How to Clear System Data on a Mac (3 Ways in 3 Minutes)

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🎬 Recorded & Edited with Descript: https://geni.us/Edit-Like-Rosales (🔗Affiliate Link)

Here's how to clear system data on a Mac with this easy guide. Follow these steps for a step-by-step tutorial on clearing system data.

Method 1: Deleting User Cache Files

This is the simplest and safest method, targeting temporary files that can accumulate over time.

1. Go to Folder: In Finder, press Command + Shift + G.
2. Navigate to Library: Type ~/Library and press Enter.
3. Open Caches: Locate and open the Caches folder.
4. Calculate Sizes: To see which folders are the largest, switch to list view, press Command + J, and check the box for "Calculate all sizes." Then, sort the list by size.
5. Delete Large Caches: Identify large folders from applications you use, such as Adobe or Google. 6. Select them and press Command + Delete to move them to the trash.
7. Empty Trash: Right-click the Trash icon in your dock and select "Empty Trash" to permanently delete the files and free up space.

Method 2: Exploring Hidden Folders (With Caution)

This method involves looking for large files in system-level folders, which requires a bit more care.

1. Go to Computer: In Finder, use the "Go" menu to select "Computer," then open your main hard drive (e.g., "Macintosh HD").
2. Show Hidden Files: Press Command + Shift + . (the period key) to reveal hidden files and folders. The "Library" folder is a key one that will appear.
3. Investigate Large Folders: Look for folders with large sizes. We used the Messages folder (found within the hidden Library) as an example, which contains large attachments and caches folders.
4. Verify Before Deleting: This is a critical step. Before deleting anything you're unsure about, use a tool like ChatGPT. Ask it if it's safe to delete a specific folder (e.g., "Can I delete the caches folder inside ~/Library/Messages?").
5. Delete and Empty Trash: After confirming it's safe, delete the target folder (Command + Delete) and empty the trash.

Frequently Asked Questions from Prior Videos:

1. What's the first and safest place to look for system data to delete?
The ~/Library/Caches folder. These are temporary files that apps create to speed up operations but can be safely deleted. Your Mac will regenerate them as needed.

2. How do I see how much space each folder is using in Finder?
In Finder, press Command + J to open the "View Options" window. Check the box at the bottom that says "Calculate all sizes." You can then sort by the "Size" column to see the largest folders.

3. How do I see hidden files and folders like the main Library folder?
While in Finder, press the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + . (period key). This will toggle the visibility of hidden files and folders.

4. Is it safe to delete everything I find?
No. The video strongly advises caution. While cache folders are generally safe, other folders (like the attachments in Messages or files in Application Support) may contain important data. If you delete them, you could lose personal files or cause applications to break.

5. How can I check if a file or folder is safe to delete?
We suggest using an AI assistant like ChatGPT. You can describe the exact file path (e.g., "I'm in ~/Library/Messages and see an attachments folder that is 16 GB. Is it safe to delete?") to get advice on what the folder does and the consequences of deleting it.

6. What if I've deleted all the cache I can find and still don't have enough space? We'd recommend buying an external SSD (Solid State Drive). This allows you to move large files or entire project folders off your main drive while still accessing them at high speeds.

🔗 DISCLAIMER: This is our recommendation based on researching and trying to find the best solution. If you happen to click and purchase something through the link, it doesn’t cost you any extra. Amazon may give us a small commission as an Amazon Associate from qualifying purchases. But just so you know, since the start of 2021, we have been giving 90% of any profit we personally receive through the links on this channel to our church: https;//www.youtube.com/@elevationchurch

This is our recommendation, based on researching and trying to find the best solution. If you buy through a link, it doesn't cost you anything extra, and we may earn a small commission. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Since the start of 2021, we've given 90% of any profit we personally receive through these links to our church.

Read the transcript

Here's how to clear system data on a Mac. Even though I only have 65 gigs of system data, you may be like my friend who had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of gigs of system data, not knowing where it's coming from or how to take care of it. Well, in this video, I'm going to give you two ways to do that. The first way is to open Finder on your computer, then hold the command key, the shift key, and tap the letter G. After erasing whatever is there, hold the shift key, and tap the tilda key below the escape button, then forward/ library. Press enter. From here, on the right side, you want to go to caches. Google says that cache files are temporary automatically stored system data files that can help speed up future use. They can also take up storage space causing slowdowns and glitches over time. So, the first way is to get rid of these cache files that are no longer needed. The next step is to click this button at the top and switch it to list view. And you'll probably see a lot of folders that don't have a size next to them. So, on your keyboard, hold the command key and tap the letter J. And at the bottom, tap calculate all sizes. Close that. Now, we can tap on size here at the top to make sure that it's sorted by biggest to smallest. For a lot of people, Adobe is one of the largest folders you'll see in there. My friend had over 200 gigs of system data in there. So, what you'll do after highlighting it is hold command and then tap the delete button. Google is also really large for me. So, I'm going to delete that one, too. So, then we need to go to the bottom, right click on the trash, and then empty trash. Watch this. Drop down my system data. I currently have 65.48. Hit empty trash. And now I drop down 3 gigs. For many of you, that's not enough. So, let's go to part two. So, now in the top lefthand corner, tap go and go to computer. Double click on your system drive like Macintosh HD. And remember, if you can't see the system size, hold command and tap J. Check calculate all sizes. Now, often some of your largest folders are going to be in the hidden file. So to access that, hold command, hold shift, and tap the period button. You see how library just appeared for me? That's where caches was originally. So now you want to go through and look at what has the largest size folder. Now, we can see here that my application support folder has 224 gigs. That's likely this documents folder here. But we're looking for system data. These are sometimes sensitive files that you don't want to delete. So if we go down a little bit more, we'll see something called messages. If I open that up, I have another cache folder and attachments folder. So, this brings up an important question. Can we just delete anything? Now, it's impossible for me to know what's on your computer, but there is something you can do. Let's ask Chat GPT. I am currently trying to delete system data on my Mac, and I am in my Finder folder, under my username, looking under a hidden library folder, and looking at messages where it says attachments, caches, and other things. Can I delete my attachment and caches folder because they total over 16 gigs right now. And by the way, that program I just used to speak out loud and automatically writes it down for me. That's called Super Whisper. It's one of my favorite programs. I'll put the link in the description if you want to check it out. But let's ask ChatgPT. If I delete things in my attachments folder, the videos, images, all those things in iMessage will no longer show on my Mac. But for the caches folder, it says it is safe to delete and it'll regenerate the next time I go to open it, even though it might slow it down. And then it gives recommended approaches. So I'm going to delete the caches folder just to show you what happens. 3.37 gigs. Again, I'm going to hold command, tap delete, right click on the trash bin in the bottom right, hit empty trash. So, I have 65 gigs of system data. Hit empty trash and it drops down to 62 gigs. Then you can do the same thing to go through the rest of the folders on your Mac that have lots of gigs. Remember to ask chat GPT if there's something that you don't understand and if it's safe to delete. Now, if you've gone through all the steps and still need more space, you can do what we did and get an external SSD drive. This has 2 terb of data, which is double the storage on Mac. And when it's plugged in, because it's an SSD drive, it runs just as fast as if I was editing the files on my computer. At least it did for me. So, I'll link the one that I use below. If this helped you save some data, subscribe and let me know how much in the comments.

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