Release storage space on your Mac

Find out what to do if the starter of your Mac is almost full or if you do not have enough storage space to make downloads, installations or copies.

Release storage space on your Mac

Find out what to do if the starter of your Mac is almost full or if you do not have enough storage space to make downloads, installations or copies.

Discover the amount of storage space available

• Ventura macOS or subsequent version: Choose the Apple menu > System settings, click General in the sidebar, then on storage on the right.
• Previous versions of macOS: Choose the Apple menu > About this Mac, then click storage.

Optimize the storage space

Your Mac can optimize the storage space using iCloud, which automatically releases storage space if necessary.* Let your mac release storage space for you. You can also use its integrated utilities to quickly find files, apps, books, movies and other bulky items, then delete those you no longer need.

• Ventura macOS or subsequent version: optimize storage space
• Previous versions of macOS: Optimizing the storage space

Move or delete files

If you have another storage device, such as an external reader connected to your Mac, you can move files to this device. Multimedia files such as photos and videos can use a lot of storage space, which can encourage you to take measurements such as the following:

You can also delete the files you no longer need. For example :

• Remove music, films, podcasts, or other multimedia content, especially if these are content that you can broadcast or download again.
• Delete files from your download folder. Open this folder from the dock or by selecting go> Downloads in the Finder menus bar.
• If you use the email app for your email, choose mailbox> Erase spam in the mail menu bar. Also choose mailbox> Erase the deleted elements.
• If you use your Mac to save your iPhone or iPad, you can delete old backups.
• Uninstall the apps you no longer use.
• If your Mac is configured for multiple users, delete users who no longer need to access your Mac. You can also ask them to follow the steps of this article after connected to their user account. Also check if the user dossier on Macintosh HD contains unsolved data belonging to deleted users.
• Check if the user on Macintosh HD folder contains shared files that you no longer need to share.

If you do not want to delete certain files, you may save space by compressing them. Then develop them when you need to use them again.

Have you emptied the basket ? When you move a file in the basket, the storage space will not be released until you have emptied it.

* File storage in iCloud uses the storage space for your iCloud package. If you reach the limit of your iCloud storage, you can either buy more or free it. ICloud storage packages are available from € 0.99 (EUR) per month for 50 GB. You can buy additional space directly from your Apple device. Click here to learn more about the prices applied in your region.

Release storage space on your Mac

Find out what to do if the start -up of your Mac is almost full or if you do not have sufficient storage space to make downloads, installations or copies.

Discover the amount of storage space available

• Ventura macOS or subsequent version: Select the Apple menu > System preferences, click General in the sidebar, then click Time Machine on the right.
• Previous versions of macOS: Choose the Apple menu > About this Mac, then click on storage.

Optimize the storage space

Your Mac can optimize the storage space using iCloud to automatically provide more storage space if necessary*. Let your Mac release storage space for you. You can also use integrated utilities to quickly search and delete files, apps, books, movies and other elements that occupy space, then delete the items you no longer need.

• Ventura macOS or subsequent version: discover how to optimize the storage space
• Previous versions of macOS: Find out how to optimize the storage space

Move or delete files

If you have another data storage device, such as an external hard drive connected to your Mac, you can move files to this device. Multimedia files, such as photos and videos, can occupy a lot of storage space. You can therefore perform the following steps:

You can also delete files you no longer need. Here are some examples :

• Delete music, movies, brodos files or other media, especially if these are files that you can watch continuously or download again if necessary.
• Delete files from your downloads folder. Open this file from the dock or by choosing access> downloads from the Finder menu bar.
• If you use the email mail app, choose mailbox> erase spam from the mail menu bar. Also choose mailbox> Erase the deleted elements.
• If you use your Mac to back up your iPhone or iPad data, you can delete old backups.
• Uninstall the apps you no longer use.
• If your Mac is configured for several users, delete users who no longer need to have access to your Mac. Otherwise, ask them to follow the steps described in this article after connecting to their user account. Also look in the users on Macintosh HD all unrelakeed data belonging to previously deleted users.
• Check the user folder on Macintosh HD to find shared files that you no longer need to share.

If you don’t want to delete certain files, you may be able to free up space by compressing them. Decompress them later when you have to use them again.

Have you emptied the basket? When you move a file to the basket, its storage space is not available as long as you have not emptied the basket.

* File storage in iCloud uses the storage space for your iCloud storage package. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or free up space in iCloud. ICloud storage packages are offered from 0.99 USD per month for 50 GB, and you can buy additional space directly from your Apple device. Learn more about the prices in force in your region.