How to Free Up Space on a Mac

Filling up your hard drive can significantly slow down your Mac. To keep things running smoothly, you should always keep 10–20% of your storage free. Here’s everything you need to know about how to free up space on your Mac by deleting photos, apps, and other files.

How to Check Your Free Space on a Mac

To check your free space on a Mac, click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your screen and select “System Settings.” Then go to “General” in the left sidebar and select “Storage” on the right. Finally, you will see your total storage and free space in the top-right corner of the window.

1. Click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your screen.
2. Select “System Settings.”
3. Go to “General.” You will see this in the left sidebar of the Settings window.
4. Select “Storage.” You will see this on the right side of the window.
5. Finally, you will see your total storage capacity and remaining disk space in the top-right corner.

From here, you can scroll down and select one of the options under “Recommendations” to automatically free up space on your Mac.

For example, select “Store in iCloud” to move your photos and other documents to iCloud. Select “Optimize Storage” to automatically remove watched movies and shows from Apple TV. Finally, select “Empty Trash automatically” to delete items in your trash after 30 days.

Below the recommendations, you can also click the “i” icon to the right of any category to find and delete the largest files on your Mac. For example, if you click the “i” icon next to “Applications,” you’ll be able to see all your installed apps, sort them by size, and click “Delete” to free up space on your Mac.

Note: Once you’re done, remember to empty the Trash to permanently delete the files.

How to Find and Delete Large Files on a Mac

To find and delete large files on a Mac, open a Finder window and press the Command (⌘) + F keys on your keyboard. Then click “Kind” and select “File Size” from the drop-down menu. Finally, select “is greater than” from the other drop-down and enter a file size.

1. Open a Finder window. To do this, click the half-blue, half-gray face icon in the Dock at the bottom of your screen. Or you can click your desktop and press the Command (⌘) + N keys on your keyboard. 
2. Press the Command (⌘) + F keys on your keyboard. You can also open this window by clicking “File” at the top of your screen and selecting “Find.”
3. Select “Kind.” You will see this drop-down menu in the upper-left corner of the window.  
4. Select “File Size.” If you don’t see this option listed, click “Other” and enter “File Size” in the search bar. Then check the box next to “File Size” and click “OK.”
5. Choose the next drop-down list and select “is greater than.” This will filter all files on your Mac that are greater than your specified size.
6. Enter a file size and select the final drop-down to choose KB (kilobytes), MB (megabytes), or GB (gigabytes). For example, you can search for all the files on your Mac that are greater than 10MB.
7. Finally, select the files you want to delete and move them to the Trash. Use the “Size” column to sort the results from largest to smallest.  

   Note: Click the “+” icon to add another filter. For example, you can choose to only show images, apps, or documents that are greater than 10MB.

   

How to Delete Photos and Videos on a Mac

To free up space on a Mac, open the Photos app and go to “Library” in the left sidebar. Then select the photos you want to remove, right-click them, and select “Delete.” Finally, select “Recently Deleted” in the left sidebar, and click “Delete All” in the top-right corner.

Read More: How to Import Photos from an iPhone to a Mac

1. Open the Photos app on your Mac.
2. Go to “Library.” You will see this in the left sidebar. You can also select another album or category in the left sidebar.
3. Select the photos you want to delete. You can use the Shift or Command (⌘) keys to select multiple photos at once or press the Command (⌘) + A keys at the same time to select all your photos and videos at once.
4. Right-click your selected photos and select “Delete.”
5. Then, go to “Recently Deleted.” You will see this in the left sidebar.
6. Enter your password. This is the same password as you use to sign into your Mac.
7. Finally, click “Delete All.” You will see this in the top-right corner of the window.

How to Delete Music on a Mac

To free up space on your Mac, open the Apple Music app and click “View” at the top of your screen. Then select “Only Downloaded Music” to see all your downloaded songs. Finally, right-click the songs you want to remove and select “Remove Downloads.”

1. Open the Apple Music app.
2. Click “View” at the top of your screen.
3. Select “Only Downloaded Music.” This will show you all the songs that have been downloaded to your Mac from the Apple Music app.
4. Select the songs or albums you want to remove.
5. Finally, right-click your selected albums and choose “Remove Downloads.” This will only remove the downloaded files. You will still be able to find the songs in your library and stream them in your playlists.

How to Delete Backups on a Mac

If you use your Mac to back up your iPhone or iPad, plug the device into your Mac using a USB cable. Then open a Finder window and select your device in the left sidebar. Finally, go to “Manage Backups,” select a backup, and click “Delete Backup.”

1. Plug your device into a Mac using a USB cable.
2. Open a Finder window and select your device from the left sidebar. If you don’t see your device listed under “Locations,” you might need to select “Trust” on your device and Mac.
3. Select “Manage Backups.” You might need to scroll down to see this option.
4. Finally, select “Delete Backup.”