Have you ever looked at your computer’s storage graphic only to notice the generic-sounding “system data” segment, and wondered what’s in there that could be taking up so much space? Show The goal of this tutorial is to help you answer that question and learn some simple strategies for clearing your system data. What Is System Data?System data refers to files like browser caches, application caches, disk images, system log files, plugins, extensions, etc. Generally, it includes files that do not belong to the Documents, Apps, Music Creation, Music, Pictures, and other categories of Mac Storage. To check your system storage, navigate to Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage. Hover your mouse over each segment of the storage bar to see what they represent; you will see the segment for System Data (as in Figure 1), etc. Although you do not have total control over your system data, there are a few things you can do to reduce the storage amount. There are three major ways you can accomplish this:
1. Optimize Your Storage via Mac Storage ManagerApple offers a feature that helps you easily optimize your storage. You’ll find it under the Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage and click Manage. A new window is displayed and it offers four things you can do to reduce your system storage (Figure 2).
2. Empty the TrashWhen you delete files from your device, they go to the Trash. But that doesn’t remove them, it simply stores them in a single location. It’s easy to forget about these files and, before you know it, they pile up and occupy a chunk of your storage. Emptying your Mac’s trash is a good way to clear some storage space. You can do this in two ways:
3. Remove the Junk on Your SystemThe first step to removing junk is to figure out what’s eating up space on your device. To do this, open the Terminal app. Type Before you delete anything, be sure you understand the potential impact. For instance, if you delete ~/Library/Logs, it may make troubleshooting tough for you. And if you delete ~/Library/Cookies, you’ll need to re-enter your info into websites. You can find a complete list of the Library subdirectories here. For this tutorial, we will delete outdated files from ~/Library/Caches. Once you have decided what to delete, follow these steps:
4. Additional OptionsAside from the three options listed above, there are a few other things you can do to clear your system data including: How do I free up space on my Mac?Move or delete files. Delete music, movies, podcasts, or other media, especially if it's media that you can stream or download again as needed.. Delete files in your Downloads folder. ... . If you use the Mail app for your email, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail from the menu bar in Mail.. Where is the Manage Storage button on Mac?To open the manager, click the Apple icon in the menu bar ➙ About This Mac ➙ Storage. The storage manager will show you a rough breakdown of categories, such as Documents, Apps, System, Other Users, etc. You can get a bit more clarity around certain categories by clicking Manage.
Why is my Mac storage so full?Once “Your disk is almost full” notification pops up on a screen, it's time to do some work. Running low on storage might cause your Mac to slow down or behave strangely. This usually happens if you have too many outdated files, old logs, caches, and apps you no longer use.
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