How to Clear iMovie Library

November 19, 2024

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As you create more projects in iMovie, your catalog will begin getting cluttered. If you don’t address this issue, everything will eventually stack up to a point where your library risks becoming unmanageable. For this reason, knowing how to clear your iMovie library is something that can’t be overlooked.

However, clearing out your catalog presents challenges. The last thing you want to do is accidentally delete a project, file, or folder that was important to something you were currently working on. So, knowing how to do so safely is essential.

Today, I’ll show you how to empty the iMovie library. You’ll also find out how to clean up videos and more.

Before we start:

Clearing out any files on your computer requires being careful and not removing programs that could be crucial to specific apps. Using a third-party tool, such as MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstaller, will help you do this. Besides clearing only non-essential files, you’ll guarantee that your Mac runs faster than before. Moreover, you’ll clean up all of your unused apps at once—saving time as a result.

Here’s how to use Smart Uninstaller:
Download MacKeeper.
Go to Cleaning > Smart Uninstaller.
Select Start Scan.
Tick all the categories, apps, and programs you want to clear out.
Click on Remove Selected, and our dedicated software will clean up your computer before too long.

In this article you will find the following:

What is iMovie library

Your iMovie library is where all of your movie data is held. This includes every video and photo that you import. Keeping the files you’re using for your current projects is essential, but you should consider removing anything that isn’t part of what you’re already using.

How to delete iMovie library on Mac

Deleting your iMovie library is very straightforward. First, look for your iMovie library in Finder. When you see it, drag and drop the file into your Trash folder. You can then go to your Trash and clear everything out.

Once you know how to see what is taking up space on your Mac, and you’ve determined that your iMovie library is one contributor, you can do each of the following:

Reset your iMovie library
Remove iMovie Projects
Delete iMovie Events
Clean up iMovie Video
Move iMovie Library to external drive

I’ll now walk you through the steps for each of these solutions.

1. Reset iMovie library

Resetting your iMovie library will get rid of your current files and free up space on your computer. This can also work as a solution if videos aren’t playing on your Mac—but generally speaking, I’d make this a last resort as you need to rebuild everything.

Quickly open the iMovie app. At the same time, keep your finger on the Option key.
A pop-up window should appear. When it does, select New; this will make another iMovie library on your device.
Rename your iMovie library.
Select Save.
Go to Finder and search for your first iMovie library so you can remove it.
Drag and drop the library into the Trash folder. Then, go to your Trash and delete it permanently.

Before clearing out your iMovie library, open the app while holding the Option key. A pop-up window will appear. When it does, select the New tab and create another project. — **Step 1. Open iMovie while holding the Option key > select the New tab**

When the pop-up window appears and you've selected New, create a project. Give your iMovie project a new name, and choose where you want to save it, before selecting Save. — **Step 2. Create and save your new iMovie library**

After creating a new iMovie library, go to Finder and search for your old one. Drag and drop it into the Trash folder. Then, go to your Trash and remove it altogether. — **Step 3. Go into Finder, find your old iMovie library, and move it into the Trash**

2. Remove iMovie Projects

Instead of emptying the iMovie library, I think that deleting iMovie projects is a better choice if you’re still working on some projects. You should easily free up space on your device, even if you don’t compress videos on your Mac or do other things. Here’s how:

Open iMovie and make sure that you’ve selected the Projects tab.
Go to the project(s) you want to delete.
Select the circle icon with three dots to expand a dropdown menu.
Tap Delete Project.
Select Continue when the window asking you to confirm your project deletion appears.

If you don't want to empty your Mac library, you can delete a single project instead. To do this, open iMovie and go to the project you want to remove. Select the circle icon with three dots. — **Step 1. Open iMovie and go to the project you want to remove, before selecting the circle icon with three dots**

A dropdown menu will then appear. When it does, select Delete Project. Doing this will reveal a pop-up window, which will allow you to finalize the deletion process. — **Step 2. Select Delete Project**

Once you've initially selected that you want to delete your iMovie project, you'll then have to confirm your choice. To do this, click on Continue when the pop-up window appears on your screen. — **Step 3. Click on Continue when the pop-up window appears**

3. Delete iMovie Events

Deleting events will remove all the content within that event. By default, you’ll naturally clean up your library. Below are the steps you’ll need to follow:

Open iMovie and go into a project.
On the left-hand side, you should see a tab titled All Events. Click on this.
Highlight the event you want to delete by pressing Control and your trackpad.
Click on Delete Event.
Confirm your choice when the pop-up window appears by clicking on Delete.

Open iMovie and go to the left-hand toolbar. Under Libraries, select All Events. Here, you'll find a list of the events that you might want to delete from your iMovie project. — **Step 1. Select your event in the left-hand toolbar**

Once you've found all of your events, go through each of the ones you want to remove. When you're there, click on Delete Event. You'll then have to confirm your choice. — **Step 2. Select Delete Event**

When the pop-up window appears, click on Continue. Doing so will delete your project. Moreover, all of the media within this project will then be removed. — **Step 3. Select Continue when the pop-up window appears**

4. Clean up iMovie Videos

You can also delete videos within iMovie. In my opinion, doing so is a good idea if you’re still working on a project but don’t need a specific part of it. Follow my hints:

Go into an event for which you want to remove some of your videos.
Highlight the media in this event that you no longer wish to keep.
Select Delete Media from Event.
Click Delete when the pop-up window appears.

Once you've picked an event on your device, highlight the media you want to remove. A dropdown menu will appear; when it does, select Delete Media from Event. — **Step 1. Highlight your media and select Delete Media from Event**

A pop-up window will appear and ask you to confirm whether you want to delete your media. When it does, click on the blue Delete button to finalize the process. — **Step 2. Select Delete when the pop-up window appears**

5. Move iMovie Library to external drive

Do you need all the projects you’re working on? If so, you could always migrate your iMovie library to an external drive. For example, I have a 2TB external HDD that I like to use for all my photo and video projects; this saves significant space on my Mac.

Connect your external hard drive.
Search for your iMovie library in Finder.
Drag and drop the library into your external hard drive. Your computer will then proceed to copy and paste everything. The duration depends on your library size.

Drag and drop your iMovie library into your external hard drive by searching for it in Finder and then moving it to your HDD. The transfer time varies depending on how big your library is.

A note from our experts:

In addition to deleting videos, another way to save space is by converting MOV to MP4 on your Mac. From my experience, doing this is ideal if you have videos that could easily be audio files.

How to clear iMovie library on iPhone

For cleaning the iMovie library on your iPhone, do the following:

Find the project you want to delete in iMovie and tap on it.
Select the Trash can icon at the bottom of your screen.
Tap Delete Project when the option appears.

Your movie should be deleted instantly across all devices.

To clear iMovie on your iPhone, go to your projects and pick one that you want to remove. Clicking on it will open the movie project. — **Step 1. Select your project in iMovie**

When you open your project, select the Trash can icon at the bottom of your screen. You'll then have the option to remove the movie from your library. — **Step 2. Select the Trash can icon at the bottom of the window**

Once you've chosen the Trash can icon, two options will appear. Select Delete Project to confirm your choice. iMovie will delete the project from your device within a few seconds. — **Step 3. Tap Delete Project**

Now, you know how to tidy up or delete your iMovie library

Whether you want to free up storage space or keep your iMovie library clean, you can tidy everything up in multiple ways. Sometimes, it makes sense to remove everything—especially if you no longer need any of the content in a project. Other times, you’ll need to be a bit more tactful.

If you want to safely clear out your music library and other apps/programs, MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstaller is the way to go—here’s how to use it: