How to Clear Other Storage on Mac
Understanding Other Storage Before Cleaning
Other storage on Mac is a broad category that captures caches, logs, temporary files, plugins, and app data that macOS cannot classify elsewhere. Before you start deleting things, it helps to understand that not all of this data is junk. Some of it, like app databases and preferences, is important.
The goal when learning how to clear other storage on mac is to target the truly temporary and unnecessary files while leaving the important data alone. This guide walks you through each type of file in the Other category and whether it is safe to remove.
Step 1: Clear Application Caches
Application caches make up the biggest portion of Other storage for most users. Open Finder, press Command + Shift + G, and navigate to ~/Library/Caches. Each folder inside corresponds to an app. Open the largest folders and delete their contents.
To find which folders are biggest, you can right-click each one and select Get Info, or use Terminal with the du command to list all cache folders sorted by size. This is how to clear other storage on mac efficiently — focus on the top five or ten largest cache folders. Common heavy hitters include browsers, Slack, Spotify, and development tools.
Reclaim Mac finds and removes junk files automatically.
Step 2: Remove Log Files
Log files record events and errors on your Mac. They are useful for troubleshooting but serve no purpose after the fact. Open ~/Library/Logs in Finder and delete old log files. Also check /Library/Logs for system-level logs and /var/log for additional logs.
Most log files are small individually, but they add up. A Mac that has been running for a year or more without log cleanup can have hundreds of megabytes of logs. Deleting them is completely safe, and new logs will be created as needed going forward.
Step 3: Clean Up Application Support
When you uninstall an app by dragging it to Trash, its support files often remain in ~/Library/Application Support. These orphaned folders contain databases, cached content, and configuration files for apps you no longer have.
Browse ~/Library/Application Support and look for folders matching apps you have uninstalled. If you find a folder for an app you removed months ago, delete it. This is a significant way to how to clear other storage on mac. Some app support folders can be several gigabytes, especially for apps like Steam, Adobe products, and Parallels.
Step 4: Delete Old Disk Images and Archives
Downloaded .dmg, .iso, and .zip files count toward Other storage. These often linger in your Downloads folder or on your Desktop. Open Finder and search for files ending in .dmg to find all disk images. Also search for .zip and .pkg files.
After installing software from a disk image, you don't need the .dmg file anymore. Same for .zip archives after extracting them. Deleting these files is safe and can help you how to clear other storage on mac by several gigabytes if you have been downloading software for a while.
Step 5: Handle Time Machine Snapshots
If you use Time Machine, local snapshots may contribute to Other storage. macOS keeps these snapshots on your internal drive for quick restores. Open Terminal and use the tmutil listlocalsnapshots command to see all local snapshots.
To delete a specific snapshot, use the tmutil deletelocalsnapshots command followed by the date. To delete all local snapshots, you can temporarily disable Time Machine in System Settings, which triggers snapshot cleanup. Re-enable it after the snapshots are removed.
Maintaining Low Other Storage
After your cleanup, keep Other storage in check with a few habits. Clear browser caches weekly through your browser's settings. Review ~/Library/Caches monthly. Properly uninstall apps by also removing their Library folders. Restart your Mac weekly to clear temporary files.
With these habits, your Other storage should stay at a reasonable 5 to 15 GB instead of ballooning to 50 GB or more. A little regular maintenance goes a long way when learning how to clear other storage on mac permanently.
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