Mac storage full? What is safe to delete and how to empty the Trash

That 'Your disk is almost full' message is annoying, and it is easy to feel nervous about deleting the wrong thing. The good news is that most of the space on a full Mac comes from a handful of places, and you can clear those safely.

Work through the steps below in order. You will start with the easy wins and only move to the bigger decisions if you still need more room.

First, see what is using the space

Do not delete anything yet. Look first, so you spend your effort where it counts.

1. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and choose System Settings.
2. Click General in the sidebar, then click Storage.
3. Wait a few seconds while the colored bar fills in. It shows how much space is used by apps, documents, photos, and so on.

On a Mac with an older version of macOS, the same screen is under the Apple menu, then About This Mac, then Storage. The names differ a little, but the idea is the same.

Note the biggest category. That is where to start.

How to empty the Trash on a Mac

When you delete a file on a Mac, it does not go away. It moves to the Trash and keeps using space until you empty it. For many people, this alone frees up several gigabytes.

1. Click the Trash icon at the right end of the Dock.
2. Look through what is inside. Anything you want to keep, drag back out onto the Desktop. Or select it and choose File › Put Back to return it to where it came from.
3. Click Empty in the upper-right corner of the window.
4. Click to confirm the warning.

You can also use Finder › Empty Trash from the menu bar.

If you only want to remove one item

Open the Trash, hold Control and click the item, then choose Delete Immediately. The rest stays where it is.

Let the Mac empty the Trash for you

If you forget to do this, you can turn on an automatic clean-up. In Finder, open the Finder menu, choose Settings, then Advanced, and turn on the option to remove items from the Trash after 30 days. You can also find this under System Settings › General › Storage, where it is called Empty Trash Automatically.

What is safe to delete

Here is a plain guide, from safest to most careful.

Usually safe

• Things already in the Trash. As above.
• Old downloads. Installers (.dmg files) and zip files you have already opened are rarely needed again. Open the Downloads folder and sort by size.
• Apps you no longer use. Open the Applications folder, then drag the app you do not want to the Trash.
• Big videos and files you have finished with. The Storage screen can list large files for you.
• Duplicate photos and screenshots. Screenshots pile up on the Desktop more than most people expect.

Let macOS handle it

Apple notes that when space is needed, macOS clears caches and logs that are safe to delete by itself. You do not need to hunt for those folders.

On the Storage screen you will also see a few recommendations from Apple:

• Store in iCloud keeps your Desktop and Documents files, photos, and messages in iCloud Drive, and keeps recently used items on your Mac.
• Optimize Storage removes Apple TV shows and movies you have already watched, and older email attachments, when space is needed.
• Empty Trash Automatically is the 30-day option described above.

Read each one before you switch it on. They change how your files are kept, so choose the ones that suit you.

Leave these alone

• The System and macOS entries on the Storage screen. They are needed to run the Mac.
• Folders inside Library that you do not recognize. Deleting the wrong one can break an app.
• Anything you have no other copy of, like family photos or tax papers, unless you have a backup first.

Clear the biggest files in your Downloads folder

Downloads is often the biggest pile of forgotten files. For a step-by-step method, see how to clean up your Downloads folder without losing anything.

1. Open Finder and click Downloads in the sidebar.
2. Click the Size column heading to put the largest files at the top. If you do not see it, choose View › As List first.
3. Select what you no longer need and press Command + Delete. This moves it to the Trash.
4. Empty the Trash as described above.

Ask Key to help

Key is a free assistant for your Mac that opens apps, finds files, and changes settings, then tells you what it did. You can talk to it or type, and both give the same result. It works in the real windows you already use, so there is nothing to set up first.

For a full disk, it can take you straight to the Storage screen, or help you sort out a messy Downloads folder. You can also ask it to find a file by what is inside it, which helps when you are not sure which copy to keep. See how to find a file by what is inside it.

One rule is built into Key: it never deletes for good. Anything it removes goes to the Trash, so you can still put it back. Emptying the Trash is a step you take yourself, once you are sure.

KeyVoice

My Mac is almost full. Open Storage settings.

opened System Settingswent to General, then Storagewaited for the storage bar to load

I opened the Storage screen, so you can see what is using the space.

Checked: the Storage screen is open and showing the list of categories.

You can stop Key at any point while it is working. Read more about how it works on a Mac in an AI assistant for your Mac that works in your real apps.

A short checklist

1. Open System Settings › General › Storage and see what is biggest.
2. Empty the Trash, after a last look inside.
3. Clear old installers and large files from Downloads.
4. Remove apps you no longer use.
5. Consider the Apple recommendations, such as Empty Trash Automatically.
6. Check the Storage screen again to see how much you have freed.

If your Mac is still full after all this, the cause is usually a large photo library or a big collection of videos. At that point, moving them to an external drive or iCloud is a better answer than deleting more.

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