What is purgeable space on Mac and how to clear it: 6 ways

What is purgeable space on Mac and can you reduce it? Apple says you can't because macOS removes purgeable files on its own when it needs the space. However, you can still free some of it right away by deleting Time Machine local snapshots, which your Mac counts as available storage. Keep on reading, and we’ll explain what purgeable space is and what to do to free it up.

What is purgeable space on Mac?

Purgeable storage consists of files that macOS deems suitable for removal. macOS removes them as space is needed. So, it is not free space, which is absolutely empty, but non-essential space that can be emptied automatically when you need more storage.

It appeared with the feature of Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra. With Store in iCloud turned on, macOS can keep files in iCloud when space is needed, and you can download the originals when you need them.

But for which exactly and how does macOS decide which files to mark as "purgeable"? It is done based on their capability to be safely deleted.

Apple describes several kinds of data that macOS removes or offloads when it needs space:

• Caches and logs that are safe to delete, such as temporary database files, interrupted downloads, staged macOS and app updates, and Safari website data.
• Files you keep in iCloud: with Store in iCloud turned on, your Mac keeps only recent files in full. 
• Time Machine local snapshots: your Mac counts the space they use as available storage, and Time Machine deletes them as space is needed.

Apple’s Disk Utility guide adds that you can’t manually remove files labeled as purgeable: macOS removes them as space is required. Time Machine local snapshots are different: Apple documents how to delete them yourself (way 6 below).

How to check your purgeable space?

You can see how much space your macOS has by checking your native storage tab:

• From the main Apple menu, click About This Mac.
• Now, click More Info and select Storage Settings. 
• If there is some purgeable space, it will appear as a section with white and gray stripes.

Or you can open Disk Utility from the Applications > Utilities folder, click the name of your drive in the sidebar, and look for the purgeable amount next to Available: Apple says Available can include purgeable space.

Can macOS be trusted to automatically reclaim purgeable space when needed?

Yes and no. For the most part, macOS does automatically empty it when the system runs low on storage, but based on our experience, it is not always instantaneous or perfect. Sometimes, it may fail to release this space, leading to "low disk space" errors. Luckily, there's a lot you can do to free that space up by removing local Time Machine snapshots, caches, and cloud-synced content. Keep on reading to learn how. 

How to clear up your purgeable space on Mac?

1. Use a dedicated cleaner app

The easiest trick is to use a Mac maintenance app like CleanMyMac, which has a tool designed specifically for the job of purging space on Mac. CleanMyMac is designed to avoid essential system files; by default, it only offers to remove automatically generated system and app data.

Now, to purge space in just a few clicks:

1. Start your free CleanMyMac trial.
2. Go to Performance and run a quick scan.
3. Click View All Tasks.
4. In the Maintenance Tasks tab, select Free Up Purgeable Space and click Run.

Once you’ve reclaimed purgeable space, use CleanMyMac’s Smart Care feature to remove junk files, speed up the system, update your apps, scan your Mac for malware, and declutter your storage — 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 as part of general Mac system hygiene.

The benefits of using CleanMyMac

• According to internal data, on average, a Smart Care scan and clean take up less than 3 minutes
• Based on internal company data, on average, users find and remove 4.9 GB of unnecessary items after the first Smart Care scan
• Comes with 25+ tool to clean, maintain, and protect your MacBook

Test CleanMyMac for free — reduce purgeable space and declutter your Mac in a few clicks.

While CleanMyMac is a quick way to reclaim space, there are other similar apps on the market. Check out this article to learn more about the best Mac cleaner software.

There’s still a lot you can do to free up that space on Mac. Keep reading.

2. Temporarily turn off Time Machine backups

Next up, check if Time Machine backups are enabled. It is a good idea to keep them turned on, but if you want to delete local snapshots right away, turn off automatic backups for a few minutes. Remember that your Mac isn’t backed up automatically until you turn automatic backups back on. Here’s how:

1. From the main Apple menu, go to System Settings > General.
2. Click Time Machine.
3. Click Options, choose Manually from the Backup Frequency menu, then click Done. Wait a few minutes for local snapshots to be deleted, then turn automatic backups back on.

These two tips have a direct impact on freeing up purgeable space, but you can take some extra steps to reclaim it and free up some storage as a bonus.

3. Restart your Mac

Basically, every Mac troubleshooting guide should begin with this recommendation. Purgeable space is space that can be freed up by macOS automatically, and restarting your Mac is one way to do it — it deletes some caches and temp files. 

All you have to do is go to the Apple menu and click Restart. 

4. Enable Optimized Storage feature

To have your macOS remove some files that can be purged when it’s needed is to have your Optimized Storage turned on. Go to Storage settings by following the steps above and turn on the recommendations you want: Store in iCloud keeps only recently opened files on your Mac when space is needed, and Optimize Storage removes Apple TV movies and TV shows you already watched. For more ways to manage storage, read our guide to optimizing storage on Mac.

5. Use Terminal

If you are looking for a way to get rid of purgeable space without restarting your Mac, you can use Terminal. The se of commands below temporarily fills your Mac's drive, and so makes macOS think that it is time to purge space.

Note, though, that this method is complicated and can be fallen upon only if you are comfortable with using the command line. If you are not, skip to the next section. 

If you want to use Terminal, follow these steps: 

1. Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities or via Spotlight search.
2. Now, paste the following command: mkdir ~/largefiles and press Return. It will create a folder named largefiles in the home directory. 

   

3. Next, paste this command, pressing Return afterward: dd if=/dev/random of=~/largefiles/largefile bs=15m — it will create a file named largefile within the largefiles folder you created earlier.
4. A few minutes later, press Ctrl + C to stop the previous step and paste the following command: cp ~/largefiles/largefile ~/largefiles/largefile2 and press Return.
5. Continue running this command, changing largefile2 to a different name every time.
6. Stop running this command when you see the message telling you that your disk is critically low.
7. Now, paste the following command: rm -rf ~/largefiles/ and press Return.

   

8. Finally, empty the Trash to delete the files these commands created.

Tip

Instead of running Terminal commands, try using CleanMyMac’s My Clutter feature. It scans your Mac for duplicates and large and old files, making it easy to declutter your Mac and free up valuable space. And you review and select every file yourself before anything is removed; the selected files are then deleted permanently, bypassing the Trash. Just open the app and click My Clutter > Scan. Review files you no longer need and click Remove. Easy!✅

6. Clear cache files

Finally, to make macOS clear purgeable space, delete cache files. It does not free up purgeable space, but it prompts macOS to remove some eligible data. It can be done manually via Finder. Just follow these steps:

1. From a new Finder window, click Go in the menu bar.
2. With Option pressed, click Library. 

   

3. Go to Caches. 
4. Now, delete files you don’t need. Note that you should not remove folders, only files from them. Double-check what you delete to avoid removing files vital for the operation of macOS.
5. Empty the Trash.

If you are unsure which files to delete, CleanMyMac can help by identifying and removing cache items. In addition to cache files, CleanMyMac detects other types of junk: universal binaries, document versions, unnecessary language files, and outdated log files, to name just a few. All you have to do is click Cleanup > Scan > Clean.

If you want to learn more about different cache types and how to remove these files, check out this ultimate guide.

Should you use third-party tools to purge your drive?

Using third-party tools to purge your Mac's drive can speed up reducing purgeable space. But make sure to consider both pros and cons of such apps before you choose one that will work best for you.

Pros:

• Automation. As we’ve shown, the process of cleaning up purgeable space is tedious and time-consuming. If you use a third-party cleaning software, it will be faster.
• Ease of use. A good cleaner comes with an intuitive design, and you will need just a couple of clicks to do the job.
• Safe selection. A good cleaner selects only items it classifies as safe to remove, but check its selection before you confirm.

Cons:

• Potential privacy and security concerns. All third-party tools designed to purge space have access to the deepest parts of macOS. If you choose a trustworthy developer, though, your data should be safe.
• Malware and viruses. Some apps sold as “Mac cleaners” are malicious software, not trustworthy apps.
• Risks of data loss. If you use a semi-automatic cleaning tool — one that allows you to browse deep in the macOS and choose files for deletion by yourself — you may lose some data by accidentally selecting vital files.

Given the abovementioned, as long as you research what you download to your Mac, using a third-party tool for purging the drive is a viable cleaning option.

Key takeaways

• To quickly free up purgeable space, run the Free Up Purgeable Space task in CleanMyMac or delete Time Machine local snapshots
• When to use Terminal: when you know what you're doing and how to recover accidentally removed files 
• When to run a third-party app: when you do not want to spend hours clearing up space and have a safe-to-use tool from a trusted developer

That’s about all you need to know about what purgeable space is on Mac, so we hope this article has been of help. macOS is a great addition to Mac, and 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.