ScrubsGuides › Mac folder guide
What's taking space, and can you delete it?
The folders that most often fill a Mac, from Photos, Messages and old installers to developer tools: what writes each one, how big it gets, whether it comes back, and the right way to clear it.
Photos libraryWhy is the Photos library taking up so much space on my Mac?Messages attachmentsWhy is Messages taking up so much space on my Mac?iPhone backups (MobileSync)Where are iPhone backups stored on a Mac, and how do I delete them?macOS installersCan I delete the Install macOS app in Applications?Downloads folderHow do I clean up the Downloads folder on my Mac?Mail dataWhy does Apple Mail take up so much space on my Mac?~/Library/CachesCan I delete the caches in ~/Library/Caches on my Mac?Purgeable spaceWhat is purgeable space on a Mac, and how do you free it?sleepimage and swapWhat are sleepimage and the swap files on a Mac, and can you delete them?GarageBand and Logic soundsCan I delete the GarageBand and Logic sound library on my Mac?DerivedDataWhat is DerivedData on a Mac, and can you delete it?CoreSimulatorWhy is CoreSimulator taking up so much space on my Mac?Simulator runtimesHow do you delete old iOS simulator runtimes on a Mac?iOS DeviceSupportWhat is iOS DeviceSupport on a Mac, and is it safe to delete?Xcode ArchivesCan I delete Xcode Archives on my Mac?.gradleWhy is the .gradle folder so big on my Mac?Android emulators (.android/avd)How much space do Android emulators take on a Mac?node_modulesIs it safe to delete node_modules folders on a Mac?Docker.rawWhy is Docker.raw so big on my Mac?Package manager cachesHow much space do npm, Homebrew and other package caches use on a Mac?JetBrains cachesWhy do JetBrains IDEs use so much disk space on a Mac?