See what is actually filling your disk
Storage settings break the disk down app by app, and explain that mysterious System Data entry.
Works on: macOS Ventura 13 and later · checked on macOS Golden Gate 27
Published: · Source: Genius Manu
When the disk fills up, guessing is a waste of time. Go to System Settings → General → Storage. The bar at the top shows how much space is used, by which apps and kinds of file, and how much is still available. Underneath, each category — applications, documents and so on — opens to show what is inside, and documents can be sorted by size to find the big ones.
The entry that worries everyone is System Data. It is not a bug: it holds the files that do not fit any of the other categories, mostly things the system itself uses — log files, caches, virtual memory files and other runtime resources.
The quickest win is emptying the Trash, which on a Mac keeps deleted files until you empty it — so a “deleted” 10 GB video is still on the disk. Click the Trash in the Dock with two fingers and empty it. In the same Storage panel you can turn on Empty Trash automatically to have anything that has been in the Trash for more than 30 days removed for you.
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