Wondering what’s taking up so much room in your Mac’s storage? Learn what Other Storage is on Mac, where to find it, and how to clear out unnecessary files to optimize your Mac’s storage space.
What Is Other Storage on Mac?
Maximizing storage efficiency on your Mac is important if you want to maintain peak performance, especially on models with limited SSD capacities, like 128GB and 256GB. As your storage nears full capacity, you may encounter the Your Disk Is Almost Full warning, signaling the need to declutter and clear up some space.
When you need to free up space on your Mac, the first place you go is the About This Mac -> Storage. This tab shows the kind of files that occupy your Mac’s memory. Depending on the version of macOS you’re using, the Other Storage category can also be called System Data. It stores the same data as Other Storage, except for the macOS-related files – they’re now stored in a separate macOS category.
For the most part, Other Storage on Mac consists of the files from the Library folder or generated by the system and apps you’re using. Aside from those, you’ll find the following types of files in your Mac’s Other Storage category:
- Documents; screensavers; sheets like PDF, .psd, .doc, .epub, .txt, .xlsx, etc.;
macOS system and temporary files; browser cookies; system logs; document versions; and application cache - Cache files: user cache, browser cache, and system cache
- Disk images and archives files, like .zip and .dmg files
- App plugins and extensions
- Old device backups (like macOS backups)
Everything else that doesn’t fit into the main macOS categories will also be a part of the Other Storage on Mac.
How to Locate Mac Other Storage
Finding the contents of Other Storage on your Mac is a crucial step in taking back your disk space.
Locate the Other Storage category using the Library folder in Finder.
Start by launching Finder and selecting the Go option from the menu bar. Choose Go to Folder and input ~/Library before hitting Enter to dive deeper into your Mac’s storage.
Inside the Library folder, you’ll find subdirectories, each potentially hosting files categorized as Other by macOS. Some of these folders, like Caches and Application Support, contain deletable items that you can easily get rid of. However, deleting other files could disrupt system functionality.
Plus, not all files categorized as Other/System Data will be visible. For those that are hidden files, you’ll have to take additional steps to see them.
How to Clear Other Storage on Mac
The best way to manage your Mac’s storage is to always keep your Mac in order. If you regularly check your Mac for the apps you don’t use and remove them, and delete duplicate files and unnecessary media files, you’ll likely always have space on your computer.
However, if you find that Other Storage is taking up too much of your space, claim some of that space back by removing the files from that category. Clear a lot of that space manually, and use a shortcut in the form of a dedicated disk cleanup tool (which you need to download and install separately).
By Manually Reviewing Files
You can remove a lot of the files that Apple classifies as Other by sifting through files manually. While you should be careful deleting just any large file, there are some file types that you can easily and safely remove from your Mac. These include archives, disk images, cache, temporary files, and old-time machine backups. Follow the steps below to delete each of these file categories.
Delete Disk Images and Archives
Disk images (.dmg) and zip archives (.zip) can hog a lot of storage space on your Mac. If you’ve accumulated too many, follow these steps to delete them.
Open Finder, and type dmg or zip in the search bar in the upper-right corner of the window. Select This Mac to search your entire system. Right-click anywhere in this window, and select Group By -> Size to see the largest files first.
Review the list of files displayed in Finder, and identify those you no longer need. Move these files to the Trash, then empty it.
Delete Cache Files
While cache files are supposed to help your system run faster, when they take up too much space on your Mac, they actually slow it down. Still, it’s important to proceed with caution and only delete the files that are safe to delete (like cache files from applications that you rarely use).
To find and delete your system cache, open Finder, and select Go -> Go to Folder from the ribbon menu. Type ~/Library/Caches/, and click Go.
Go through each folder to find files that can be safely deleted, and move them to the Trash.
Delete Temporary Files
MacOS stores temporary files that are crucial to the system, but they quickly become outdated and can be removed to save storage space.
To delete temporary files, Head to Go -> Go to Folder in Finder, type ~/Library, and find the Application Support folder.
Go through this folder, and search for the infrequently used apps to safely delete them to free up space.
Delete Time Machine Backups
Another way of keeping your Mac’s storage in check is to manage Time Machine backups.
Connect your external hard drive that you use for Time Machine backups to your Mac. Open Finder and navigate to your external disk under Locations.
Open the Backups.backupdb folder. If you use the external disk for multiple Macs, select the folder that corresponds with your device. Find the backups you want to delete, and move them to the Trash.
Once you’ve deleted the backups, it’s best to create a new backup to ensure your data is protected.
Using Third-Party Apps
If you don’t have time to review and remove files from your Mac, consider using third-party apps. These apps are specifically designed to clear out unnecessary files from your system, saving you time and effort. You can use a premium option like CleanMyMac X (free trial available).
Clearing out Other Storage on your Mac doesn’t have to be daunting, especially if you do it regularly. Remember to review and delete unnecessary files from time to time, including the app and system caches, temporary files, and Time Machine backups.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Anya Zhukova.
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