How to free up space on Mac
To free up space on Mac, you rarely need to clean everything: most of the space usually goes to a few things — downloads, large videos, iPhone backups, caches and apps you no longer use. This guide shows how to see what fills the disk, what macOS can clear by itself, what is worth deleting by hand and what you’d better leave alone.
- Open MacWashing and choose System Junk in the sidebar.
- Click Start Scan.
- Look through what it found and click Clean. Anything debatable stays unchecked.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
How to check storage on Mac
- Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Storage.
- The bar at the top shows how much space each category takes: apps, documents, photos, iOS files, System Data and others. Give it a minute: macOS counts the sizes before it shows them all.
- Click the (i) button — Show Detail — next to a category to see what’s inside. Some categories list files you can select and remove with Delete. Others open the app they belong to.
System Data is the one category you can’t manage there. See what System Data is and how to reduce it.
Optimize Mac storage with Apple’s recommendations
Under the bar, Storage settings offer a few recommendations. Turn on the ones that fit how you work:
- Store in iCloud keeps Desktop and Documents files in iCloud Drive and photos in iCloud Photos. When space runs low, only recently opened files stay on the Mac. It needs enough iCloud storage, which usually means a paid plan.
- Optimize Storage removes Apple TV movies and shows you’ve already watched and keeps only recent email attachments on the Mac when space is needed.
- Empty Trash automatically erases items that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.
Deleted files take space until the Trash is emptied: see how to empty the Trash on Mac.
How to free up space on Mac: the biggest wins
- Downloads. Installers, archives and videos pile up there for years. See how to delete downloads on Mac.
- Large files. A few forgotten videos or disk images can take more space than everything else. See how to find large files on Mac.
- iPhone and iPad backups. Each takes from a few to tens of gigabytes. See how to delete iPhone backups on Mac.
- Apps you no longer use, together with the files they leave behind. See how to uninstall apps on Mac completely.
- Caches. Apps rebuild them, so clearing them is safe. See how to clear cache on Mac.
- Mail. In Mail, choose Mailbox › Erase Junk Mail, then Mailbox › Erase Deleted Items. For attachments, see how to clear Mail storage.
- Files you keep but rarely open. Apple suggests moving photos, videos and other such files to an external drive.
What not to delete
/Systemand other system folders: macOS protects them and manages them itself.- The Photos, Music and Mail libraries in Finder: delete photos, songs and messages inside those apps instead.
- Time Machine local snapshots: your Mac counts their space as available and deletes them when it needs room. See how to delete Time Machine backups.
- Files in iCloud Drive you only want off this Mac: deleting them here deletes them on your other devices too.
With MacWashing, it’s one click
System Junk in MacWashing finds app caches, logs, old installers and leftovers of deleted apps, shows how much each takes and clears them in one go. Anything debatable stays unchecked until you decide.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Questions and answers
Will MacWashing delete my own files when it cleans?
No. It removes only what it can match to a known app or a known kind of junk, in places apps leave files; macOS and Apple’s files are never touched. Anything debatable is marked and stays unchecked until you decide.
What about apps that are open?
If an open app holds files being cleaned, MacWashing waits for it to quit or quits it at your request, and opens it again afterwards.
Is it free?
Yes, within the free trial: System Junk and the Uninstaller free up to 25 GB in total, with no account or card needed.
How to free up space on Mac quickly?
Open System Settings › General › Storage, empty the Trash, then check Downloads and the large files in the Documents category. These three steps often free the most space for the least effort.
Why is my Mac storage full when I have few files?
The space often goes to things you don’t see in your folders: caches, iPhone backups, Time Machine local snapshots and the data of apps such as virtual machines. Storage settings show which category is the biggest.
Will freeing up space make my Mac faster?
Only if the disk was nearly full: macOS needs free space for virtual memory, temporary files and updates. With plenty of free space, deleting files won’t change the speed. See how to speed up a slow Mac.