Once the software names the files, then it becomes easy to remove them manually.
5. Remove temporary files
Temporary files stored in your Mac takes up a lot of space that needs to be deleted if your system shows up the disk is full error. Mac OS X automatically removes the temporary files from the system, but it’s better to get a dedicated application to remove the temporary files. Your system doesn’t need to work faster, but it will surely free up some disk space.
You can opt for Cleanmymac software to clean up the temporary files. Open up the list of the files and scan the complete data. After you select the data, tap on the clean button to remove those files. Cleanmymac offers a utility to convert the files’ confusing names into the actual characters that make it easy for you to choose and delete.
6. Check which files are taking up maximum memory.
Before opting for any option, you must check out what exactly is occupying so much disk space in your system. You can opt for hard disk analysis to check out which of the files occupies the maximum area. Disk Inventory X is such a software that will show up those data and files occupying much space. If there is any essential data stored in your system, it’s better to keep it on any external device instead of your Mac.
7. Remove language files
Mac applications come with an option to choose the language setting. It would help if you stopped using Mac language support and instead use the applications in a particular language. Mac language support uses tons of memory space in your system. Therefore it’s better to opt for the application language. To remove these extra language files, you can use Cleanmymac software to free up the disk space. You can also read the complete CleanMyMac Review
There are different ways to free up disk space to make your system work smoothly and efficiently. We hope that the above methods might help you get rid of the trash and unused files. You can opt for any of the options to clean the junk files from your Mac system. Make sure what exactly is occupying so much space so that you can easily focus on removing that particular file. You can also delete the downloaded files stored on your Mac. The download folder is usually full of huge files and data. Therefore, it’s better to delete them or keep them on an external device.
Go through the complete article and then decide what will work best for your Mac. We hope that this content would have been beneficial for all the Mac users out there.
Also Read
It all starts with “Disk is almost full”
If you are reading this, you are probably familiar with the “Disk is almost full” message on Mac. The lack of free space is, in fact, a global issue. According to MacPaw research, since the Great Lockdown of 2020, people are 28% more likely to clean their computers. Isn’t it because we started to consume more content? Anyway, limitless hard drives haven’t been invented yet.
Let's take the new MacBook Air 2020 edition that offers startling capacities of 256 GB. That’s roughly the storage of the previous year’s iPad! And how soon you will fill that space full, given today’s media consumption trends, is a different question. And as of the summer of 2020, iCloud storage still remains a paid option, and 50GB will cost you $0.99 per month.
So whether you have a new or older Mac, it’s critical to know how to clear system storage on Mac. Further below, I’ll show you my favorite methods of recovering disk space on Mac. They are a bit like alchemy because we’ll be turning junk into free space.
Okay, let’s go.
How to check storage on Mac
It’s good to check your storage details before we get down to deleting things. For example, this is my disk space structure:
Documents: You have too many downloads and media files on your drive
Apps: There are probably tons of hidden and forgotten apps on your Mac
System: Your OS + caches, temporary files, and app localizations that waste space
To view your storage details, click on the Apple icon > About this Mac > Storage
How the full hard drive affects your Mac?
If your drive reaches about 80% of its capacity, your Mac will get noticeably slower. Partly, this is because of the so-called fragmenting. When there is only so much space left on disk, your Mac will split every new file into pieces or fragments and fit them into available slots elsewhere on your Mac. This slows down how your Mac processes these files. Also, some amount of your RAM (virtual memory) will be taken out to compensate for the loss of disk space.
So, how do you free up space on your Mac?
Free up disk space on Mac
1. Find large files you don’t need
Potential space reclaimed: 2-5 GB
- Go to your desktop and press Command + F
- Choose “This Mac”
- Select Other in the dropdown menu
- Under the Search Attributes menu, tick File Size and File Extension
Well done!Now you can type in different file extensions and sort the results by size. I recommend starting with the .DMG files or application installers. They are just dead weight, and you can live without them. The same goes for .ZIP archives
Macbook Free Up Space
2. Delete your system junk
Potential space reclaimed: 2-5 GB
There are tons of articles written about system junk, and some Mac users claim the system junk is pure evil and slows your Mac down. In my view, it’s only an excess burden to have on your machine — outdated files, browser caches, app localizations, and old-time machine backups.
To delete system junk manually would be a hot mess, even for an experienced user. So if you want to free up space on Mac quickly, just run CleanMyMac X once and forget it. Unlike some supposed 'Mac-Saviours,' this app is actually notarized by Apple, so you’re safe running it.
- Run CleanMyMac X — download the app’s free edition here
- Click the System junk tab.
After you run the Scan, review the files and click Clean.
What else can you delete with this tool:
How To Free Space On My Mac Pro
- Time machine backups
- Temporary documents versions
- Outdated system logs
- App localization files
3. Remove unused apps and all their leftovers
Potential space reclaimed: up to 5 GB
Did you know there are 3 ways of deleting apps on Mac? One is dragging them straight to the Trash from Applications, the other involves Launchpad. And, finally, you can use a third-party Uninstaller tool, which also makes sense because the first two methods leave parts of old apps on your drive.
Delete apps via Launchpad
Still, I prefer deleting apps via Launchpad because it’s more fun. Open Launchpad from your Dock.Now, press the Command key and hold any app icon until they start shaking. You will see the [X] symbol above the icon — click it to delete the app.
Delete your unseen apps
That was easy, but here’s the deal. Every Mac has apps that don’t show up anywhere. They may have installed themselves as parts of other apps or be small supporting applications that programmers call “Launch agents” or “Daemons.” In total, they may eat up a whole lot of disk space.
In my experience, of all app cleaners, CleanMyMac X still tops the list. My personal record — 30 GB I was able to clear up on my Mac that had been taken by unused and suspicious programs. So what can you do?
- Download CleanMyMac X free edition here
- Click the Uninstaller tab.
From there, you can delete apps on a massive scale - simply select the ones you don’t need. Make sure to check the Leftovers section. These are parts and pieces of your old apps that you can’t otherwise access.
4. Delete your duplicate files
I often download an app twice by clicking on it several times or double-save a track to my iTunes library, which creates quite a mess. So if your Mac has started to run out of storage, there is a way to put an end to it. At first, you can try to find duplicates manually, but it can take you way too long with little to no result.
There is a good app called Gemini 2 - the duplicate finder. It allows you to clean out many gigabytes of duplicates in a few clicks. Plus, it allows you to check what would be deleted and deselect items you want to keep.
So, if your Mac is suffering from the invasion of the duplicates, give this software a try.
5. Remove browser cache
If you are a heavy internet user (like I am), your Mac’s drive is full of the browser cache. These are the kinds of bookmarks left on your drive by every site that you visited. What’s your primary browser? Here are the solutions for Chrome and Safari.
To clear Chrome cache
While you are in Chrome,
- Click the three-dot icon at the top right
- Click More tools > Clear browsing data
- Choose a time range to clear the browsing data
- Also, clear “Cached images and files.”
To clear Safari cache
- Click Develop in the top menu.
- Click Empty caches
6. Use Optimized Storage
Apple has some storage management tools that come pre-installed on your macOS. To get to use them, click on the Apple logo > About this Mac > Click the Storage tab > Manage.
How to manage storage on Mac with built-in options
First, inspect the tabs in the sidebar on the left. Your largest files will most likely be stored in Documents. Go inside this category to find files you can scrap. A quick tip: You can mass-select and delete screenshots on your Desktop right from here.
Then, click Recommendations in the top left corner.
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Here Apple offers you 4 options: the first option, “Store in iCloud,” is self-explanatory. Is iCloud paid? Yes, if your storage needs exceed 5 GB which in 2020 is laughably small.The second option, “Optimize Storage,” will remove your already watched content and the old attachments in Mail. This may help you free up a couple of gigabytes. When you need to clear disk space on Mac, every little help counts.
7. Create the map of your drive
This method was shown to me by my programmer friend, who also happens to be a fan of CleanMyMac X. There is a tool in CleanMyMac called “Space Lens” that builds a map of your entire drive. You can see all your disk’s contents in the form of interactive bubbles that represent your big and small folders. It’s the most exciting way to clear space on your Mac. Wow!
Here you can spot the folders that hog the most space. You’ll also find your “Russian dolls” folders that are hidden inside other folders.
Get this app here for free.
8. Take out the Trash
This advice is the easiest of all. Nevertheless, people forget to do it all the time. We throw things down the Trash and think they are over with. But that’s just moving things from one pocket to another. To free up Trash, right-click the bin icon. Then, choose Empty Trash.
How to empty the Trash automatically on Mac
If you don’t like to empty the Trash every time, there is a scheduled option. Your Mac will auto-delete Trash every 30 days if you tell it so.
- Open Finder > Preferences (in the upper menu).
- Now choose Advanced.
- Check this box “Remove items from Trash every 30 days.”
9. Delete extra language files
Potential space recovered: 1 GB
There are 180+ languages in the world, and most of your Mac’s applications can operate in these languages. However beautiful the language diversity is, people usually use just one or two. When you need to clear space on Mac, extra localization files are another target.How to see your language files? Language files end with “lproj” extension, which stands for “language project.” Unfortunately, finding them manually is problematic. Still, if you want to recover 1 GB of free space out of thin air, get hold of CleanMyMac X. It deletes extra localizations automatically.
How To Free Space On My Mac
- Get CleanMyMac X here — a link to a free edition
- Click System Junk and Scan.
- Then press Review Details.
After you click Review Details, you’ll see the tab called Language Files. As one can see, each of those files takes up about 30 MB. You can only guess how much more it will be with 180+ languages.
10. Clear your Desktop
Desktop may not seem a big deal in terms of storage space, but only because people rarely visit it. It’s a well-known fact that a messy desktop wastes tons of space — and, most importantly — slows your Mac down.
Here’s a quick trick to organize your Desktop: click anywhere in the middle of the Desktop and then choose “Use Stacks” in the window that appears. Everything there will be neatly sorted by categories like Screenshots. Now you can mass delete all the thousands of screenshots that most of us have.
If you are using macOS High Sierra or older, you can manually clear disk space on your Mac Desktop.
- Click Finder > Desktop.
- Under View, choose the 3-line icon.
Now you can sort all items by size and delete the largest files.
11. Compress your files
Archiving or compressing files is a nice alternative to permanent deletion. Not all file types compress similarly well, though. For example, documents and presentations can be substantially reduced in size by compression, while movies are harder to shrink.
Luckily, you don’t need a third-party solution to zip things up — your macOS has its built-in tool.
Zip is the lossless compression format that keeps file quality intact.
How to free up disk space on Mac using compression?
- Open Finder and go to your Documents.
- Command + click on a folder (or multiple folders).
- Choose Compress.
Be aware that macOS leaves the original file untouched, so once you have the archive, the original folder can be deleted. After you’re done, you may transfer the newly-created archive onto an external drive.
Well done, you’ve just saved some space!
12. Slim down Time Machine snapshots
If you have Time Machine set up properly, it creates backups of your whole system at any given time. I’m not recommending you to delete these backups completely but to trim down their size. This doesn’t affect your user-created data.I’ll show you how to do it with a free version of CleanMyMac, the tool I mentioned in the previous section.
- Get a free edition of CleanMyMac X
- Click the Maintenance tab.
- Choose 'Time Machine Snapshot Thinning.'
Here you are. After you click Run, you will successfully reduce the size of backups on your Mac.
13. Trash the old iPhone backups
Potential space reclaimed: 10-20 GB
Outdated iPhone backups may take enormous space. If you’ve ever backed up your iPhone with your computer, your Mac probably stores all your phone’s data. It makes sense to check your drive for the outdated backups before they grow out of proportion.
Here’s how to clear space on your Mac by deleting old backups:
- Open Finder > Click Go in the Finder's menu > Go to Folder…
- Paste in:
~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup - Move the insides of the folder to the Trash, and that’s it.
If you want to remove a specific backup, here’s how to do that:
- Connect your device to your Mac using a cable.
- Go to Finder > Locations > Select your device.
- Click Manage Backups.
Right-click, the name of the backup to see the “Show in Finder” command. Move the backup someplace else or delete it using the Delete option.
Note: do this only if you are 100% sure you don’t need your iPhone backups.
14. Get rid of your junk Mail
Potential space reclaimed: 50 MB
Everyone hates junk email. Apparently, Apple hates it too because they included automatic junk mail deletion to their Mail app. Junk mail doesn’t weigh much but still, deleting it is good for the hygiene of your Mac.
- Open Mail app.
- Click on the Mailbox tab.
- Choose Erase Junk Mail.
- Beware that this operation cannot be undone.
Other great tips to automatically reduce clutter
- Use Safari. Starting version 10, it automatically removes duplicate downloads.
- Back up your pictures to Photos.Google.com — it offers unlimited storage. Really.
- Delete extensions in your browser — you can use a free version of CleanMyMac X.
- Delete desktop apps for services that offer online analogs, like Figma.
Okay, I’ve told you my favorite ways to free up disk space on your Mac. You can bookmark this article and revisit it next time when the annoying “Your disk is almost full” message pops up. Decluttering your Mac can add a fresh spark to your digital life — so try it today.