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How to Manage Storage on macOS
Edited 6 months ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team
macOSStorageManagementDiskSpaceOptimizationAppleFilesFoldersCleanup
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Managing storage space effectively on your Mac is crucial to keeping your system working smoothly. Over time, files accumulate and take up space, which can slow down your machine. With macOS, Apple provides tools and options that allow you to easily manage and optimize your storage. Let's take a look at the different methods and strategies you can adopt to manage storage on macOS.
Understanding your storage
Before managing your storage, it is important to understand how your storage is used. macOS provides a built-in feature that helps you get information about storage allocation. To access this feature, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen, select "About This Mac," and then click the "Storage" tab. This will show you a categorized description of what is consuming your disk space, such as applications, documents, photos, music, and more.
Using storage management tools
macOS comes with a handy storage management tool that gives suggestions on how to free up space. Here's how you can use it:
- Click the Apple logo at the top-left corner.
- Select "About This Mac."
- Click the "Storage" tab.
- Click the "Manage..." button.
You'll see a list of suggestions and options for managing your storage:
- Store in iCloud: Move your files, photos, and messages to iCloud to optimize storage space on your local machine. iCloud provides seamless access across Apple devices, but make sure your iCloud plan has enough storage space.
- Optimize Storage: This option automatically deletes iTunes movies and shows you've watched. It also keeps only recent email attachments, letting you save space without having to manage them manually.
- Automatically empty the Trash: Enable this to automatically delete items that have been in the Trash for longer than 30 days.
- Reduce clutter: Find large files and apps you no longer use, and delete them to save space.
Delete unused applications
Apps can take up a lot of your storage. Regularly review and remove apps you no longer need by following these steps:
- Open Finder from your Dock.
- Go to the Applications folder.
- Review the list of installed applications, and if you find an application you no longer use, drag it to the Trash.
- Remember to empty the Trash to completely remove them from your system.
Manage your files and documents
Over time, your Downloads folder and other directories can fill up with files you don't need. Here's how you can manage and clean them up:
- Open Finder and navigate to the Downloads folder.
- Sort files by date or size to quickly find old or large files.
- Delete unnecessary files or archive them to an external drive or cloud storage for future reference.
Use external storage
External hard drives or flash drives can be very helpful when managing limited storage space on your Mac. By offloading files, especially large files like videos and backups, to external storage, you can free up space on your local drive. Simply connect your external drive via USB, Thunderbolt, or another compatible connection and move files as needed.
Use cloud storage services
Apart from iCloud, there are other cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. These services let you store and access files online, reducing clutter on your local disk. Install the respective apps for these services from the official websites, and you can drag and drop files to store them virtually and access them whenever you need them.
Clean up system junk
System junk includes files such as caches, logs, and temporary files. While these are essential for the functioning of applications, they can accumulate and take up space. Manually finding and deleting these files can be tedious; however, the process can be simplified by using an application such as CleanMyMac or DaisyDisk.
Compress files
Compressing files can significantly reduce their size without losing data. This is especially useful for large files that you don't need to access frequently. Here's how to compress files directly through the Finder:
- Open Finder and locate the files or folders you want to compress.
- Right-click the file or folder.
- Select "Compress [file name/folder name]" from the context menu.
The compressed file will be saved in the same location as the .zip file.
Limit downloads and media files
Downloaded media files can take up a lot of storage space. To manage this:
- Avoid downloading unnecessary media files whenever possible; stream them instead.
- For music, use streaming services like Apple Music or Spotify, which don't require songs to be stored locally.
- Regularly review and delete old podcasts, movies, or TV shows from services like iTunes or Apple TV.
Clear browser cache and downloads
Web browsers save cached files to increase browsing speed, but this can also take up storage space. To clear your browser cache:
- Open your web browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, etc.).
- Go to the Preferences or Settings menu.
- Find the option to clear browsing data or cache and perform it.
Clearing the cache from time to time helps to manage disk space effectively.
Delete old iOS device backups
If you back up your iOS device through iTunes, these backups can accumulate without you noticing. To delete older backups:
- Open iTunes or Finder, depending on your macOS version.
- Go to Preferences > Devices.
- Select the older backups you want to delete, then click Delete Backup.
Conclusion
Managing storage on macOS is an ongoing process that involves understanding how your disk space is used and actively taking steps to optimize it. By employing the strategies and tools outlined above, you can effectively free up space, maintain a smooth-running system, and extend the life of your Mac. Whether you're deleting unused apps, using cloud storage, or clearing digital clutter, these actions will help keep your Mac's storage space adequate and efficient.
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