Mac storage, explained.

Practical guides to understand what fills your Mac and free up space without breaking anything. Written for macOS 27 Golden Gate, 26 Tahoe and 15 Sequoia.

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Duplicate files on a Mac: why APFS clones change the maths

Finder copies on APFS are often clones that share space, so deleting them frees almost nothing. How to find real duplicates safely and what to leave alone.

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Mac storage full and slow? How much free space macOS really needs

Why a nearly full Mac slows down, what macOS uses free space for (swap, updates, snapshots, caches) and practical targets for 256 GB to 1 TB Macs.

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How to free up space on a Mac: the complete 2026 guide

A step-by-step checklist to free up Mac storage in 2026, from Apple’s built-in tools to apps, iPhone backups, developer files, AI models and media.

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macOS & System Data

I deleted files but my Mac storage didn’t change: why, and how to fix it

Deleted files but no space came back? The usual causes are the Trash, apps holding files open, local snapshots, APFS clones and slow storage figures.

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How much free space does a macOS update need?

Minor updates vs major upgrades, what Apple says, why the installer needs far more than the download, and how to clear space fast for macOS 27.

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Purgeable space on a Mac: what it is and why Finder and df disagree

Purgeable space is data macOS can delete on its own when it needs room. Learn what counts, why Finder and df disagree, and when to free it yourself.

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Time Machine local snapshots taking up space: what they are and what to do

Local Time Machine snapshots can hold gigabytes on your Mac. Learn when they are created, how to list, thin or delete them, and why you rarely need to.

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What is “System Data” on a Mac, and how do you reduce it?

System Data is the catch-all part of Mac storage: caches, logs, snapshots, swap, backups and more. See what it holds and what is safe to reduce.

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Developers

Docker Desktop’s disk image is huge: how to shrink Docker.raw on a Mac

Why Docker.raw looks enormous, how to measure its real size, which prune commands free space and which keep your volumes, and when to cap or move it.

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node_modules everywhere: how to find them, clean them and get them back

Find every node_modules folder on your Mac with its size, delete the ones you don’t need, reinstall from the lockfile and clear package manager caches.

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Homebrew cleanup: how to free the space brew uses on your Mac

What brew cleanup removes and keeps, how to clear the download cache, remove orphaned dependencies and old versions, and measure Homebrew’s footprint.

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Is it safe to delete Xcode DerivedData, old simulators and iOS DeviceSupport?

What each Xcode folder in ~/Library/Developer holds, which ones Xcode rebuilds, why Archives need care, and the simctl commands that remove simulators.

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Local AI

Where Ollama, LM Studio and Hugging Face store models on a Mac, and how to remove them

Find every local AI model on your Mac: Ollama, LM Studio, the Hugging Face cache, ComfyUI and more. Remove them with each tool’s own command, or move them.

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Apps

How to uninstall Mac apps completely, leftovers included

Dragging an app to the Trash leaves its data in Library folders. Where leftovers live, which uninstallers to use, and what you should never delete by hand.

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iCloud & cloud drives

iCloud Drive: “Remove Download” vs “Delete” — what each one really does

Remove Download frees Mac space and keeps the file in iCloud; Delete removes it everywhere. Plus Keep Downloaded, Finder icons and Dropbox or OneDrive.

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