Storage space on your Mac is precious, peculiarly if you accept a 128GB, or even a 256GB SSD. Your Mac can start to slow down and not perform as well when your storage is almost full, at which point yous might meet a "Your Startup Deejay Is Total" warning. Then it'southward of import to know what's using up the space on your disk and clear out redundant files that build up over time.

Another reason you might need to gratuitous up space on your Mac is if you lot are attempting to install a new macOS update. When it arrived in 2020 Big Sur was notorious for its hefty storage requirements - with some users faced with the challenge of freeing up almost 50GB of space in order to install information technology. (In fact Nosotros had that exact problem - read Big Sur too big for 128GB Mac.)

Similar problems arose when macOS Monterey arrived on in Oct 2021, leaving a multitude of Mac users looking for means to get more infinite on their Mac then that they could install it. Read: How to update to Monterey.

However, Monterey brought a big change to the fashion that macOS displays the dissimilar kinds of storage. Prior to Monterey y'all'd have seen Other as a storage category, which always seemed to accept upwards a considerable amount of space. In macOS Monterey Other no longer shows up as a category of storage. Some users might detect a new Arrangement Information storage tab.

However, a lot of people are nonetheless looking for ways to delete Other storage, so in this article we will address how to get rid of Other storage, and we also the things you tin can delete in macOS Monterey if you feel something is taking up also much space.

Tin I delete Other storage on my Mac?

Faced with the need to brand infinite on your Mac you will no doubt be considering what you can delete. You might be assuming the worst and preparing to remove some of your photos, videos, music and documents – merely then you lot might stumble upon an allocation of something chosen Other storage that is taking upwards numerous gigabytes on your bulldoze and wonder whether you can free upwards space by deleting Other.

Apple'southward determination to proper name this storage Other probably didn't help discourage people from attempting to delete it. It's like the Stuff folder people tend to put unimportant things in - information technology basically says delete me! This may well be why in macOS Monterey in 2021 Apple tree has renamed this so it only shows upwards as macOS, a name that doesn't say delete me!

If you are wondering what is Other in Mac storage and desire to know if you can delete Other storage - and if y'all should, we volition answer your questions. Plus we'll explicate how you can delete Other storage on Mac.

Nosotros'll besides discuss how you can delete what was known as Other storage in Monterey, including how to access Arrangement Data, whether this is the aforementioned as Other, and if there is anything you can delete from that.

We also run through various ways to free upward space on your Mac in a split article.

If yous aren't certain how to meet how much disk space your Mac has read: How to check how much storage y'all accept on your Mac.

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What is Other on a Mac?

When confronted with the need to costless up storage on your Mac we're guessing that your first port of call was About This Mac, where there is a handy tool to help y'all manage your storage - and information technology'due south here that we're assuming y'all saw the gigantic Other category.

If you weren't already aware of the About This Mac storage view, it's offers diverse tools to help you see and manage what takes up all the types of storage on your Mac. To get to this basic overview of what'south taking up the space on your Mac by following these steps:

  1. Click on the Apple Logo in the top left.
  2. Go to Most This Mac.
  3. Choose Storage. Wait while information technology calculates.
  4. Eventually you volition see a bar chart showing what types of files are taking up space on your Mac, like to the prototype below. In our case, yellow is Photos, red is Apps, calorie-free bluish is Messages, purple is Music, dark bluish for Postal service, light blue for iCloud Drive and grey for System. Other is the biggest consumer of storage in our case: 38.55GB.

    Delete Other Storage

  5. Click Manage and you will see a screen like the one below. Here you can make various tweaks to your system, choosing to store files in iCloud, for example, or reviewing files to reduce clutter.

    What is other storage on mac: Managing Mac disk space

  6. Yet, you can't admission Other here at all - discover how information technology'south greyed out in the left manus column.

With Other such a large consumer of storage y'all are most probable wondering what exactly Other is.

While most of the main categories for file types is straightforward, the Other variety tin can be quite a mystery. If it isn't music, documents, videos, photos or apps, what could information technology be?

The label 'Other' is applied by the arrangement to files that don't fit squarely into those types, such as installer packages, cache files, onetime Fourth dimension Machine backups, app extensions, temporary files and the like. Well-nigh are those that you don't need whatever more, merely they've got to be stored somewhere, so they become dumped in the Other category.

Aside from Other another big user of storage space is Organisation - we accept a separate article virtually what's in Organization and what you can delete.

Other storage on macOS Monterey

In macOS Monterey System Information also includes junk files, app information, browser plugins and Fourth dimension Motorcar snapshot - which is essentially the same kind of content equally Other storage used to contain, so the same advice below about how to delete this content will apply.

How to see what'southward in Other

So now we know what types of files terminate up in Other, but how can nosotros actually see what's taking up all the Other space on our Macs?

To come across what's using upwardly all that Other space you'll demand to open the Finder and head to the Library folder, as that's unremarkably where the majority of Other content is stored.

Depending on how your system is gear up, you lot might not exist able to see the Library folder in your normal Finder window, so the easiest fashion to leap directly to it is to follow these steps:

  1. Open Finder.
  2. Click on the Become choice in the card bar.
  3. Select Go to Folder.
  4. Then type in ~/library and press enter.

What is other storage on Mac: Finding the Library folder

You'll now be presented with a long list of folders, almost of which will incorporate files deemed by macOS to be Other.

You'll encounter a lot of folders, many of which we would advise you lot to step abroad from immediately. Nonetheless there are a few folders here that you might be able to safely delete some items from, for example, Caches and Awarding Support. But yous need to be very careful as you dig effectually looking for sub-folders within them that contain data that is safety to remove. (Yous might also like to read our commodity that explains How to delete cache on a Mac.)

Before you start to delete annihilation please read on though - because deleting some of these files might bear upon the way your Mac works!

Besides, not all the files in Other will be visible. If you lot want to know how to see subconscious files read: How to testify hidden files on a Mac.

Tin I delete Other files?

Yeah, but you'll need to be conscientious. Some files in Other might affect the way your Mac works. The safest files in the Other category to remote are things like .dmg files left over from installations, former Fourth dimension Car backups, and iPhone and iPad backups. We'll run through this beneath.

But when yous beginning getting into cache files and other more birdbrained types you can quickly run into issues. For example, deleting a cache from an old app that y'all no longer accept won't cause whatever issues. Merely should you delete one from an app you exercise apply, and so information technology will immediately forget all of your preferences and other details.

Basically, the rule of thumb is if you're not sure what something is or what information technology does, leave it alone. Of course, as e'er, we strongly recommend that you run a consummate fill-in of your system before you offset removing anything, simply to avoid disaster.

Merely follow our footstep-by-step guide on how to backup a Mac and you can begin cleaning up your system knowing that you accept a re-create to fall dorsum on should anything become awry.

How to delete Other files

As we said in a higher place, you can't simply select Other and delete it thereby reclaiming 30GB of space in ane go. Even so, yous tin can locate and delete some of the file types that Apple classes in the Other category, thereby reclaiming some of that space.

You can delete some files that are classed equally Other via the Finder. Some of these you lot can search for by file blazon, simply others are to be found in the Library folder, simply you'll need to know where to look and have an idea of what they are before you trash them.

There are besides some file types that are easy to locate and delete safely, so we'll start past showing y'all how to tackle them.

All these files are deleted the same way as any normal file: locate them in the Finder > right click on the file > choose Move to Bin (or Trash if you lot are in the US).

Notation that you'll need to empty the Bin/Trash afterwards or the file will still exist on your Mac. To practice that right click/command-click on the bin icon and cull Empty Bin/Trash.

Delete DMG files and other space hogs

It is quite easy to locate and delete DMG files (program installers) and these are a expert place to start because they can have up a surprising amount of infinite. You can locate and delete them via the Finder.

  1. Click on your Desktop (anywhere there isn't a file or folder)
  2. Open the Finder.
  3. Click on This Mac.
  4. In the search box blazon dmg.
  5. When it appears below select Kinds: Deejay Image.
  6. Press Enter.
  7. Now you will see all the dmgs you lot have on your Mac. You tin safely delete these.
  8. To delete them select all by pressing Control + A and then right click/control click on the selected area and choose: Move to Bin/Trash. Delete DMG files
  9. You lot may need to enter your password to confirm.
  10. One time you lot accept moved these files to the trash/bin you will need to empty it: right click on the trash icon and choose Empty Bin/Empty Trash (depending on your language).

There are other file types that can accept a lot of infinite up on your system that you can also delete this style. Repeat the steps above to delete PDFs, CSV files, and Nothing archives.

Delete Temporary files

macOS creates temporary files on your Mac and more often than not these files are vital to performance, however, they quickly get outdated. Once you are sure your Mac no longer needs them you tin can safely delete them.

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on the Go option in the carte bar.
  3. Select Get to Folder.
  4. Type in ~/library.
  5. Press enter.
  6. Locate the Awarding Back up binder.

Have a look through these folders, if y'all find whatever for apps that you know you don't utilize then y'all tin can probably safely delete the files associated with them.

Delete Cache files

Caches are some other file type that takes upward space in Other, and like the temporary files addressed above, you need to be careful considering your Mac may need these files to run the style y'all desire it to.

We do have a split article that explains How to delete cache on a Mac which is worth a read considering the whole process is quite complex. There's more than than one kind of cache for starters.

You can delete system cache by following these steps:

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on Go > Go to Binder…
  3. Type in Library/Caches/
  4. Click on Go.

Now you can open up each folder and look for files you think you can safely delete.

Just exist careful.

Deleting application cache is a slightly different process:

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on Get > Get to Folder…
  3. Type in ~/Library/Caches/ (there is a ~ this time, information technology's adjacent to the Z).
  4. Click on Go.

Over again you will demand to open each folder and make a decision about what to delete.

Think y'all besides need to empty your Trash/Bin after you lot have deleted these files.

Delete Time Car snapshots

Time Motorcar snapshots could also be a infinite pig on your Mac. You lot may be aware that Apple tree'south Time Machine software tin back upwardly your Mac to an external drive, merely did you know that information technology also creates local snapshots on your Mac itself?

Apple tree says that it will only store these snapshots if in that location is enough gratuitous infinite, and it will delete former ones to store new ane, so this shouldn't be a big space sus scrofa. Merely it could let you to recover enough space to brand all the departure.

Luckily there is an easy methods for removing local snapshots from your difficult drive - just turn off the Time Auto feature. When yous do this information technology should remove these backups from your Mac.

The other way to delete these snapshots isn't so piece of cake: y'all need to use Terminal. If you desire to try it then nosotros explicate how hither: How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac.

You may also like to read how to delete Time Machine backups on Mac to find the easy way to remove them.

How to delete Other safely

If nosotros've not made it clear enough in a higher place, information technology is possible to delete a lot of what Apple classes as Other, but you need to be extremely cautious because without some of these files your Mac may not piece of work optimally.

As well, you demand to be aware that deleting sure files this mode can go out some remnants on your Mac, even after you have emptied the Trash.

Because of these concerns our preferred method for deleting Other on a Mac, and removing all the space hogs, is to utilise one of the dedicated Mac cleaning software packages that help you avoid any costly mistakes.

Some of our current favourites are CleanMyMac X, MacCleaner 2 Pro, and Daisy Deejay, only you'll find a selection of other excellent options in our roundup of the all-time Mac cleaner software and optimization tools.

These often have organisation analysing features that can highlight redundant files while property back on the ones that are yet used on a regular ground. And so if yous want to remove them it's just a case of hitting one push button rather than trawling through hundreds of sub-folders and hoping you lot don't delete annihilation essential.

What is other storage on Mac: CleanMyMac X

You'll demand to pay for them, every bit the trials normally only offer the ability to diagnose problems rather than ready them, just most are well worth the money when you consider the fourth dimension and frustration that they tin can save.

We used CleanMyMac to delete files when we needed to free upwards infinite for macOS Big Sur. There are diverse options, we'll run through some of them beneath:

Smart Scan - this volition scan your Mac and somewhen let you know what junk you tin remove. You can click on Review Details to see what it is suggesting you delete. In our case these are Used Enshroud Files, Universal Binaries, System Log Files, Linguistic communication Files, then on, to the melody of iv.56GB. At that place's also the option of removing Mail Attachments and elimination the Trash.

Clean My Mac delete Other

Large & Old Files - this lets yous remove files you haven't opened for a while. This accounted for v.23GB in our case.

Delete files Other

Yous can likewise use CleanMyMac to uninstall apps.

CleanMyMac is £29.95/$29.95 (usually £34.95/$34.95) if you buy the programme for one Mac. There is also a free trial. Download from developer MacPaw here.

Nosotros also have a circular up of the All-time Mac Cleaners in which we await at the post-obit alternatives to CleanMyMac: DaisyDisk, MacBooster, Parallels ToolBox, and MacCleaner Pro.

Before buying any additional software or delving into the Library folder, accept a look at our tips on how to free space on a Mac, as there might be some simple things yous can practice to claim back that valuable hard disk storage.