How to Check Mac Storage

  1. 1

    Apple menu → About This Mac

    Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen and select About This Mac.

  2. 2

    Click Storage (or More Info on newer Macs)

    On macOS Ventura and later: click More Info → scroll to Storage. On earlier versions: click the Storage tab directly. A colour-coded bar shows your total storage and what is using it.

  3. 3

    Click Manage for details

    Click Manage (or the Storage Settings button) to see a detailed breakdown by category — Applications, Documents, iCloud Drive, Messages, Photos, Music, System and Other. Click any category to see individual files and delete what you do not need.

What Each Category Means

  • Applications: Installed apps. Delete apps you do not use by clicking one and pressing Delete.
  • Documents: Files on your Mac. Sort by size to find large files taking up space.
  • Photos: Your Photos library. Enable iCloud Photos to store originals in the cloud and keep smaller versions on Mac.
  • System: macOS itself plus caches. Cannot be directly reduced but the Optimise Storage recommendations help.
  • Other: Miscellaneous files including caches, downloads and temporary files. Often the biggest category — worth investigating.
Quick wins for freeing spaceEmpty the Trash (right-click Trash → Empty Trash). Clear your Downloads folder — most files there are one-time downloads you do not need. Delete large unused apps. Use iCloud Photos with Optimise Storage turned on.

Check Storage from Terminal (Exact Numbers)

Open Terminal and type df -h for a precise breakdown. The line starting with /dev/disk shows your main drive — the Used column shows exactly how much is used.

Frequently Asked Questions

In Storage Management (About This Mac → Storage → Manage), sort each category by size. Common culprits: the Downloads folder filled with forgotten files, large video files, old iPhone backups in iTunes/Finder, and unused applications. The Other category often hides large cache files.
Open Finder → select your iPhone in the sidebar → Manage Backups → right-click old backups → Delete. Or in iTunes (older macOS): Edit → Preferences → Devices → select old backups → Delete Backup.