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How to clean my files folder on mac. Cleaning “Other” on Mac without using third-party applications. What is the Other folder in OS X

But also on a Mac computer - especially if you have a 128 GB SSD under the hood. In this case, you can, of course, use third-party applications, but for good programs, and there are ways to clean a Mac using standard operating system tools.

First, you need to find out whether you even have this “Other” thing. Go to the Apple menu - “About This Mac”, where we open the “Storage” tab. As you can see, I have almost 180 gigabytes occupied for some reason.

First, we clear the cache files - depending on the computer, they can take up from a couple of gigabytes to 10 or even 20 gigabytes. Open and select the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + G. In the window that appears, enter the path ~/Library/caches.

After this, you will have access to application cache files: choose for yourself which folder to delete. We recommend that you first view how much disk space it takes up.

Another good thing to do is clean out your “Downloads” folder. Yes, no need to be surprised, have you been looking at it for a long time? For example, I still have last year’s files and folders of several gigabytes each. Over time, as a rule, you forget about them, and they remain a burden on your hard drive or SSD.

What everyone forgets about is the old ones in iTunes. It’s okay if there are copies of 3-4 gigabytes, but what if they are 30-40? Open iTunes, select Settings - Devices tab and remove unnecessary junk. Now all this is in iCloud!

In general, do not forget to delete unused applications.

And in Mac OS X. A significant plus of a desktop OS Apple- is that it is much easier to understand what it consists of Other. Find out what's in the corresponding folder on your Mas, delete what you don’t need and free up, without exaggeration, gigabytes of free space!

How to find out the size of the "Other" folder?

1 . Click the Apple menu ( icon).
2 . Select an item About this Mas, then - Storage.

In new versions of Mac OS X, the folder Other marked blue in color, in the old ones - yellow.

The decent size of the folder immediately attracts attention. 66 gigabytes - more than any other partition!

What is the Other folder in OS X?

Apple interprets the concept of “other” very broadly. Cupertino believes that everything that does not belong to certain file types (applications, backups, songs, movies, photos) goes here. So in Other quite calmly fall:

Documents (PDF files, .doc, .psd, etc.);
Archives and disk images (.zip, .iso, etc.);
User's personal data;
OS X system folders, temporary files, etc.;
Files from user libraries (Application Support, files, screensavers, etc.);
Cache (eg browser cache, system cache);
Fonts, plugins, extensions;
Other files that the search did not recognize - for example, a virtual machine with Windows installed, etc.

As you can see, the contents of the folder Other in OS X it’s not always “garbage”. In principle, we can say this: any file that is not a photo, movie, program, song, or at least a backup copy, the system will send to Other. This is a kind of “Apple” humor. Everything that is not media or “backup” is “other”...

If we need free disk space on our Mac, we should think about deleting the contents from the Other folder. How to do this?

How to empty the Other folder on OS X

Unfortunately, Apple did not provide one button or function for this. Manual cleaning assumes that you remove everything unnecessary from the following sections:

—Downloads;
—Documents(both via the side menu);
—Cache. To get to it, go to your Mac desktop, click ⌘Cmd + ⇧Shift + G(this is the “Go to Folder” command). In the line that appears, enter the path ~/Library/Caches/. It is not recommended to delete everything in the Cache folder - it is better to delete only unnecessary files. Click ⌘Cmd+J, sort the files by size and remove unnecessary (and understandable :)). For these purposes, you can use the free utility OmniDiskSweeper.

— File attachments from correspondence with friends in Messages (path ~/Library/Messages/Attachments/).

Uninstalling via Finder Smart Folder

Another opportunity to “remove” unnecessary files is to search through Finder. Exit to your desktop. Click ⌘Cmd + F to open Search via Smart Folder. Make sure the search goes by section This Mas. In the field Type select Other, in the list that appears - File size. In the second field select More than, in the third enter a number (for example, 100 ). Screenshots:

Review the list and remove what you don't need.

Also, don’t forget about the simple ways - uninstalling applications and cleaning .

Removing system cache, temporary files, virtual memory files

Restart or turn off your Mac. All the things listed in the subtitle are unlikely to harm you. Trying to delete something in the system folder is more expensive for yourself; this can only be done (but is not obligatory) by an experienced Mac maker. If you really want to, you can use a third-party application

Even the fastest and most powerful computers become clogged with unnecessary files over time, and Apple computers are no exception. A large amount of junk on your hard drive can take up a lot of free space and also affect the speed and stability of your computer. Is there a way to quickly find and delete all those junk files that are slowing down your Mac OS?

Luckily, there's Movavi Mac Cleaner, a simple and convenient tool that will scan every corner of your system, show you what's taking up disk space, and safely remove all unnecessary files. Free up gigabytes of space and speed up your computer now - download Movavi Mac Cleaner and follow our step-by-step instructions to clean up your Mac drive.

1. Install a Mac OS X cleaning program

Open the installation file and follow the on-screen instructions on your Mac to help you install the program correctly. Once the installation is complete, launch Mac Cleaner.

2. Scan the system

As soon as you launch Mac Cleaner, the program will immediately begin checking your computer for junk. When the scanning process is completed, the screen will show the total amount of space occupied by unnecessary files.

3. Clean up your Mac drive

To quickly clean your Mac of debris, click Start cleaning. Thus, the program will erase all unnecessary cache and log files, and also delete files located in the Recycle Bin.

You can also delete unnecessary files manually. Notice the tabbed panel on the left side of the interface. In the tab System cleaning you can choose to delete cache and log files by clicking on the corresponding switches. If you want to delete individual files, click Details opposite the desired category. Next, mark the files you want to get rid of and click Start cleaning.

Open the tab Removing languages. In it you can remove all unnecessary application localizations and other language files that you will most likely never need. Just check the boxes for unnecessary localizations and click the button you already know Start cleaning.

Tab Large and old files will help you quickly find and delete “heavy” files that have been on your computer for a long time and, probably, you no longer need. To erase these files from your hard drive, check them and click Start cleaning.

To free up additional disk space, remove unused applications, as well as files remaining on the disk from programs that were previously removed. To do this, open the tab Uninstaller and select a section User Applications, OS X Applications or Leftovers. Check the box next to the programs or files you want to erase and click Delete.

It so happens that even in 2018, MacBooks have very small hard drives. Regardless of the Mac usage model, free space is melting before our eyes. We offer 8 ways to help free up precious disk space. Let's say the storage is already full, or even worse, a notification has arrived that there is no free space.

1. Remove unnecessary items from the cart

The first thing you need to do is “take out the trash,” no matter how funny it may sound, empty the trash. The Recycle Bin on a Mac works similarly to the Recycle Bin on Windows; instead of deleting it from your hard drive, files are first moved to the Recycle Bin so they can be restored. Regularly empty the Recycle Bin of unnecessary files; do not forget that some applications, such as Mail or iMovie, have their own Recycle Bin, which also needs to be emptied periodically.

2. Remove unnecessary applications

Some applications take up a lot of space, review the list of installed applications and remove those that you do not plan to use. To see a list of installed applications and the amount of storage they take up, open Finder, go to Programs, then select “Display items as icons, list, columns, or Cover Flow.”

3. Delete iPhone or iPad backups from iTunes

If you often synchronize your iPhone or iPad with iTunes, a bunch of backup copies are collected on your hard drive, which take up a lot of free space. To find backups, use this path:

~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup

There, all backups will be signed with random names. Delete them all, then create an up-to-date backup of your iPhone or iPad if necessary.

4. Delete temporary files

A lot of temporary files accumulate on the macOS hard drive that are not particularly valuable; as a rule, the operating system periodically deletes these files itself, but it does not do this as often as we would like.

Periodically delete temporary browser files; these files speed up the loading of web pages, but sometimes browsers store unnecessary files, and deleting them can free up storage.

macOS temporary files can be found by opening Finder, click Go, then Go to Folder, use path

A folder with temporary files will open, which can be deleted without harm to the operation of macOS.

5. Remove language packs

The macOS operating system comes with pre-installed language packs so that you can switch the system language to the desired one at the right time. Often 1-2 languages are used, which means unnecessary ones can be deleted, freeing up space on your hard drive. You can remove unwanted language packs using the CleanMyMac or Monolingual apps.

6. Remove large email attachments

Users of the pre-installed Mail app may end up with a lot of emails with heavy attachments. Check the already downloaded emails and delete unnecessary ones. To save space in the future, automatically download attachments in the Mail application settings.

7. Remove junk from the “Downloads” folder

This is advice from Captain Obvious, but it is often forgotten. The “Downloads” folder is a garbage dump of downloaded files, open it and delete what you don’t need.

8. Removing junk using a special utility

The easy way was left for dessert. The above steps can be performed more easily using a special utility, such as CleanMyMac. The utility from MacPaw can automatically perform the necessary actions to clean up your Mac, and also provides the ability to remove language packs, correctly uninstall applications, and clear browser caches and email attachments in a few clicks.

When I first purchased the MacBook, it loaded so quickly and opened applications and pages on the Internet so quickly! But over time, a lot of unnecessary files have accumulated on it, which are really of no use, but they take up an unforgivably lot of space. Therefore, if you have already deleted a number of your personal unnecessary files, but still do not understand where the space goes, it will be useful for you to learn how to clear memory on a MacBook.

How to get rid of residual files

Many MacBook models come with little free hard drive space. This space is immediately filled with residual and temporary files. To free it from various debris:

Close applications that are not currently needed.
Don't forget to empty your trash.
Pay attention to the “downloads” folder, it is clogged with a huge number of temporary small unnecessary files.
Restart MacBook.
Install software to clean your system of junk.

In the "downloads" folder, you can sort files by weight and remove the largest unnecessary ones. A chaotic mess often accumulates there.

When you restart your MacBook, it automatically deletes residual system files, most of them. Therefore, rebooting your laptop from time to time is simply necessary to free up space in the process.

Cleaning programs

There are several programs designed to clear temporary files, and with them the browser cache. This software searches for residual and outdated files, and can be used to remove applications that are no longer needed. When uninstalling applications through additional software, you can get rid of unnecessary directories that the system itself can skip.

Memory cleaning programs are downloaded through the AppStore. Programs such as CleanMyMac, AppTrap or OmniDiscSweeper can help clean up disk space. Some programs are provided completely free of charge, but there is also paid software.

Clearing the browser cache

While the user spends time on the Internet, his browser’s cache becomes clogged with a huge number of temporary files necessary for the correct display of the pages he opens. Therefore, when the browser starts to work very slowly, and the space on your hard drive is clogged with unknown temporary files, you need to clear the cache.