How Much Free Space On Mac

The Optimised Storage features of your Mac help you save storage space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand:

When storage space is needed, files, photos, films, email attachments and other files that you rarely use are stored in iCloud automatically.
Each file stays exactly where you last saved it, and will be downloaded when you open it.
Files that you’ve used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimised versions of your photos.

How much free storage should I have on my Mac? Before we review the storage requirements for applications and documents let’s discuss how much free space is needed on MacBook. If you ever wondered how a MacBook with 4 GB memory (RAM) can run applications that take 20GB on a disk the answer is that modern computers use the so-called virtual. One way to start looking is to click the Apple menu, then select About This Mac. Click on the Storage tab, and System Information displays how much storage each attached drive contains. Below, you see that I have a lot of space available on my 2 TB Fusion Drive, a 4 TB backup drive that’s about 2/3 full, and an install disk that’s wide open. Select “About this Mac,” then “Storage.”. Click on the “Start” button. Select “File Explorer.”. Find and click on “This PC.”. Getting a look at your existing storage use is a great predictor of how much space you will need for the future. Click on the “Apple menu” and select About this Mac. Click the Storage tab and then select Manage - click on Mail in the left-hand sidebar. Underneath, you’ll find out how much space attachments are occupying, select and delete all attachments you no longer need.

If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.

Find out how much storage is available on your Mac

Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.

Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below.

Manage storage on your Mac

The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimising your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.

Store in iCloud

Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:

Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud display a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimised) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.

Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for US$0.99 a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Find out more about prices in your region.

Optimise Storage

Click the Optimise button to save space by automatically removing films and TV shows you've watched. When storage space is needed, films or TV shows that you've purchased from Apple and have already watched will be removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a film or TV show to download it again.

Your Mac will also save space by only keeping recent email attachments on this Mac when storage space is needed. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.

Optimising storage for films, TV shows and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.

Empty Bin Automatically

Empty Bin Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Bin for more than 30 days.

Reduce Clutter

Reduce Clutter helps you identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation or Bin.

You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.

Find out how to redownload apps, music, films, TV shows and books.

Where to find the settings for each feature

The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.

If you're using macOS Catalina or later, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimise Mac Storage setting on the right. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, untick iCloud Drive.
If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimise Mac Storage settings.
In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimise Mac Storage.
In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.

If you're using macOS Catalina or later, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimise Storage selects “Automatically delete watched films and TV shows'.
If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimise Storage selects “Automatically delete watched films and TV shows”.
In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimise Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.

Empty Bin Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Bin Automatically selects “Remove items from the Bin after 30 days”.

Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space

With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac will automatically take these additional steps to save storage space:

Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
Reminds you to delete used app installers
Removes old fonts, languages and dictionaries that aren't being used
Clears caches, logs and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed

How to free up storage space manually

Even without using the Optimised Storage features described in this article, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:

Music, films and other media can use a lot of storage space. Learn how to delete music, films and TV shows from your device.
Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Bin, then emptying the Bin. The Downloads folder is good place to look for files that you might no longer need.
Move files to an external storage device.
Compress files.
Delete unneeded email: In the Mail app, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail. If you no longer need the email in your mailbox, choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.

Learn more

The Storage pane of About This Mac is the best way to determine the amount of storage space available on your Mac. Disk Utility and other apps may display storage categories, such as Not Mounted, VM, Recovery, Other Volumes, Other, Free or Purgeable. Don't rely on these categories to understand how to free up storage space or how much storage space is available for your data.
When you duplicate a file on an APFS-formatted volume, that file won't use additional storage space on the volume. Deleting a duplicate file frees up only the space required by any data you might have added to the duplicate. If you no longer need any copies of the file, you can recover all of the storage space by deleting both the duplicate and the original file.
If you're using a pro app and Optimise Mac Storage, learn how to make sure that your projects are always on your Mac and able to access their files.

/Mac Cleaner /How to Clear Cache on Mac

Q: I heard from my friend that clear cache will free up some space on my Mac but I don’t know how. Can you help? Thanks!

A: If you are searching online for the different ways on how to clear cache on Mac well you are on the right page.

Today I will give you the complete guides on how to delete cache on Mac and get the most out from your Mac, especially you can free try an auto tool to remove caches in just a few clicks. Read along!

People Also Read:How to Clear Application Cache on Mac?How to Speed Up Mac

Article GuidePart 1. Frequently Asked Questions about CachesPart 2. How Do I Empty My Cache on A Mac in One-click?Part 3. How to Clear Cache on Mac Manually?Part 4. Conclusion About Clearing Cache

Part 1. Frequently Asked Questions about Caches

What Is Cache on Mac?

A cache is a collection of temporary files made by Mac as well as the other applications you use. Storing these caches will help you save and hasten processes. Like for example, when you are searching Safari for the first time, the system will already take cache or download images from the specific webpage you visited so the next time you head on to that page, Safari will not have to download the images again.

The same thing happens to your mobile and iPad; the iOS will use cache to speed up the application process. And at the end, you must want to clean your application cache on your Mac to free up space. Over time, caches build up and will consume a large amount of space that may affect the speed performance of the device. So it's necessary to learn how to clear the cache on Mac in this post.

What Are the Main Types of Caches?

Before learning how to clear cache on Mac, let's first talk about what the main types of caches are. There are 3 types of cache on Mac namely: System Cache, User Cache, and Browser Cache. User Cache usually contains apps cache and DNS cache. These 3 can be deleted or cleared but they are located in different folders on your system and might require technicalities at some point.

Where Are Caches Located on Mac?

Actually, you can locate the User Cache (app cache) in ~/Library/Cachesfolder. Each app has its dedicated folder and you can simply find that in the corresponding folders.

Is It Safe to Clear Cache on Mac?

Is it safe to clear the cache on Mac? Yes. Caches help you smoothly browse websites and run your apps. What happens if you clear cache? Well, it just deletes some basic information and can be recreated again if the system needs these caches. So it's safe to clear the cache on Mac normally. You can start clearing the cache on Mac if you follow the step by step guide religiously. Make sure are get yourself familiarized with the system folders before you head on and start deleting caches.

Should I clear cache on Mac? Most of the applications stored by caches are relatively smaller but piles up later on and accumulating space. So you need to clear cache on Mac to free up space. There are 2 main methods to do that, the first is to do it manually if you have quite a background and secondly, by using a program to automatically and safely do the task for you.

Part 2. How Do I Empty My Cache on A Mac in One-click?

If you don’t like to perform the rest of the clearing processes, then learn how to clear cache on Mac using a single click program. To better and safely deleted caches on Mac, use iMyMac PowerMyMac.

This is the best and highly recommended software for you to have the best-performing Mac device. This program simply runs and diagnoses the status of your Mac. Here are some notable features of iMyMac PowerMyMac:

Deletes Unnecessary files
Removes Junk Files
Erase Large files
Shreds Files
Uninstall unneeded folders

It works pretty much as an all-in-one solution for your Mac. So if you are planning to get some space on the Mac, use iMyMac PowerMyMac to clear cache on Mac safely:

Firstly, you need to download and install iMyMac PowerMyMac from its official website, then launch it on your Mac.
Find and click the Master Scan among the options on the left. Let the program scan the entire Junk Files on your Mac.
Preview all the cache files and selectively choose the cache files to be deleted.
Click the Clean button, then just wait until the cleaning process finishes.

You will be confident to use PowerMyMac because it will give you hints on the unnecessary files that can be deleted. For the best result, ensure a backup first prior to clearing caches on Mac. This is just a precaution in case you may have deleted important files while in the process. You can use Apple’s own Time Machine or use your favorite backup program.

Part 3. How to Clear Cache on Mac Manually?

How do I clear my cache and cookies on Mac manually? We will give you the full steps on how to clear cache on Mac manually. First we will guide you on how to delete User cache.

1. Delete System and User Cache:

Follow these steps to remove User Cache:

Open the Finder window and click “Go to Folder” from the Go menu.
Enter ~/Library/Caches.
Go into each of the folders and clean out everything.

Delete System and app Cache:

Go to ~/Library/Caches.
Open the folders for each system file and application.
Delete the files inside the folders only.

Flush DNS Cache:

DNS cache saves the domain (website names) and translates it to IP addresses. You can also manually flush the DNS to ensure that all the websites you visit are working perfectly. Here is how to clear cache on Mac with Terminal:

Type “terminal” on Spotlight.
Type these commands and enter: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;say cache flushed

2. Clear Browser Cache:

How to clear cache on Mac Chrome:

Launch the Chrome Browser, then find and click on the 3-dot icon located at the top right corner of the browser.
Find and click on Settings. Click Advanced.
Click “Clear browsing data”.
Only check the Cached images and files box. For the frequency, choose All time.
Click on the “Clear data” button.
After clearing the caches on Chrome, close the browser and reopen.

How to Clear Cache on Mac Safari:

Launch Safari, then find and click Preferences.
Go to the Advanced tab to enable the Show Develop menu in the menu bar.
Scroll down and click the Develop menu.
Click Empty caches.
Close and then reopen the Safari browser after clearing caches.

How to Clear Cache on Mac Firefox:

At the top right corner of the browser, find and click the burger-like icon.
Click Privacy & Security, scroll and click 'Cached web content'.
Click Clear Now to delete caches.
Exit browser and re-open.
Set the time range to ‘everything’ and limit the cache size in MB by checking the Override Automatic Cache Management box.

Note:

How To Find Out How Much Free Space On Mac

We recommend that you remove the files from the folders, but not the folders themselves. You can also copy everything to a different folder if you are not confident enough just to make sure you have traces when something goes wrong.

After you have finished clearing cache on Mac, don’t forget to empty the Trash folder too. Most of the time, the trash folder contains larger file sizes than the one you are currently using.

Part 4. Conclusion About Clearing Cache

You have just learned the different methods on how to clear cache on Mac. To recap, you can erase cache manually by going over to each folder and erase the contents inside but not the main folder itself.

If you use iMyMac PowerMyMac, the process is refined and more accurate because the program understands which files are okay to remove and which are not. For better results and less headache, choose to download iMyMac. This is the best and highly recommended PowerMyMac with the free download version. Download yours now!

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How To See How Much Free Space On Mac

Abe2020-01-21 16:06:23

How Much Free Space Do I Have On My Mac

Many thanks in advance. I have a problem and hope someone might help me out. Whenever I go to “Manage website data” to remove cookies, I click remove all and they disappear. But some sites remain, the list shows the name of the site and underneath each site it says “Databases”. Does anyone know how I can delete these as well? Thanks again.

iMyMac2020-01-21 17:03:36

Hi, you can try to use Mac Cleaner mentioned in this post to delete those cookies, we have a free trial.

Hendrok2020-01-08 21:27:51

No Develop Tab in Advanced on my MacBook air, how can I do to clear my cache?

iMyMac2020-01-09 09:03:14

Hi, you can use our Mac Cleaner to delete your cache files on your MacBook air, follow the steps in Part 3. Thanks for your support!

Clean up and speed up your Mac with ease

How Much Available Space On Mac

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