Your Disk Is Almost Full
Apple macOS
Severity: ModerateWhat Does This Error Mean?
Your Mac's storage drive is running out of space. When the disk fills up, macOS slows down and apps may crash. Clearing even a few gigabytes usually fixes the problem right away.
Affected Models
- macOS Sequoia
- macOS Sonoma
- macOS Ventura
- macOS Monterey
Common Causes
- Large downloads, videos, or photo libraries taking up most of the drive
- Time Machine local snapshots quietly filling up available space
- The Trash has not been emptied and contains large files
- Old iPhone and iPad backups stored in iTunes or Finder
- Cached files from browsers, video apps, and system updates piling up
How to Fix It
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Click the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, then More Info. Click Storage Settings.
This shows a color-coded breakdown of exactly what is eating your storage.
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Empty the Trash first — right-click the Trash icon in the Dock and choose Empty Trash.
Deleted files stay in the Trash and take up real space until you empty it.
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In Storage Settings, click the Recommendations tab and enable Optimize Storage.
This removes watched TV shows and movies from Apple TV automatically.
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Open Finder, press Command + Shift + G, and type ~/Library/Caches to find cached files.
You can delete the contents of app-specific cache folders safely — but not the folders themselves.
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Delete old iPhone or iPad backups: open Finder, click your device in the sidebar, and manage backups.
Old device backups can easily be 10–50 GB each.
When to Call a Professional
You should not need professional help for a full disk. If your drive fills up again very quickly after clearing it, a deeper issue may be creating large log files.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is using so much space on my Mac?
The biggest culprits are usually photos, videos, and iPhone backups. Open Storage Settings in About This Mac to see a full breakdown. The Other category often hides large caches and log files.
What are Time Machine local snapshots and can I delete them?
These are temporary backups macOS keeps on your drive when your backup disk isn't connected. macOS manages them automatically and deletes them when space is needed. You can also manually delete them using the tmutil command in Terminal.
Will clearing cache files cause any problems?
No — cache files are just temporary data that apps re-create as needed. Deleting them may make some apps slightly slower on first launch. They will rebuild themselves over time automatically.