How to Figure Out What Other Storage Is on Mac

You may be wondering what the "Other" storage category is on your Mac and why it'south taking upwards precious storage space. Though it may be frustrating to see this unexplained category in your Mac'southward storage category, most of the time, it's useful in some way or some other.

It's worth noting that these files aren't usually harmful or wasteful to your computer's organisation; most are intended to help your Mac run efficiently, and ideally, you lot shouldn't ever have to articulate out your Other files. Unfortunately, they tin quickly clog up a computer low on storage — especially if you lot're storing a large number of iPhone or iPad backups.

Whether you're looking to free up space on your hard drive or merely want to practise some spring cleaning, here are some simple steps to get your Mac free and clear.

A note on what happened to 'Other' space in macOS Sierra and higher

When Apple added its storage management feature to macOS Sierra and newer, called Optimize Storage, information technology reorganized what "other" storage is and where information technology's located on the Mac. Much of it has been divided out through other categories so it's easier to find and remove.

The 100GB of Other storage I used to carry on my iMac is whittled downwardly to just 5GB. You can still clean out onetime and unnecessary content from your Mac past using Optimized Storage, fifty-fifty if your "Other" category storage use isn't all that big.

How to use Optimized Storage on Mac

A lot of the features of Optimized Storage remove content from your Mac and store them in iCloud. If yous're concerned with how much storage you're using upwards in iCloud, y'all can customize or disable some Optimized Storage features to keep a residual betwixt what's on your Mac and what'southward in iCloud.

How to customize or disable Optimized Storage on Mac

What'due south this 'Purgeable' category all most?

If you check your organisation storage graph in macOS, you'll probably notice a category called Purgeable. This is function of Apple's Optimized Storage service. When you lot movement your Documents into iCloud (role of the Store in iCloud component) and your hard bulldoze gets depression on storage, only recently opened files are kept on your Mac. Older documents are stored in iCloud, while a shortcut icon is kept on your Mac (files are automatically re-downloaded to your Mac equally before long equally you open up them). The Purgeable files are what Optimized Storage will motility to iCloud and delete from your hard bulldoze only if your hard bulldoze starts to become full. Purgeable files also include caches and temporary files that used to fit into the Other category, which volition also be deleted as your hard drive starts to fill upward.

Though your Other storage might take been spread out beyond categories in macOS Sierra and higher, yous can still follow the below steps to manually clean up your Mac and get rid of unnecessary files.

How to bank check your storage space on your Mac

If y'all are concerned with how much storage space you accept remaining on your Mac figurer, you can check its usage folder to see how much space each category is taking up, including Other.

1. Click on your desktop or the Finder icon from the Dock.
2. Select the Apple Menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

3. Click on About This Mac.

   Source: iMore

4. Select Storage.

   Source: iMore

Your Mac breaks downwardly its storage categories as follows: Apps, Movies, Photos, Sound, Backups, and — that annoying, undescriptive category — Other.

How to remove cached files

Now that you know how much space your Other files are taking up, it's fourth dimension to reduce their footprint on your Mac. You lot can start by removing items you don't need, including caches for your web browser, saved Apple Music streams, and photograph previews.

A annotation on deleting cache folders: You only want to delete former and unnecessary files, as electric current enshroud files store your preferences. We strongly recommend only deleting cache files from old apps.

1. Click on your desktop or select the Finder icon from the Dock.
2. Select the Go carte in the upper left corner of the screen.

3. Click on Get to Folder.

   Source: iMore

4. Type ~/Library/caches into the text box. A list of caches from active apps volition appear on your desktop.

   Source: iMore

5. Select the app folder you lot wish to remove the enshroud from.
6. Right-click (or control-click) on the app folder.

7. Select Move to Trash.

   Source: iMore

How to remove downloaded files

Chances are, your Downloads folder is stuffed with Other-type files, including installer packages, documents, and folders you have already made copies of somewhere else. If you lot want to make some room on your Mac, it may be fourth dimension to clean out your Downloads folder.

1. Click on your desktop or select the Finder icon from the Dock.
2. Select the Go carte du jour in the upper left corner of the screen.

3. Click on Downloads.

   Source: iMore

4. Select the file y'all wish to remove.
5. Correct-click (or control-click) on the file.

6. Select Movement to Trash.

   Source: iMore

If yous desire to save a file from the Downloads folder merely don't want information technology clogging your drive, consider moving it to an external hard drive or flash bulldoze, or uploading information technology to an online storage option like Dropbox.

How to delete sometime device backups in iTunes

If you tend to get new iOS devices adequately regularly, you may accept unnecessary device backups stored on your reckoner via iTunes. Backups take upward iv-5GB each, on average; at that place's no need to hold on to older device backups if you no longer have the device or have it stored in iCloud.

How to delete an iPhone or iPad fill-in from iTunes

Third-party software that can assistance

While you don't need any third-party app to "clean" your Mac, there are some very handy system access tools out there that brand information technology easier to regularly remove unwanted files.

CleanMyMac iii

With CleanMyMac, y'all take like shooting fish in a barrel access to a list of features that assistance you keep your Mac free of unnecessary junk. It scans your unabridged system and recommends files you should delete based on how one-time they are and whether they are considered unnecessary to your workflow. Information technology's a lot similar Apple's Optimized Storage, but with a few boosted features. My favorite is the recommendation to delete all content related to an application. Sometimes, y'all'll cease upwards with a couple of files left behind by an app when you delete it. CleanMyMac provides a one-push purge of everything associated with that app.

$39.99 - Download Now

DaisyDisk

DaisyDisk scans your Mac and gives you lot a pie nautical chart that makes it easy to run into what files are using up the most infinite. Y'all can identify files that are in the Other storage category and drag them to the delete box.

$9.99 - Download Now

Onyx

Onyx is a robust Mac organisation access tool that, in-part, can delete caches, logs, temporary items, and other files that find their way into the Other storage category.

Complimentary - Download At present

Cocktail

Cocktail is another useful organization access tool that you can use to clear caches, purge memory, and manage hidden Apple app settings, which might be automatically sending files into the Other category abyss.

$nineteen - Download Now

Questions?

Still having trouble with Other? Let us know in the comments.

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