How to Update MacBook if Not Enough Space

Is it possible to install macOS updates if there's not enough space?

No, you can’t update macOS if you don’t have enough disk space—first for the installer to download, and then secondly for the update to be applied to your Mac. The only solution is to find space for the upgrade, by using an external drive, clearing out unneeded data, or by performing a clean installation of your operating system (check out our article on how to clean install macOS for more info).

Minimum space requirements for macOS updates

There’s no set amount of space you need to update macOS. Major version updates tend to be large, because they usually include new features and other significant changes. Minor updates and security patches are generally much smaller.

Updates also grow in size as the files are decompressed onto your Mac. For example, the macOS Sequoia installer is 12.12GB in size, but that will grow significantly when the update is installed. Have at least 25GB free before you start the update, leaving macOS enough room to operate comfortably.

Read our guide on how to check how much storage you have on Mac if you’re unsure how much space you currently have free.

A note from our experts: 

 

If you’re a few gigabytes short of the space you need to update your MacBook, then MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup is ideal. By clearing out old log files, cached data, unnecessary languages, and more, it can free up space quickly and safely.

 

Here’s how it works:

1. Download, install, and run MacKeeper.
2. Open the Safe Cleanup tool, and click Start Scan.
3. When the scan is done, you’ll see how much space you can save.
4. Review the results, select what you want to delete, then click Clean Junk Files.
5. Read the message in the pop-up. If you’re happy to proceed, click Remove.

What to do if your Mac doesn’t have enough space

What should you do if you need to make more room for the latest macOS update? First of all—don’t give up. We know it can be frustrating to deal with low storage problems, but we’ve come up with a range of methods that can help you.

1. Back up first

Before you do anything, make sure you back up all your important data. We’re going to be deleting files on your computer to make room for your macOS updates, and you don’t want to find you’ve accidentally deleted the wrong thing.

Of course, macOS comes with a fantastic backup solution built right into it. Time Machine lets you easily back up and restore your Mac any time you like, with a minimum of effort.

2. Remove old and unused applications

Apps can quickly fill up your Mac’s storage, making it tricky to download and install updates. The solution? Easy—just remove any old or unused apps that you don’t need anymore.

Here’s our preferred method:

1. Open your Applications folder, and look for apps that you can remove.
2. To remove an app, right-click it and select Send to Trash.
3. Right-click your Trash icon in your Dock, and select Empty Trash.

3. Delete large and unnecessary files

You should also remove any other unneeded files, including old downloads, installers, and watched videos. It’s an easy way to clear storage space if you can’t update your MacBook because there’s not enough space.

This is one way to find and remove large, unnecessary files:

1. Open your Documents folder in Finder.
2. Choose the List layout from the controls at the top of Finder.
3. Click the Size column to sort files by size, with the largest files at the top.
4. Delete anything you no longer need, particularly large files.
5. Do the same with your Desktop.

Important: 

 

This is just the start of how you can clear space on your Mac for updates. For more tips, read our guide on how to clear disk space on Mac.

4. Clean up all system junk

As you use your Mac, many applications temporarily store data, which they think you might need again. Although this can be useful, this cached data can quickly build up, hogging your computer’s valuable disk space and stopping updates.

To manually clear out system junk, do as follows:

1. In Finder, press Shift+Cmd+G.
2. Enter ~/Library/Caches and press Return.
3. You’ll now be in your Caches folder. Delete anything you don’t want.

5. Clean up your Downloads folder

We’ve already mentioned deleting old and large files, but it’s worth highlighting a couple of prime locations for these—your Downloads and Trash. It’s all too easy to forget about the files you have in these folders, and they can take up a lot of space, preventing you from updating your Mac.

Look for old installers and other unwanted data, and delete anything you don’t need, then remember to empty your Trash afterwards.

6. Utilize cloud or external storage

What if you’ve deleted everything you can, and you still don’t have enough space to update your MacBook or desktop Mac? In that case, you can move some of your data instead of erasing it.

When it comes to moving files off your Mac, you have a few main options:

• Network storage: You can store data on a network-attached storage (NAS) device. The big advantage of these is that anyone on your network can access the storage, so they’re great for sharing files.
• USB storage: You can also store data on USB drives. Get a good-quality USB hard drive or SSD. Not only can you store apps on USB storage, but you can also install and run apps on them too.
• Cloud storage: Services like iCloud, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive let you store your files online. That means you can access your data anywhere with an internet connection. However, if you need a lot of storage, you’ll probably have to pay a subscription fee.

7. Use a third-party cleaner

Although you can manually clean a lot of junk off your Mac to make room for updates, you can save a lot of time by using a third-party cleaning app. There are many of them available online, but be careful—the quality varies a lot.

The best Mac cleaner apps will safely delete unwanted files off your Mac without touching anything important. You also want an app that’s secure and free of malware.

To be on the safe side, we suggest downloading apps from trusted suppliers. If they’re not available in the App Store, they should have Apple Notarization and be independently tested, like MacKeeper is.

Advanced alternatives to install macOS update

If you tried all our methods, and you still don’t have enough space for the macOS update, then we’ve got a couple more tips for you.

1. Use an external drive for the update

Rather than downloading the macOS update to your Mac’s system drive, you can put it on an external drive instead. Run the updater straight from the external drive, but make sure to select your system drive when it comes to applying the update.

2. Clean install macOS

Still struggling for space to update your Mac? Then you can install the latest version of macOS as a brand-new OS. This is also useful if the Mac software update isn’t working for any reason.

You can do a clean installation via your Mac’s recovery mode or with a bootable USB drive, using Terminal or a third-party app like MacKeeper.

However, you do the clean install, note that it will delete all your data, including documents, apps, and settings—so make sure you do a backup first.

3. Wait for a lighter installer version

It might seem odd, but sometimes, the best thing to do is wait. Although rare, some updates get released with bugs, which could cause issues when you try to apply the updates to your Mac. They might, for instance, falsely report that you don’t have enough space to install the update on your machine.

So hold on, if you can. Apple might release a patched version of the update or one that’s not so large.

Make your updates easy

It’s always a good idea to keep your Mac free of junk, because a full drive can affect performance and prevent you from applying updates. Back up anything important and delete anything you don’t need, then updating your Mac should be simple.

We also recommend using Safe Cleanup within the MacKeeper app to clear out junk data, including cached files, log files, and unneeded languages. In a matter of seconds, you can free up gigabytes of space—which could be exactly what you need to get your Mac updated.