How to archive a finished project so it takes 5 percent of the space
Most of a finished project is derived data. What to strip, what to keep, and how to make the archive still usable in three years.
830 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.
When compressing saves space on a Mac, and when it saves nothing
Zip helps with text and hurts with media. Which formats compress, which do not, and the macOS aware way to do it.
Nine things people believe about Mac storage that are not true
Cleaning does not speed up a Mac, more RAM does not free disk, and other claims worth retiring, each with what is actually true.
AirDrop puts everything in Downloads and nothing ever removes it
Received files, screenshots and shared photos accumulate in one folder. Where they go and how to find them by date.
DaisyDisk against WhatSize, both prices checked
Two paid one time disk tools with different interfaces and different strengths. Which suits which way of working.
A bootable clone or Time Machine: which backup suits which problem
Two different jobs sold as one category. What each protects you from, what each costs, and why many people want both.
Hazel does the cleanup you keep forgetting, on a schedule
Rules that watch folders and act on them. What it is genuinely good at for storage, what it costs, and where it does not help.
The storage tools worth having on a developer Mac
Which tools actually help with the folders a developer machine accumulates, and the commands that replace most of them.
System is 30 GB or more, and almost none of it is removable
The System category covers the sealed volume, asset packs and recovery data. What each part is and the two things you can change.
Haskell keeps a compiler per resolver and a package database per project
GHC installs, package databases and dist folders accumulate quickly. Where they are and which commands prune them.
The Command Line Tools are not small, and they are not Xcode
What the Command Line Tools install, how big they are, and when you can have them instead of the full Xcode.
A photographer's Mac fills predictably, and it is fixable by workflow
Where the space goes in a photo workflow, which parts are derived, and a setup that keeps the internal drive usable.