Remove Purgeable Space Mac Monterey

Purgeable files are both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it’s great to know that even though your disk is full, there’s potential to remove some useless files. On the other hand, however, they’re incredibly difficult to locate and delete. So, what are these files, and where do you find purgeable space on Mac? Stay tuned to find out.

Before we start:

 

Though this guide includes multiple methods to erase these pesky purgeable files, the process can be complex—even for experienced Mac users. So, if you prefer to remove purgeable files in seconds, try MacKeeper's Safe Cleanup. Our tool will help you clear useless and hard-to-find files in just a few clicks.

 

Here’s how you can perform a Safe Cleanup:

1. Download and install MacKeeper.
2. Open MacKeeper, click on the Safe Cleanup tool.
3. Select Start Scan, and MacKeeper will locate all cache files on your Mac.
4. Confirm the files you want to remove, and hit Clean Junk Files.  

What is purgeable space on macOS Monterey

Purgeable space is additional space that can be created on your Mac’s disk drive when it gets too full. These purgeable files are typically made up of temporary files, called caches, which will automatically get deleted if your disk drive is full. If you run out of storage, your Mac will automatically delete purgeable files to make room for new files, such as macOS updates.

How to check purgeable space on Mac Monterey

If you want to check how purgeable space is on your Monterey Mac, you’ll need to open Disk Utility, which can be located using the steps below:

1. Press command + spacebar to open Spotlight Search.
2. Type in Disk Utility, and then press Enter.
3. Select your disk drive in Disk Utility.
4. Look at the Available section, and the amount of purgeable space will be in brackets.

How to delete purgeable files on Mac Monterey

In this article, we’ll take a close look at a number of different ways you can find and delete purgeable files to free up as much space on your macOS Monterey as possible. Below, we’ll go through the following methods to delete purgeable files:

1. Use Terminal
2. Optimize your storage
3. Empty trash
4. Clear cache and temporary files
5. Turn off local snapshots in the Time Machine
6. Restart your Mac
7. Remove duplicate files in Apple Music
8. Delete photos you’ve already backed up to iCloud
9. Flush DNS Cache
10. Delete purgeable space with software

1. Use Terminal

Lots of people are unaware that when backing up your Mac using Time Machine, macOS Monterey will automatically create a local snapshot of your device. This can be used to restore your MacBook Pro in the event of a system crash. However, if you back up to an external drive, this snapshot isn’t required on your Mac’s drive—so removing it can save you lots of space.

Find out how to purge local snapshots using Terminal below:

1. Press command + spacebar and open Spotlight Search.
2. Type in Terminal, and hit enter.
3. To remove all snapshots at once, copy and paste the following command into Terminal (*without the full stop at the end) and hit enter:
   • for d in $(tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates | grep "-"); do sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots $d; done’.
4. Then, enter your Mac’s password and click OK.

2. Optimize your storage

If you’re a TV binge-watcher or a movie buff, it’s likely that having downloaded video files on your Mac is taking up lots of purgeable disk space. Fortunately, macOS Monterey has a built-in feature to optimize Mac storage by automatically deleting Apple TV content that you’ve already watched. To use the Storage Optimizer:

1. Click the Apple icon in the top left corner.
2. Select About this Mac from the drop-down menu.
3. Navigate to Storage, then hit Manage.
4. Go to the Recommendations tab from the side menu, and then click Optimize.

Alternative from our team: 

 

Saving space on your disk drive using a storage optimizer helps you speed up your Mac, as when your storage is full, your Mac is unable to create new caches. But did you know that you can also speed up your Mac by cleaning your RAM? MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner allows you to clear your memory at the touch of a button.

 

Here’s how to use Memory Cleaner:

1. Download MacKeeper.
2. Select Memory Cleaner from the side menu.
3. Hit Clean Memory, and your RAM will be cleaned.

3. Empty trash

Do you ever find that after you delete a file on your Mac, your free disk space still has not increased? Typically, this is because you need to regularly empty your Trash in order to delete a file on macOS Monterey efficiently. Luckily, it’s really easy to empty your Trash— find out how below:

1. Open Trash by clicking on the Trash can icon on the right side of your Dock.
2. Select Empty in the top right corner of this window.
3. A dialog box will appear asking you if you’re sure you want to empty Trash, click Empty Trash to delete these files permanently.

Our expert’s recommendation: 

 

As an alternative method, you should try MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup feature. It allows you to clear all junk items clogging up your Mac in seconds, including Trash files, useless logs, caches, and language files.

 

Here’s how to empty your trash using MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup:

1. Download and install MacKeeper.
2. Choose Safe Cleanup from the menu
3. Tick the items you’d like to remove, then press Clean Junk Files.

4. Clear cache and temporary files

Your Mac and its applications automatically generate caches to facilitate quicker launches. However, these cache files can quickly accumulate and consume significant storage space on your hard drive over time. So, if you want to remove purgeable space on macOS Monterey, it's essential to clear the cache on your MacBook periodically.

Here's a step-by-step guide to clear your cache:

1. Open Finder and press Shift + Command + G on your keyboard to access Go to Folder.
2. In the text box that appears, type ~/Library/Caches and press Go.
3. Select the cache files you want to get rid of and drag them to the Trash icon in your dock.

Hint from our experts: 

 

Manually locating cache files can be time-consuming and overwhelming, requiring you to trudge through your Library folders to decide what to delete. A cleaner app like MacKeeper offers a convenient alternative. MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup feature will automatically scan your Mac for cache files and delete them for you in seconds, saving you both time and space.

5. Turn off local snapshots in the Time Machine

Though Time Machine is a great way to back up important data, few people are aware that every hour your Mac creates a new snapshot of your computer. This allows for a recent, safe restore point should your system ever crash. However, snapshots can take up lots of disk space, and if you require additional storage space, turning off local snapshots is a great way to start.

Find out how to turn off local snapshots in our guide below:

1. Press command + spacebar to open Spotlight Search.
2. Type in System Preferences, and press Enter.
3. Select Time Machine in the System Preferences menu.
4. Untick the Back Up Automatically box.

6. Restart your Mac

One often forgotten method to remove purgeable files is so obvious that it’s easy to forget. As your Mac remains switched on, cache files continue to build up. Moreover, these files continue to sit on your hard drive, even when you lock your Mac or put it to sleep. So, you should periodically restart your Mac every once in a while: it not only removes some junk files, but also improves overall performance.

To restart your Mac:

1. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen.
2. Select Restart from the drop-down menu.
3. Wait a minute, and your laptop will reboot without junk system files.

7. Remove duplicate files in Apple Music

If you were a big music fan before the days of streaming services, you’ll likely have amassed a large collection of digital music in iTunes (which now lives inside the Music app). Over time, you might have noticed albums and songs that appear twice in your library, but sifting through thousands of tracks to find duplicates is an arduous process. Find out how to easily identify and delete duplicate files in Apple Music:

1. Open Music.
2. In the top menu, go to File, then navigate to Library.
3. Select Show duplicate items from the drop-down menu.
4. Select a song you want to delete, and hit backspace to remove it.

Note from us: 

 

A great way to organize your Music library is to use the consolidate files option in the Library menu. This organizes all of your music into one, easy-to-navigate folder. When combining this with MacKeeper’s Duplicates Finder, you can easily delete all duplicate songs in seconds.

8. Delete photos you’ve already backed up to iCloud

Since digital photography took off at the turn of the millennium, many of you now have twenty years worth of photos saved to your Macs. None of us want to lose these important memories, should anything ever happen to your MacBook. So it’s always a good idea to use Apple’s iCloud drive to back up your photos.

Find out how to free up space using iCloud below:

1. Go to Finder, and then select iCloud Drive from the sidebar.
2. Drag and drop the photos you want to back up to your iCloud folder.
3. Once the upload is complete, move the backed-up photos to your Trash to free up additional space on your Mac.

9. Flush DNS Cache

Your DNS cache stores records of the IP addresses you've accessed online, enhancing web browsing speed. However, it's beneficial to clear the DNS cache periodically to free up disk space and protect yourself from online phishing scams. Here's how:

1. Open Spotlight Search by pressing command + space.
2. Type Terminal and press Enter.
3. Paste the following command into Terminal: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;say cache flushed’.
4. Press Enter.

10. Delete purgeable space with software

That was a lot to take in, wasn’t it? Though all of the above methods are effective in removing purgeable space, they can often be tricky and time-consuming to carry out. By far, the fastest and most effective way is to use the specific software to delete purgeable space. One such solution is MacKeeper, which includes multiple cleaning feature, including Safe Cleanup.

Find out how to scan and clear your Mac for purgeable files such as logs, caches, and language files with MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup:

1. Download MacKeeper.
2. Open the MacKeeper app, and select Safe Cleanup from the sidebar.
3. Select the relevant items you’d like to delete (e.g. Caches).
4. Click Clean Junk Files and let MacKeeper do all the work.

Although Safe Cleanup is a great way to remove purgeable files, MacKeeper also includes a suite of features that help to save disk space in a more general sense. For example, the Duplicates Finder can identify and delete any identical files spotted on your Mac, and the Smart Uninstaller provides a simple and safe method of removing useless apps you no longer need. This makes MacKeeper a one-stop shop for disk management, especially if you’re unsure of how to clear storage on Mac.

Freshen up your Mac Monterey with us

Getting rid of purgeable space can feel like a chore when done manually, so if you’re stuck or simply don’t have the time—fear not—because MacKeeper is here to save the day. It’s a holistic app that takes care of your storage management. Also, the app includes a few performance features to keep your Mac running like a well-oiled machine.

Memory Cleaner, for example, can free up your Mac’s RAM in just one click. Hungry to get the best out of your MacBook with absolutely zero effort? Download MacKeeper today, and you can both have your cake and eat it. Delicious.