Low disk space on Mac — how to check and free it up
A "Your startup disk is almost full" warning tends to show up at the worst possible moment. Before you start worrying, check a few spots where clutter tends to pile up unnoticed.
What to check
Open the Storage panel in About This Mac
Go to the Apple menu → About This Mac → Storage. You'll see a colour-coded bar showing exactly what's taking up space — documents, apps, photos, or system files — along with suggestions for what's safe to remove.
Empty the Trash
Files you delete on a Mac go into the Trash by default and still take up space until you empty it. Right-click the Trash icon in the Dock and choose "Empty Trash" — this alone sometimes recovers a surprising amount of space.
Look through the Downloads folder
Open the Downloads folder in Finder — it's the place where installers, attachments, and files nobody opens again tend to pile up for years. Sort the view by size and remove what you don't need.
Consider the tips in the "Recommendations" section
In that same Storage panel macOS suggests ready-made actions, like moving files to iCloud or automatically deleting old mail from the trash folder. Just click "Manage" next to the option you want to use.
Why disk space matters
When free space gets very low, macOS loses the room it needs for temporary files and updates, which can show up as a general slowdown across the whole system, and in extreme cases can even block an important security update from installing.
When it's a job for IT
- The disk is still nearly full even after emptying the Trash and cleaning up Downloads.
- You're not sure whether files you'd like to delete are safe to remove because they relate to company work.
- The physical drive in the Mac is simply too small for your needs, and it's worth discussing an upgrade or replacement.
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