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Large file finder for Mac: find big and old files

A large file finder for Mac does in seconds what Finder’s search does slowly: it lists every big file on a disk, the biggest first, with when you last opened it. This guide shows how to find large and long-forgotten files with MacWashing’s Large Files, narrow the list down by type, size and age, and delete what you don’t need. Nothing is removed until you check a file and confirm.

Large file finder for Mac: how to use it

  1. Open MacWashing and click Large Files in the sidebar. Under Where to Look, choose the disks to check: the startup disk is chosen already. Choose Folder… checks one folder instead.
  2. Click Find Large Files.
MacWashing, Large Files: the disks to check and the Find Large Files button
  1. In a few seconds the list shows every file larger than 50 MB, the biggest first, with its folder. While Still scanning packages and hidden folders… shows, the list grows a little more.
Large Files results: big files with their folders and sizes, and filters by type, size and last opened date

How to delete old files on Mac

  1. On the left, under By Last Opened, click Over a year ago. The list keeps only files you haven’t opened for a year. By Type (Movies, Archives, Documents…) and By Size narrow it down the same way.
  2. Check the files you don’t need. To look at a file first, Control-click it and choose Show in Finder.
Large Files filtered to files opened over a year ago, one video checked
  1. Click Remove (or To Trash) at the bottom and confirm. The Skip the Trash switch next to it decides which: with it on, the space is freed at once.
MacWashing asks to confirm removing the checked file and says it will be deleted permanently

The last opened date is approximate: backups and some apps touch files without opening them. Before deleting a video or an archive you might want later, copy it to an external drive.

What Large Files doesn’t show

  • ~/Library and other app folders: caches and app data are for System Junk, which knows what is safe there.
  • Apps in Applications: remove those with the Uninstaller.
  • Hidden folders, Git repositories and project dependencies such as node_modules: a single file from there can break a tool or a project.
  • The Trash: see how to empty the Trash on Mac.

To see everything, folder by folder, use MacWashing’s Storage: see the disk space analyzer for Mac.

Try it on your Mac

Large Files: files grouped by type, size and last opened date, with videos, Xcode and Linux images at the top

Large Files reads the Spotlight index first, so the list appears in seconds, then checks packages and folders Spotlight doesn’t count.

Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

Questions and answers

How do I find the largest files on my Mac without an app?

In Finder, press Command-F, choose File Size as the search criterion and set is greater than 1 GB. Step by step, with Storage settings too: how to find large files on Mac.

Is it safe to delete large files on Mac?

Files you made or downloaded yourself (videos, archives, disk images, old projects) are safe to delete if you no longer need them. Large Files leaves out system and app folders, so it doesn’t offer files macOS or apps need to run.

Is Large Files free?

Yes. Large Files, Storage and Privacy work without a license and without a limit.