Freeing up space

Free Without Deleting: shared duplicates and compressed cold files

Get space back while keeping every file: identical copies share their space as APFS clones, and files unused for two months are compressed by macOS.

By the MoreRoom team, Yando Pte. Ltd.This page as Markdown

In short

  • Identical files share their space: each copy stays in its place with its own name, dates and tags, but the data is stored once, like a Finder duplicate.
  • Cold files take less space: files you haven’t used for two months are compressed by macOS itself and open exactly as before. You can undo it.
  • Searching is free; Share Space and Compress need Pro. Nothing is ever deleted.

How to free space without deleting

  1. Open Free Without Deleting Click Free Without Deleting in the sidebar. It searches the location of your current scan, or your home folder if there’s none.
  2. Wait for the search MoreRoom looks at files of 1 MB or more, compares those of the same size, then checks their contents. You can cancel at any time.
  3. Share duplicate space Under Identical files share their space, check the largest groups, then click Share Space and confirm.
  4. Compress cold files Under Cold files take less space, check the folders listed, then click Compress and confirm.

Identical files share their space

On Apple’s APFS file system, two files can share the same data on disk until one of them changes — that’s what Finder does when you duplicate a file. MoreRoom finds copies of the same file (downloads, installers, simulator data, packages…) and turns them into such clones:

  • every copy stays where it is, with its own name, dates and tags, and opens as before;
  • the data is stored once, so the extra copies stop taking space;
  • if you later edit one copy, macOS gives it its own space again — the other copies don’t change.

The card shows how much can be shared in n groups, and Largest groups lists them (“3 copies of 1.2 GB”), with a button to reveal them in Finder. Click Share Space (Pro): MoreRoom checks every file again right before, and leaves alone files that changed or are in use. A message tells you how much was freed and how many copies now share their space.

There’s nothing to undo: each file is still a complete, independent file.

Cold files take less space

macOS can store files compressed and decompress them on the fly when they’re read — it does this for many of its own files. MoreRoom applies it to files you haven’t used for two months that compress well:

  • the card shows how much can be saved in n files, and the folders where the most can be saved;
  • click Compress (Pro) and confirm. Each file is copied compressed, checked to be identical, then swapped in. Files in use or changed meanwhile are left alone;
  • files stay in place and open exactly as before.

To reverse it, click Undo next to Last compression on the same card: the files are restored to their original form. If you compressed several times, undo them one after the other.

Where it searches

The search covers the place you scanned last (for example Macintosh HD), or your home folder if you haven’t scanned yet, and only files of 1 MB or more. Folders listed in Settings › Exclusions are skipped. Click Search Again after big changes.

Good to know

  • Shared copies count once on disk, but Finder still shows each file’s full size — see why numbers differ.
  • Copying a shared file to another disk copies all its data, as usual.
  • Our guide Duplicate files and APFS clones explains clones in detail.