Your .gradle folder keeps a copy of Gradle for every project
The wrapper downloads a full Gradle distribution per version, the caches hold every dependency, and daemon logs pile up. What each part costs.
582 guides
Mac storage, explained.
What fills your disk, where it hides, and what is safe to remove. Every guide gives you a way to check it on your own Mac.
Yarn Berry and pnpm keep a global store, and it is not the cache
Both package managers keep a shared store outside your projects. What is in it, what pruning removes, and why deleting it can break existing projects.
The AI coding tools on this Mac are using 12 GB in hidden folders
Every AI assistant installs a runtime, a model cache and a session history in a dotfolder nobody looks at. Measured numbers, and what is safe to clear.
The temp folder macOS never mentions, and why it is 2 GB
Every app writes to a per user temp folder with an unreadable name. What is in it, when macOS clears it, and why deleting it by hand is a bad idea.
The 2 GB sleepimage file, and the swap files next to it
macOS keeps a hibernation file the size of your memory, plus swap files that grow under pressure. What they are for and why deleting them is pointless.
Library Containers: where sandboxed apps keep everything
Containers holds the private folder of every sandboxed app, and one or two of them are usually huge. How to read the folder and what is safe inside it.
462 files in Downloads, and the ten installers nobody needs
The Downloads folder is the easiest gigabytes on any Mac. Three commands that sort it by size and age, and the one file type that is always safe to delete.
Applications is 13 GB on this Mac, and four apps are half of it
Sorting your Applications folder by size takes one command and usually finds two or three apps you no longer use. Plus what the number does not include.
WhatsApp on a Mac keeps every photo anyone ever sent you
The desktop app downloads media automatically and stores it in a shared container. Where it is, how to see the largest chats, and what deleting removes.
Telegram has a cache limit setting, and it is off by default
Telegram caches every photo and video it shows you and keeps it forever unless you change one setting. Where the folder is and how to cap it.
Messages keeps every attachment ever sent to you, forever
The Messages attachments folder is one of the largest hidden folders on a long lived Mac. How to find the big ones and delete them safely.
A video editor's project folder is mostly files it can regenerate
Render caches, generated files and optimised media are usually larger than your footage. Which of them come back on their own, and which do not.