Storage infinite on your Mac is precious, particularly if yous take a 128GB, or even a 256GB SSD. Your Mac can get-go to slow down and not perform too when your storage is almost full, at which indicate yous might see a "Your Startup Disk Is Full" warning. So information technology's of import to know what'southward using up the space on your disk and articulate out redundant files that build up over time.

Another reason you might need to free upwardly infinite on your Mac is if you are attempting to install a new macOS update. When it arrived in 2022 Large Sur was notorious for its hefty storage requirements - with some users faced with the challenge of freeing upwards most 50GB of space in guild to install it. (In fact We had that exact problem - read Large Sur too big for 128GB Mac.)

Similar problems arose when macOS Monterey arrived on in October 2021, leaving a multitude of Mac users looking for ways to become more infinite on their Mac so that they could install information technology. Read: How to update to Monterey.

Withal, Monterey brought a big change to the fashion that macOS displays the different kinds of storage. Prior to Monterey you lot'd have seen Other as a storage category, which e'er seemed to accept up a considerable amount of space. In macOS Monterey Other no longer shows upwardly as a category of storage. Some users might find a new Organization Data storage tab.

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

Can I delete Other storage on my Mac?

Faced with the need to make space on your Mac you will no doubt be considering what you tin can delete. You might be assuming the worst and preparing to remove some of your photos, videos, music and documents – but so y'all might stumble upon an resource allotment of something called Other storage that is taking up numerous gigabytes on your drive and wonder whether you lot can complimentary up space by deleting Other.

Apple tree'south determination to proper noun this storage Other probably didn't help discourage people from attempting to delete it. Information technology's like the Stuff binder people tend to put unimportant things in - it basically says delete me! This may well exist why in macOS Monterey in 2022 Apple has renamed this so it just shows up equally macOS, a proper name that doesn't say delete me!

If you are wondering what is Other in Mac storage and want to know if you tin can delete Other storage - and if you should, we will answer your questions. Plus we'll explicate how you can delete Other storage on Mac.

Nosotros'll also discuss how you tin can delete what was known as Other storage in Monterey, including how to access System Information, whether this is the same equally Other, and if at that place is annihilation you 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 see how much deejay space your Mac has read: How to check how much storage you have on your Mac.

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What is Other on a Mac?

When confronted with the need to free up storage on your Mac we're guessing that your first port of call was Most This Mac, where at that place is a handy tool to help y'all manage your storage - and information technology'due south here that we're assuming you saw the gigantic Other category.

If y'all weren't already aware of the About This Mac storage view, it's offers various tools to help you see and manage what takes up all the types of storage on your Mac. To become to this basic overview of what'south taking upwards the space on your Mac by following these steps:

  1. Click on the Apple Logo in the elevation left.
  2. Go 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 up infinite on your Mac, similar to the epitome below. In our case, yellow is Photos, red is Apps, calorie-free blue is Messages, purple is Music, nighttime blue for Mail, calorie-free blue 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 volition come across a screen similar the i beneath. Here you can make various tweaks to your system, choosing to store files in iCloud, for example, or reviewing files to reduce clutter.

    What is other storage on mac: Managing Mac disk space

  6. However, yous can't access Other here at all - notice how it's greyed out in the left mitt column.

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

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

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, one-time Time Machine backups, app extensions, temporary files and the like. Most are those that you don't need whatsoever more, but they've got to be stored somewhere, so they get dumped in the Other category.

Aside from Other another big user of storage infinite is Arrangement - we have a separate article virtually what's in System and what you can delete.

Other storage on macOS Monterey

In macOS Monterey System Data also includes junk files, app data, browser plugins and Time Auto snapshot - which is essentially the same kind of content equally Other storage used to contain, and so the same advice below almost how to delete this content will use.

How to see what'due south in Other

So now nosotros know what types of files end upwards in Other, simply how can nosotros really come across what's taking up all the Other space on our Macs?

To see what'south using upward all that Other infinite you'll demand to open the Finder and head to the Library folder, equally that'due south usually where the majority of Other content is stored.

Depending on how your system is set upward, you might not be able to see the Library binder in your normal Finder window, so the easiest style to jump direct to information technology is to follow these steps:

  1. Open Finder.
  2. Click on the Go choice in the carte bar.
  3. Select Go to Binder.
  4. And so blazon 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, most of which volition incorporate files deemed by macOS to be Other.

You'll see a lot of folders, many of which we would suggest yous to pace away from immediately. However there are a few folders here that you might be able to safely delete some items from, for example, Caches and Application Back up. But you demand to be very careful every bit you lot dig effectually looking for sub-folders inside them that incorporate data that is safe to remove. (You might too like to read our article that explains How to delete cache on a Mac.)

Before you start to delete anything delight read on though - because deleting some of these files might affect the style your Mac works!

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

Can I delete Other files?

Yeah, but you'll need to be careful. Some files in Other might bear upon the manner your Mac works. The safest files in the Other category to remote are things similar .dmg files left over from installations, old Time Machine backups, and iPhone and iPad backups. We'll run through this below.

Merely when you first getting into enshroud files and other more obtuse types you can rapidly come across problems. For example, deleting a enshroud from an former app that y'all no longer accept won't cause whatever problems. Only should you delete one from an app you lot do 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 course, as always, we strongly recommend that you run a consummate backup of your system before you lot start removing annihilation, only to avoid disaster.

Only follow our step-by-footstep guide on how to backup a Mac and you can brainstorm cleaning upward your organization knowing that you lot have a copy to fall back on should anything go awry.

How to delete Other files

As we said in a higher place, you tin't just select Other and delete it thereby reclaiming 30GB of infinite in 1 go. However, yous tin can locate and delete some of the file types that Apple tree classes in the Other category, thereby reclaiming some of that space.

Y'all can delete some files that are classed every bit Other via the Finder. Some of these yous tin can search for by file type, simply others are to exist plant in the Library folder, but you lot'll need to know where to look and have an idea of what they are before yous trash them.

In that location are too some file types that are easy to locate and delete safely, and so we'll start by showing you how to tackle them.

All these files are deleted the same style as any normal file: locate them in the Finder > correct click on the file > cull Motility to Bin (or Trash if you are in the US).

Note that yous'll need to empty the Bin/Trash afterwards or the file volition still be on your Mac. To practise that right click/control-click on the bin icon and choose Empty Bin/Trash.

Delete DMG files and other space hogs

It is quite piece of cake to locate and delete DMG files (program installers) and these are a practiced place to get-go because they can have upwardly a surprising amount of space. Y'all tin locate and delete them via the Finder.

  1. Click on your Desktop (anywhere there isn't a file or folder)
  2. Open up the Finder.
  3. Click on This Mac.
  4. In the search box type dmg.
  5. When information technology appears below select Kinds: Disk Paradigm.
  6. Press Enter.
  7. Now you volition encounter all the dmgs y'all accept on your Mac. Yous can safely delete these.
  8. To delete them select all by pressing Command + A and then right click/control click on the selected area and choose: Movement to Bin/Trash. Delete DMG files
  9. You may need to enter your password to confirm.
  10. One time yous accept moved these files to the trash/bin yous volition need to empty it: correct click on the trash icon and cull Empty Bin/Empty Trash (depending on your language).

There are other file types that can take a lot of space upward on your organization that y'all can also delete this way. Repeat the steps above to delete PDFs, CSV files, and Nix archives.

Delete Temporary files

macOS creates temporary files on your Mac and mostly these files are vital to performance, even so, they chop-chop go outdated. In one case you are sure your Mac no longer needs them yous tin can safely delete them.

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on the Go choice in the bill of fare bar.
  3. Select Get to Binder.
  4. Blazon in ~/library.
  5. Press enter.
  6. Locate the Application Support folder.

Take a look through these folders, if you notice whatever for apps that yous know you don't utilize then y'all can probably safely delete the files associated with them.

Delete Cache files

Caches are another file type that takes up infinite in Other, and like the temporary files addressed above, you need to be careful because your Mac may demand these files to run the way you want it to.

We do have a carve up article that explains How to delete enshroud on a Mac which is worth a read because the whole procedure is quite complex. There's more than than one kind of cache for starters.

You can delete system cache past following these steps:

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

Now you can open each folder and look for files you call back you can safely delete.

Only be careful.

Deleting application cache is a slightly different process:

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

Again you will need to open each folder and brand a decision about what to delete.

Remember you also demand to empty your Trash/Bin after you have deleted these files.

Delete Time Automobile snapshots

Time Machine snapshots could also be a space grunter on your Mac. Yous may be aware that Apple's Fourth dimension Machine software can back up your Mac to an external drive, just did you know that it also creates local snapshots on your Mac itself?

Apple tree says that it volition merely store these snapshots if in that location is plenty costless space, and it will delete old ones to shop new 1, so this shouldn't exist a big space grunter. Just it could allow you to recover enough infinite to make all the divergence.

Luckily at that place is an piece of cake methods for removing local snapshots from your hard bulldoze - just turn off the Time Machine feature. When you practice this it should remove these backups from your Mac.

The other way to delete these snapshots isn't so easy: you need to use Terminal. If you want to try it so we explain how here: How to delete Time Car snapshots on your Mac.

You may besides like to read how to delete Time Machine backups on Mac to detect the piece of cake way to remove them.

How to delete Other safely

If nosotros've non made it articulate plenty above, information technology is possible to delete a lot of what Apple tree classes as Other, but you need to be extremely cautious because without some of these files your Mac may not work optimally.

Also, you need to exist aware that deleting certain files this way can go out some remnants on your Mac, even later 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 i of the defended Mac cleaning software packages that help you avoid any costly mistakes.

Some of our current favourites are CleanMyMac X, MacCleaner ii Pro, and Daisy Disk, but you'll observe a selection of other first-class options in our roundup of the best Mac cleaner software and optimization tools.

These often take organization analysing features that can highlight redundant files while property back on the ones that are still used on a regular basis. Then if you want to remove them it's just a case of hit one button rather than trawling through hundreds of sub-folders and hoping you lot don't delete anything essential.

What is other storage on Mac: CleanMyMac X

You'll need to pay for them, as the trials unremarkably only offer the power to diagnose problems rather than gear up them, but nigh are well worth the coin when you consider the time and frustration that they can relieve.

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

Smart Browse - this will browse your Mac and somewhen let you know what junk you lot tin can remove. You tin can click on Review Details to see what it is suggesting you delete. In our example these are Used Cache Files, Universal Binaries, System Log Files, Language Files, and and so on, to the melody of 4.56GB. At that place'southward also the option of removing Postal service Attachments and emptying the Trash.

Clean My Mac delete Other

Large & One-time Files - this lets y'all remove files you haven't opened for a while. This deemed for 5.23GB in our case.

Delete files Other

You tin can likewise use CleanMyMac to uninstall apps.

CleanMyMac is £29.95/$29.95 (usually £34.95/$34.95) if you lot buy the program for one Mac. There is also a free trial. Download from developer MacPaw here.

Nosotros also have a circular upwardly of the Best Mac Cleaners in which we look at the following alternatives to CleanMyMac: DaisyDisk, MacBooster, Parallels ToolBox, and MacCleaner Pro.

Before buying any boosted software or delving into the Library folder, take a look at our tips on how to free space on a Mac, as there might be some simple things yous can do to merits dorsum that valuable hard disk storage.