How To Clear Storage On Mac

Tips
1

My Mac storage is almost full and it’s starting to slow down and glitch during basic tasks like browsing and editing documents. I’ve deleted obvious large files and emptied the trash, but the “System” and “Other” storage still take up a ton of space. Can someone walk me through effective, safe ways to clear storage on a Mac without accidentally deleting important files or messing up my OS?

2

I had this on my Mac too. Here is what helped, in order, so you see results fast.

  1. Use “About This Mac” storage tools
    • Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage > Manage.
    • In “Recommendations”, enable:
    – Store in iCloud if you use iCloud Drive.
    – Optimize Storage to auto remove watched TV and old mail attachments.
    – Empty Trash Automatically.
    • In “Documents”, sort by Large Files and delete or move stuff to external drive.

  2. Clean “System Data” (old “System/Other”)
    A lot of it is caches and local snapshots.
    • Delete local Time Machine snapshots:
    – Open Terminal and run:
    tmutil listlocalsnapshots /
    – For each snapshot name, run:
    sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots SNAPSHOTNAME
    This usually frees a few GB if you used Time Machine on this disk.
    • Restart after this. The System Data number often drops only after a reboot.

  3. Remove app leftovers and caches
    Do it by hand so you know what you remove.
    Quit apps first.
    • In Finder: Go > Go to Folder and type:
    ~/Library/Caches
    Delete folders of apps you do not use or that eat lots of space.
    Example: browsers, creative apps, game launchers.
    • Same for:
    ~/Library/Application Support
    Check heavy folders like Steam, Adobe, Xcode, etc. Move or delete if you do not need them.
    • Empty Trash again.

  4. Trim iOS backups and Xcode junk
    These sit in “System Data” and grow huge.
    • iOS backups:
    – Finder > click your iPhone > Manage Backups.
    – Delete old ones you do not need.
    • Xcode, if installed:
    – Open Xcode > Settings > Locations > click the arrows beside Derived Data and Archives.
    – Delete old archives and derived data.
    I reclaimed 40+ GB from Xcode alone once.

  5. Browser data and downloads
    • Clear browser caches and old profiles.
    • Check Downloads folder. Sort by size and date. Move or delete.

  6. Large hidden folders
    • Use Apple’s built in storage view first.
    If you want more detail, tools like DaisyDisk or GrandPerspective show big folders visually. I used DaisyDisk, spotted some forgotten VMs and log archives, removed 60 GB.

  7. Check Photos and Messages
    • Photos app > Settings > enable “Optimize Mac Storage” if your photos are in iCloud.
    • Messages: delete old large threads, especially ones with videos.

  8. Final clean up and check
    • Restart again.
    • Go to Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage and let it recalc.
    If you still see bloated System Data, usually it means:
    – Time Machine local snapshots not removed
    – Huge app support folders
    – Lots of iOS backups
    – Old user accounts
    You can also remove old user accounts in System Settings > Users & Groups if they hold files you do not need.

After I did these, my 256 GB MacBook went from “0 bytes free” and laggy Safari to about 60 GB free and everything stopped glitching.

3

System / Other on macOS is basically a junk drawer with a PR team, so yeah, it gets ugly fast. @ombrasilente already nailed most of the obvious and semi-advanced stuff, so I’ll skip repeating that laundry list and hit a few angles they didn’t.

  1. Kill local “Downloads” clones in apps
    Some apps quietly keep their own giant downloads folder. Check:
    • Zoom: Settings > Recording > open folder, plus “Virtual Backgrounds” in ~/Library/Application Support/zoom.us
    • WhatsApp / Telegram / Signal desktop: each has its own “Media” folder under Application Support
    • Microsoft Teams / Slack: also stash caches and media separately from your main Downloads

  2. Check for multiple photo / media libraries
    Even if you use Photos, you might have:
    • Old iPhoto / Aperture libraries still lying around (search in Finder for *.photolibrary, *.photoslibrary, *.aplibrary)
    • “Final Cut Pro / Premiere / DaVinci” projects with render caches & proxy media in Movies or Documents
    These can easily be 20–100 GB. If they’re for old projects, move them to an external drive, don’t just hope Photos “optimized” everything.

  3. Look for third‑party backup & sync clutter
    Everyone talks about Time Machine, but:
    • Dropbox / OneDrive / Google Drive can all store offline copies of everything
    – Check each app’s settings and set large folders to “online only” or equivalent
    • Old backup apps (Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper, some game launchers) may have outdated backups in /Users/Shared or /Volumes clones sitting on your internal disk

  4. Virtualization & dev tools are silent killers
    If you’ve ever “just tested” something:
    • Parallels / VMware / UTM:
    – Their VM images are often in ~/Documents or ~/Parallels and can be 30–80 GB each
    • Docker: even worse
    – Install Docker Desktop, then Preferences > Resources > Disk > Clean / Prune
    – Or in Terminal: docker system df and docker system prune (careful: removes unused stuff)
    These typically register as “System Data” / “Other” and look completely mysterious.

  5. Log files & diagnostic dumps
    Not glamorous, but sometimes huge:
    • Go to /var/log and ~/Library/Logs
    Do not delete everything blindly, but large .log or .trace or .spin files from apps you do not care about can go. Usually safe if they’re clearly for an app you’ve uninstalled.

  6. Old user accounts and shared folders
    This one contradicts what some people suggest: I would not immediately start nuking caches before checking for old user accounts. Caches rebuild, but a forgotten user account can be holding your actual missing 80 GB.
    • System Settings > Users & Groups
    – If you see old accounts you truly do not use: delete and choose “Delete the home folder”. That’s often the biggest single win.

  7. Don’t blindly trust the “System Data” number
    macOS is… optimistic. It mislabels things and sometimes does not update the bar graph in real time. If it says “System” is 200 GB but Finder’s “Get Info” on your whole disk shows a lot less used, then:
    • Boot into Safe Mode (hold Shift on Intel, or press and hold power on Apple Silicon > Continue in safe mode)
    Use the Mac a bit, then restart normally. Safe Mode triggers extra cleanup and can cause System Data to recalc more accurately.

  8. Set a “maintenance floor” so this doesn’t keep happening
    What finally stopped my Mac from turning into a digital hoarder:
    • Decide on a minimum free space like 20–30 GB
    • Once a month:
    – Sort your home folder by size in Finder
    – Check Downloads, Movies, and any “Projects” folder
    – Review at least one “Library/Application Support” folder for apps you no longer use

It’s annoying, but much less annoying than “0 bytes free” and random glitching while you’re trying to edit a doc.

If after all that the System / Other bar still looks insane, that’s often a sign of a messed-up APFS snapshot or a half-broken system. At that point, a clean install with Migration Assistant from user data only (not from a full disk clone) is the nuclear option that actually works long-term.