Storage space on your Mac is precious, especially if you have a 128GB, or even a 256GB SSD. Your Mac can first to ho-hum down and not perform besides when your storage is almost total, at which point you lot might see a "Your Startup Disk Is Full" warning. So information technology's important to know what's using upwardly the space on your disk and clear out redundant files that build upwardly over time.

Some other reason you might demand to free up space on your Mac is if yous are attempting to install a new macOS update. When information technology arrived in 2020 Big Sur was notorious for its hefty storage requirements - with some users faced with the challenge of freeing up almost 50GB of space in order to install it. (In fact We had that verbal problem - read Big Sur besides large for 128GB Mac.)

Similar problems arose when macOS Monterey arrived on in Oct 2021, leaving a multitude of Mac users looking for ways to get more space on their Mac so that they could install it. Read: How to update to Monterey.

However, Monterey brought a big change to the way that macOS displays the different kinds of storage. Prior to Monterey you'd accept seen Other as a storage category, which always seemed to take up a considerable amount of infinite. In macOS Monterey Other no longer shows upwards as a category of storage. Some users might find a new Organization Data storage tab.

However, a lot of people are still looking for ways to delete Other storage, then in this article nosotros will accost how to go rid of Other storage, and we also the things you can delete in macOS Monterey if you feel something is taking up as well much infinite.

Tin can I delete Other storage on my Mac?

Faced with the demand to make infinite on your Mac y'all volition no doubt be because what yous tin delete. You might be assuming the worst and preparing to remove some of your photos, videos, music and documents – but then you might stumble upon an allocation of something called Other storage that is taking up numerous gigabytes on your drive and wonder whether you lot tin free up infinite by deleting Other.

Apple tree's conclusion to name this storage Other probably didn't assistance discourage people from attempting to delete it. It's similar the Stuff binder people tend to put unimportant things in - information technology basically says delete me! This may well be why in macOS Monterey in 2021 Apple has renamed this so it just shows upwards as macOS, a name that doesn't say delete me!

If you are wondering what is Other in Mac storage and want to know if you tin delete Other storage - and if y'all should, we volition respond your questions. Plus we'll explain how y'all can delete Other storage on Mac.

Nosotros'll as well discuss how you lot can delete what was known as Other storage in Monterey, including how to admission Organisation Information, whether this is the same as Other, and if there is anything you lot can delete from that.

We besides run through various ways to free up space on your Mac in a separate article.

If you aren't sure how to run into how much deejay space your Mac has read: How to check how much storage yous accept on your Mac.

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What is Other on a Mac?

When confronted with the need to complimentary up storage on your Mac we're guessing that your first port of telephone call was About This Mac, where there is a handy tool to help yous manage your storage - and it'southward here that we're assuming you saw the gigantic Other category.

If you weren't already enlightened of the Near This Mac storage view, it'south offers diverse tools to help y'all run into and manage what takes up all the types of storage on your Mac. To get to this basic overview of what's taking upward the space on your Mac by following these steps:

  1. Click on the Apple Logo in the top left.
  2. Get to Nearly This Mac.
  3. Cull Storage. Wait while it calculates.
  4. Eventually you will see a bar chart showing what types of files are taking upward space on your Mac, similar to the paradigm below. In our case, yellow is Photos, cerise is Apps, light blueish is Messages, purple is Music, dark blue for Mail, calorie-free bluish for iCloud Drive and grey for Arrangement. Other is the biggest consumer of storage in our case: 38.55GB.

    Delete Other Storage

  5. Click Manage and you will meet a screen like the one below. Here yous can brand various tweaks to your arrangement, choosing to store files in iCloud, for instance, or reviewing files to reduce clutter.

    What is other storage on mac: Managing Mac disk space

  6. However, y'all tin can't access Other here at all - notice how information technology's greyed out in the left hand cavalcade.

With Other such a large consumer of storage you are most likely wondering what exactly Other is.

While about of the chief categories for file types is straightforward, the Other diverseness tin be quite a mystery. If information technology isn't music, documents, videos, photos or apps, what could information technology exist?

The label 'Other' is applied by the system to files that don't fit squarely into those types, such every bit installer packages, cache files, old Fourth dimension Machine backups, app extensions, temporary files and the similar. Most are those that you don't demand any more than, but they've got to be stored somewhere, then they get dumped in the Other category.

Aside from Other another big user of storage space is System - nosotros have a divide article nigh what's in Organisation and what you can delete.

Other storage on macOS Monterey

In macOS Monterey System Data as well includes junk files, app information, browser plugins and Time Car snapshot - which is essentially the same kind of content as Other storage used to contain, then the same advice beneath well-nigh how to delete this content will apply.

How to run across what'due south in Other

And so now we know what types of files stop up in Other, but how tin we actually see what's taking up all the Other space on our Macs?

To come across what's using upwards all that Other infinite y'all'll demand to open the Finder and head to the Library folder, as that's usually where the bulk of Other content is stored.

Depending on how your system is set, you lot might not be able to come across the Library binder in your normal Finder window, so the easiest way to jump directly to it is to follow these steps:

  1. Open Finder.
  2. Click on the Go option in the carte bar.
  3. Select Go to Binder.
  4. And so type in ~/library and press enter.

What is other storage on Mac: Finding the Library folder

You'll now be presented with a long list of folders, near of which will contain files accounted by macOS to be Other.

You'll meet a lot of folders, many of which we would advise you to step away from immediately. However there are a few folders here that you might be able to safely delete some items from, for case, Caches and Application Back up. But yous need to be very careful as y'all dig around looking for sub-folders within them that incorporate information that is safe to remove. (You might likewise like to read our article that explains How to delete enshroud on a Mac.)

Earlier you start to delete anything please read on though - because deleting some of these files might affect the way your Mac works!

Also, not all the files in Other volition be visible. If you desire to know how to see hidden files read: How to evidence hidden files on a Mac.

Can I delete Other files?

Yes, merely you'll demand to be conscientious. Some files in Other might affect the way your Mac works. The safest files in the Other category to remote are things like .dmg files left over from installations, old Time Machine backups, and iPhone and iPad backups. We'll run through this below.

But when yous outset getting into cache files and other more obtuse types you can quickly run into problems. For example, deleting a enshroud from an former app that you no longer have won't cause any issues. But should you delete one from an app you practise use, then it will immediately forget all of your preferences and other details.

Basically, the rule of thumb is if you're not sure what something is or what it does, leave it solitary. Of grade, as ever, we strongly recommend that you lot run a complete backup of your organization before you start removing anything, just to avert disaster.

Just follow our step-past-pace guide on how to fill-in a Mac and you can brainstorm cleaning up your arrangement knowing that you take a copy to autumn back on should anything go awry.

How to delete Other files

As we said above, you can't merely select Other and delete it thereby reclaiming 30GB of space in one get. However, y'all tin can locate and delete some of the file types that Apple classes in the Other category, thereby reclaiming some of that space.

You can delete some files that are classed as Other via the Finder. Some of these you tin can search for past file type, but others are to be found in the Library folder, merely y'all'll need to know where to look and have an idea of what they are before you trash them.

There are also some file types that are easy to locate and delete safely, so we'll start past showing you how to tackle them.

All these files are deleted the aforementioned way as whatever normal file: locate them in the Finder > right click on the file > choose Motion to Bin (or Trash if you are in the US).

Annotation that you'll demand to empty the Bin/Trash afterwards or the file will yet be on your Mac. To do that right click/control-click on the bin icon and choose Empty Bin/Trash.

Delete DMG files and other space hogs

It is quite easy to locate and delete DMG files (program installers) and these are a good place to start because they can accept up a surprising amount of space. Yous can locate and delete them via the Finder.

  1. Click on your Desktop (anywhere there isn't a file or folder)
  2. Open the Finder.
  3. Click on This Mac.
  4. In the search box type dmg.
  5. When it appears below select Kinds: Disk Paradigm.
  6. Printing Enter.
  7. Now you volition see all the dmgs you accept on your Mac. You can safely delete these.
  8. To delete them select all by pressing Control + A and and so correct click/control click on the selected surface area and choose: Move to Bin/Trash. Delete DMG files
  9. You may need to enter your countersign to confirm.
  10. Once yous have moved these files to the trash/bin you lot will need to empty it: right click on the trash icon and cull Empty Bin/Empty Trash (depending on your language).

There are other file types that can accept a lot of space up on your system that you can too delete this way. Repeat the steps in a higher place to delete PDFs, CSV files, and Nada athenaeum.

Delete Temporary files

macOS creates temporary files on your Mac and generally these files are vital to operation, however, they apace get outdated. One time you are sure your Mac no longer needs them you can safely delete them.

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on the Become selection in the menu bar.
  3. Select Go to Folder.
  4. Type in ~/library.
  5. Press enter.
  6. Locate the Application Support folder.

Have a look through these folders, if you find whatsoever for apps that y'all know you don't apply then you lot can probably safely delete the files associated with them.

Delete Cache files

Caches are some other file blazon that takes upward space in Other, and like the temporary files addressed in a higher place, y'all demand to be careful because your Mac may need these files to run the way you want information technology to.

We do take a separate article that explains How to delete cache on a Mac which is worth a read because the whole process is quite complex. There'southward more than than one kind of cache for starters.

Y'all tin delete system enshroud by following these steps:

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on Go > Get to Folder…
  3. Type in Library/Caches/
  4. Click on Go.

Now you can open each folder and wait for files you think you tin can safely delete.

Simply be careful.

Deleting application cache is a slightly different procedure:

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on Get > Go to Binder…
  3. Type in ~/Library/Caches/ (there is a ~ this time, it's next to the Z).
  4. Click on Become.

Again you volition need to open each binder and brand a conclusion nigh what to delete.

Recall you also demand to empty your Trash/Bin after y'all take deleted these files.

Delete Time Machine snapshots

Fourth dimension Machine snapshots could also be a space hog on your Mac. You may be aware that Apple's Time Auto software tin can back up your Mac to an external bulldoze, only did you know that information technology besides creates local snapshots on your Mac itself?

Apple says that it will but store these snapshots if there is enough gratis space, and it will delete one-time ones to store new i, then this shouldn't exist a big space sus scrofa. Simply it could allow you lot to recover enough space to brand all the difference.

Luckily in that location is an piece of cake methods for removing local snapshots from your difficult bulldoze - but plow off the Time Machine feature. When you do this it should remove these backups from your Mac.

The other mode to delete these snapshots isn't so easy: you need to use Last. If you want to endeavor it then nosotros explain how hither: How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac.

You may besides similar to read how to delete Fourth dimension Machine backups on Mac to detect the easy way to remove them.

How to delete Other safely

If we've non made it clear enough above, it is possible to delete a lot of what Apple classes as Other, simply you need to be extremely cautious because without some of these files your Mac may not work optimally.

Also, you need to be enlightened that deleting certain files this style can leave some remnants on your Mac, even afterwards you have emptied the Trash.

Considering of these concerns our preferred method for deleting Other on a Mac, and removing all the space hogs, is to use 1 of the dedicated Mac cleaning software packages that aid you avoid any costly mistakes.

Some of our electric current favourites are CleanMyMac Ten, MacCleaner ii Pro, and Daisy Disk, just you'll notice a selection of other first-class options in our roundup of the all-time Mac cleaner software and optimization tools.

These often have organization analysing features that can highlight redundant files while holding back on the ones that are still used on a regular basis. And then if you want to remove them information technology's just a example of hit i button rather than trawling through hundreds of sub-folders and hoping yous don't delete anything essential.

What is other storage on Mac: CleanMyMac X

Y'all'll need to pay for them, every bit the trials unremarkably but offer the ability to diagnose problems rather than fix them, but almost are well worth the money when you consider the time and frustration that they can salve.

Nosotros used CleanMyMac to delete files when we needed to free upward space for macOS Large Sur. There are various options, we'll run through some of them beneath:

Smart Scan - this volition scan your Mac and eventually let you know what junk yous can remove. You can click on Review Details to run across what information technology is suggesting you delete. In our example these are Used Enshroud Files, Universal Binaries, Organization Log Files, Language Files, and then on, to the tune of iv.56GB. In that location's also the option of removing Mail Attachments and emptying the Trash.

Clean My Mac delete Other

Large & Old Files - this lets you remove files you oasis't opened for a while. This accounted for five.23GB in our case.

Delete files Other

You can as well utilize CleanMyMac to uninstall apps.

CleanMyMac is £29.95/$29.95 (usually £34.95/$34.95) if yous buy the plan for 1 Mac. There is also a free trial. Download from developer MacPaw here.

Nosotros also accept a round up of the Best Mac Cleaners in which we look at the post-obit alternatives to CleanMyMac: DaisyDisk, MacBooster, Parallels ToolBox, and MacCleaner Pro.

Earlier buying whatsoever additional software or delving into the Library folder, have a look at our tips on how to costless space on a Mac, as there might be some simple things you can do to claim back that valuable hard disk drive storage.