Ruby keeps every gem version, and every Ruby you installed
Gems accumulate per Ruby version, and version managers keep each Ruby in full. The commands that clean both, and what breaks if you get it wrong.
Read full storyMac Storage Guides
How macOS actually uses your disk, what hides in it, and what is safe to remove.
A git repository can be larger than the code it holds
History, packfiles and old branches accumulate in .git. How to find the heavy repositories, shrink them safely, and spot a large file in history.
Read full storyA virtual machine keeps growing even when the guest is empty
VM disk files expand as the guest writes and rarely shrink back. Where each app stores them, how to reclaim the space, and what snapshots cost.
Read full storyLogs and crash reports: usually small, occasionally enormous
macOS keeps logs in four places and rotates most of them. When one grows to gigabytes it means something specific, and that is the useful signal.
Read full storyThe Spotlight index is a few gigabytes, and rebuilding it costs a day
Every volume carries a hidden index proportional to its contents. When it is worth rebuilding, when to exclude a folder, and what it costs you.
Read full storyYour external drive has hidden folders on it, and one is a second Trash
Copied 400 GB and the drive says 430 GB used. Where the difference goes, including the Trash that empties separately, and how to clear each part.
Read full storySparse bundles grow to fit and do not shrink when you delete
A disk image keeps the space it once used, even after you empty it. How to compact one, and how to find images you mounted once and forgot.
Read full storyA migrated Mac often carries a second home folder nobody uses
Migration Assistant and old accounts leave complete home folders on the disk, invisible from your own Finder. How to find and remove them safely.
Read full storyBefore you sell a Mac: the order that leaves nothing behind
Erasing the disk is the last step, not the first. What to sign out of first, why the order matters, and what a wipe does not cover.
Read full storyThe update needs more space than it says, and here is why
An update needs room to download, unpack and apply at once. What the real requirement is, and the fastest gigabytes when you are short.
Read full storyHow to live with a 256 GB Mac without fighting it every week
A small drive is workable with four decisions made once. What to keep local, what to stream, and where the space always goes on a small Mac.
Read full storyWhy your Mac fills up faster than you put anything on it
Nothing on a Mac removes anything by default. The five processes that add space on their own, and which of them you can switch off.
Read full story