How to Clear System Storage on Mac for Free

Summary: This article provides 6 methods on how to clear system storage on a Mac. Among these methods, using a professional Mac cleaner like MobePas Mac Cleaner is the most favorable one, for the program provides a safe and efficient solution to clean up system storage on Mac.

“When I went to About this Mac > Storage, I noticed my Mac system storage is taking up too much space – over 80GB! Then I clicked on the content of system storage on the left side but it was greyed out. Why is my Mac system storage so high? And how to clear them?”

Does the problem sound familiar to you? There are a certain number of MacBook or iMac users who are complaining “Why is the system taking so much disk space on Mac” and want to know “how to clean up system storage on Mac”. If your MacBook or iMac has a relatively small storage space, the huge system storage can be quite troublesome. This article will tell you what is system storage on Mac and how to reduce system storage on Mac.

What is System Storage on Mac

Before we go to the solution, it is better to know well about the system storage on Mac.

How to Check Your Storage

In About this Mac > Storage, we can see Mac storage is categorized into different groups: Photos, Apps, iOS Files, Audio, System, etc. And the System storage is confusing, making it harder to know what is in the System storage. Generally, the files in the System storage can be anything that cannot be categorized into app, movie, picture, music, or document, such as:

1. The operating system (macOS) that was used to start up the computer and launch applications;

2. Important files for correctly functioning of the macOS operating system;

3. System log files and cache;

4. Cache from Browsers, Mail, photos, and third-party apps;

5. Trash data and junk files.

Why is the System Taking So Much Disk Space on the Mac

Normally, the system takes up about 10 GB on Mac. But occasionally you may find the system storage to be around 80 GB or more. Reasons can vary from Mac to Mac.

When you run out of storage space, the Mac system will automatically optimize the system storage space and clean up useless Mac system files, but this doesn’t always happen. So, what should we do when Mac doesn’t clean its system storage automatically?

How to Clear System Storage on Mac Automatically

To ensure the system runs successfully on the computer, the macOS system and its system files CAN NOT be deleted, but the rest on the list can be erased to free up the system storage. Most of the system storage files are hard to locate and the amount of this kind of file is enormous. We might even delete some important files by mistake. So here we recommend a professional Mac cleaner – MobePas Mac Cleaner. The program offers the best solution to clear system storage on Mac safely and effectively.

Step 1. Download and Launch MobePas Mac Cleaner.

Try It Free

Step 2. Choose Smart Scan on the left column. Click Run.

Step 3. All the trash files that are safe to delete are here. Tick the unwanted files and hit Clean to clear the system storage on Mac.

Step 4. The cleanup is done within seconds!

Using a professional Mac cleaner like MobePas Mac Cleaner shortens your cleaning time and improves the efficiency of the cleanup. With just a few clicks, your Mac will run as fast as new.

Try It Free

How to Clean up System Storage on Mac Manually

If you don’t like to download extra software to Mac, you can choose to reduce system storage manually.

Empty Trash

Dragging the files that you don’t need into the Trash doesn’t mean the complete deletion from your Mac, but emptying the Trash does. We usually forget the files in Trash, and they are very easy to pile up, thus becoming a large part of system storage. So it is recommended to clear system storage on Mac regularly. Follow the steps below to empty your Trash:

1. Click and hold the Trash icon on the Dock (or press the right button with your mouse).
2. A pop-up will appear that says Empty Trash. Choose it.
3. You can also empty the Trash by opening Finder by holding down the Command and Shift, then selecting Delete.

Manage Time Machine Backup

Time Machine works by using both remote storage devices and the local disk for backups if you are making a backup via Wi-Fi. And the local backups will increase your computer’s system storage. Although macOS will automatically purge the local Time Machine backup if there is “not enough storage disk” on Mac, the deletion sometimes lags behind the storage change.

Therefore, it’s critical to manage Time Machine backup. Here we will recommend a workaround to help you delete the Time Machine backup files on Mac manually. But note that, though this method can help you remove the backup files on Mac and release more system storage space if you are afraid of deleting some important backups on your own, you can also choose to wait for the macOS to delete them.

1. Launch Terminal from the Spotlight. In Terminal, type in tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates. And then hit the Enter key.
2. Here you can check the list of all the Time Machine backup files stored on the local disk. You are free to delete any one of them according to the date.
3. Back to the Terminal and type in tmutil deletelocalsnapshots. The backup files will be presented by the snapshot dates. Delete them by hitting the Enter key.
4. Repeat the same steps till the system storage space is acceptable to you.

Tip: During the process, you can check the System Information to see whether the disk space is large enough.

Optimize Your Storage

Apart from the methods mentioned above, there’s another built-in method. As a matter of fact, Apple has equipped the macOS with features to optimize your space. Follow the instructions below:

Step 1. On your Mac, click Apple > About This Mac.

Step 2. Choose Storage > Manage.

At the top of the window, you’ll see a section named “Recommendations”. This section includes plenty of useful suggestions, which can help you reduce system storage on Mac.

Delete Cache Files

If you want to clear more space on your Mac, you can choose to delete useless cache files.

Step 1. Open Finder > Go to Folder.

Step 2. Type in ~/Library/Caches/ — click Go

You’ll see your Mac’s Caches folder. Choose cache files to delete.

Update macOS

Lastly, always remember to update your macOS.

If you download an update to your Mac but don’t install it, it could take up a lot of system storage on your hard disk. Updating your Mac can clear system storage on the Mac.

Also, a macOS bug can take up much space on Mac. Updating your Mac may fix this issue as well.

Conclusion

To conclude, this article introduces the meaning of system storage on Mac and 6 methods on how to clear system storage on Mac. The most convenient and the most effective one is using a professional Mac cleaner like MobePas Mac Cleaner. The program provides a safe and efficient solution to clean up system storage on Mac.

Or, if you don’t want to download extra software on your Mac, you can always clean the system storage on your Mac manually, which may take a lot of time to perform.

Try It Free