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An old iPhoto Library is still on your Mac. Deleting it may free much less than it shows

Upgrading from iPhoto or Aperture to Photos left the old library behind. Why it may share files with Photos, and how to check what deleting it would really free.

4 min read

In your Pictures folder there is an iPhoto Library next to your Photos Library, both about the same size. It looks like 60 GB of duplicates. It may not be.

Why it might not be a duplicate

When Photos imported your old iPhoto or Aperture library, it did not copy the photos. It pointed both libraries at the same files on disk, using what are called hard links. Finder counts each library at its full size, but the pictures are only stored once. Delete the old library, and Photos still has its files, so you free far less than Finder showed.

Check what it would free

# How much the old library holds that is not shared
du -sh ~/Pictures/iPhoto\ Library.photolibrary

# Both together: du counts each hard-linked file once
du -sh ~/Pictures/iPhoto\ Library.photolibrary ~/Pictures/Photos\ Library.photoslibrary

If the second command's total is close to the size of the Photos library alone, most files are shared. The names may differ slightly on your Mac: older libraries end in .photolibrary or have no extension.

Before you delete it

  1. Open Photos and check your old albums and events are there.
  2. If you use iCloud Photos, check uploads have finished.
  3. Make sure you have a backup, for example Time Machine.
  4. Move the old library to the Trash. Wait a week before emptying it.

When it is a real duplicate

If the library was copied to this Mac from another one, or never imported into Photos, the files are not shared, and deleting it frees its full size. In that case open it in Photos first, holding Option at launch, to check nothing is missing. Aperture libraries behave the same way.

Current library: Photos library taking up space. Other copies: iPhone photos taking up space on your Mac.

Common questions

Can I delete my old iPhoto library after moving to Photos?

Yes, once you have checked your photos are in Photos and you have a backup. But it may free much less space than Finder shows, because the two libraries often share the same files.

Why didn't deleting my iPhoto library free up space?

Photos imported the old library by linking to the same files rather than copying them. The pictures stay on disk because the Photos library still uses them.

Is an Aperture library safe to delete?

The same rules apply. Check everything is in Photos, keep a backup, and expect less space freed if Photos imported it.

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