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Mac Guides

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3 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026

How to Free Up Space on a Mac

If your Mac says it's running low on storage, these steps can reclaim gigabytes of space without deleting anything important.

At a Glance

Check how much storage you have left

~21s

Click the Apple menu (the apple icon in the top left corner) → "About This Mac" → "Storage." You'll see a colored bar showing how your storage is being used — with different colors for different file types. Hover over any color to see what type of files it represents. This gives you a clear picture of where your storage is going.

Use macOS Optimize Storage feature

~29s

Click the Apple menu → "About This Mac" → "Storage" → click "Manage." Click "Optimize Storage" → click "Optimize." This removes movies and TV shows you've already watched from Apple TV (they can be re-downloaded for free later). It also keeps only recent email attachments locally, moving older ones to iCloud. This alone can free several gigabytes on many Macs.

Quick Tip

Also turn on "Store in iCloud" in this same window. It moves files you haven't accessed recently to iCloud, keeping your Mac storage free while preserving all your files.

Empty the Trash

~20s

When you delete files on a Mac, they go to the Trash but don't actually free up space until you empty it. Right-click the Trash icon in the Dock at the bottom of your screen and click "Empty Trash." Click "Empty Trash" to confirm. Depending on what's in your Trash, this might free up a significant amount of storage right away.

Delete large files you no longer need

~23s

In the Manage storage window (AppleAbout This MacStorageManage), click "Documents" → "Large Files." Your Mac lists the biggest files on your computer, sorted by size. Scroll through and delete files you no longer need — especially old downloaded videos, large ZIP files, or software installers you already ran. Select a file and press the Delete key, then empty the Trash.

Remove unused applications

~20s

In Finder, click "Applications" in the sidebar. Look for apps you installed but never or rarely use. Drag any app you want to remove to the Trash. Right-click the Trash → "Empty Trash." Large apps like GarageBand, iMovie (if unused), Microsoft Office, or games can each take several gigabytes. Removing even one or two large unused apps can free significant space.

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A Mac that's running out of storage slows down, can't install updates, and may start showing warnings. The good news is that macOS has built-in tools to help you find and remove files taking up the most space — including things you probably don't need anymore.

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Official Resources

Apple Support How-To Geek — Mac Apple Support YouTube

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