Instead of working hard, Apple chooses to work smart (for the most part, looking at you, G4 Cube). Instead of making your hard drive bigger, they've tackled the problem of limited space on your Mac with cloud storage. Which, in its turn, created a slice on your storage bar named 'Purgeable'. Now let's take a look at how did that come about.
Disk space utility free download - ShowSize Disk Space Analyzer, Disk Space Recovery Wizard 2012, VisDir Free Disk Space Finder, and many more programs. Much easier to use than most disk space analyzers. Categorizes files in several ways.
Automatically, Mac Disk Utility will add up the freed space to the Volume instead of the deleted one. However, if you want to customize the Volume sizes, you can select the Volume, specify its size then hit Revert/Return. You can create a new Volume in the leftover space. Mac OS X disk space - Reclaim lost disk space with disk utilities. Given my Mac disk space emergency, I decided to see if I could finally reclaim some of my lost disk space, so I downloaded two free Mac OS X disk utility tools to help me. In the end I was able to reduce my disk use from 97% down to 88%, and both of these Mac OS X disk utilities. Disk Inventory X is a disk usage utility for Mac OS X. It shows the sizes of files and folders in a special graphical way called 'treemaps'. If you've ever wondered where all your disk space has gone, Disk Inventory X will help you to answer this question. For a quick start please read the readme file on the disk.
What is Purgeable disk space on Mac?
Purgeable storage consists of files that macOS deems suitable for removal. Something that can be literally purged away from your drive and cause no trouble. The appearance of Purgeable storage is connected to the feature of Optimized storage in macOS. When Optimized storage is turned on, loads of files get moved into the cloud and for some of them, actual presence on your drive is optional. But for which exactly?
Which files are considered Purgeable?
Nobody can be a hundred percent sure, but the main guess is that these are both your files and system-generated files that comply with two criteria:
- They're like really old and you haven't opened/used them in a while.
- They are synced with iCloud so their original file can be removed from your Mac.
Purgeable files can be of any type. From watched movies in your iTunes to applications languages you've never used.
But what renders them purgeable and what does it mean? The system finds these files and knows that when you start running out of space and you have your Optimized Storage turned on, it can remove these files to give you more space.
How do I view my Purgeable Storage?
You can see how much space your macOS can purge in a number of places:
- The first option, and the most visual one is your native storage tab. To access it choose About This Mac in the Apple menu then switch to the Storage tab.
- In the Status Bar of your Finder when it's turned on (to turn it on click on View and then Show Status Bar).
- Another way would be to click on Go in the top menu, choose Computer right-click on your hard drive > Get Info
- Also, View > Options panel will turn on the display of hard disks on the Desktop.
- Finally, you can simply ask Siri how much free space you have left.
How to clear Purgeable space on Mac?
You don't usually need to delete purgeable space on your own, but if it really bugs you, jump to the next headline. Purgeable space is labeled so that you know: whenever there's a free-space issue, you're safe because your macOS will automatically clear up that purgeable space and it will become free space instead.
The only thing you need to do to have your macOS removing these files when it's needed is to have your Optimized Storage turned on. To do it, go to the Storage tab in About This Mac menu and click Manage. Now you can turn any option you'd like to be synced with iCloud. You can read more on Optimized Storage and how to use it.
Mac Disk Utility Free Space
Is there a way to force remove Purgeable space on Mac?
Yup. It's pretty easy and all you need is a Mac maintenance app like CleanMyMac X that does exactly what macOS does — detects useless files — but unlike macOS, lets you remove them quickly.
Mac Utility For Disk Space Hard Drive
Now, to remove purgeable space in just a few clicks:
- Download CleanMyMac X for free.
- Go to the Maintenance tab.
- Choose Free Up Purgeable Space.
- Hit Run.
Once you've reclaimed purgeable space, use CleanMyMac's Smart Scan tool to remove junk files, speed up the system and scan your Mac for malware — all in one go.
Purgeable storage consists of files that macOS deems suitable for removal. Something that can be literally purged away from your drive and cause no trouble. The appearance of Purgeable storage is connected to the feature of Optimized storage in macOS. When Optimized storage is turned on, loads of files get moved into the cloud and for some of them, actual presence on your drive is optional. But for which exactly?
Which files are considered Purgeable?
Nobody can be a hundred percent sure, but the main guess is that these are both your files and system-generated files that comply with two criteria:
- They're like really old and you haven't opened/used them in a while.
- They are synced with iCloud so their original file can be removed from your Mac.
Purgeable files can be of any type. From watched movies in your iTunes to applications languages you've never used.
But what renders them purgeable and what does it mean? The system finds these files and knows that when you start running out of space and you have your Optimized Storage turned on, it can remove these files to give you more space.
How do I view my Purgeable Storage?
You can see how much space your macOS can purge in a number of places:
- The first option, and the most visual one is your native storage tab. To access it choose About This Mac in the Apple menu then switch to the Storage tab.
- In the Status Bar of your Finder when it's turned on (to turn it on click on View and then Show Status Bar).
- Another way would be to click on Go in the top menu, choose Computer right-click on your hard drive > Get Info
- Also, View > Options panel will turn on the display of hard disks on the Desktop.
- Finally, you can simply ask Siri how much free space you have left.
How to clear Purgeable space on Mac?
You don't usually need to delete purgeable space on your own, but if it really bugs you, jump to the next headline. Purgeable space is labeled so that you know: whenever there's a free-space issue, you're safe because your macOS will automatically clear up that purgeable space and it will become free space instead.
The only thing you need to do to have your macOS removing these files when it's needed is to have your Optimized Storage turned on. To do it, go to the Storage tab in About This Mac menu and click Manage. Now you can turn any option you'd like to be synced with iCloud. You can read more on Optimized Storage and how to use it.
Mac Disk Utility Free Space
Is there a way to force remove Purgeable space on Mac?
Yup. It's pretty easy and all you need is a Mac maintenance app like CleanMyMac X that does exactly what macOS does — detects useless files — but unlike macOS, lets you remove them quickly.
Mac Utility For Disk Space Hard Drive
Now, to remove purgeable space in just a few clicks:
- Download CleanMyMac X for free.
- Go to the Maintenance tab.
- Choose Free Up Purgeable Space.
- Hit Run.
Once you've reclaimed purgeable space, use CleanMyMac's Smart Scan tool to remove junk files, speed up the system and scan your Mac for malware — all in one go.
Also, it's a good idea to clear your browser extensions, old Wi-Fi connections, and apps you don't use once in a while. Simply in a form of general Mac system hygiene.
That's about all you need to know about what is purgeable space on Mac, so we hope this article has been of help. macOS is a great addition to Mac, we're glad it has space-saving features and other cool stuff (Siri!) but it could've been a bit clearer to users, that's for sure. Anyway, have a good day and keep your Mac clean.
Mac Disk Utility Free Space Partition
These might also interest you:
