DerivedData is not the biggest thing in ~/Library/Developer
Archives and iOS DeviceSupport are usually larger than DerivedData, and one of them is the only Xcode folder you can genuinely lose for good.
Read full storyMac Storage Guides
How macOS actually uses your disk, what hides in it, and what is safe to remove.
CocoaPods stores every pod three times, and only one is your project
A pod sits on your disk as index metadata, as a cached download, and as a copy in every project. Where each lives, what is safe to clear, and what to check first.
Read full storyYour startup disk is almost full, and what that warning is not telling you
The warning appears at a fixed threshold, names nothing, and offers Manage. Here is what it actually means and the order that clears it fastest.
Read full storyChrome is using more space than you think, and the cache is not why
Clearing browsing data barely helps. On a real Mac, Chrome held 8 GB, and most of it was profiles, service workers and extensions rather than cache.
Read full storyWhen the Trash will not empty, and what each error means
In use, permission denied, or it empties and frees nothing. Three different causes, three different fixes, and none of them need a special tool.
Read full storyEvery Python project keeps its own copy of everything
A virtualenv per project means the same libraries stored dozens of times. Add the pip cache and bytecode and it is routinely tens of gigabytes.
Read full storyThe screenshots and screen recordings nobody deletes
Screenshots are small and endless, recordings are enormous and forgotten. Together they are one of the most reclaimable folders on a working Mac.
Read full storyThe four storage recommendations macOS offers, and what each really does
Store in iCloud, Optimise Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, Reduce Clutter. Two of them free real space, one moves the problem, one does very little.
Read full storyWhat the Photos library is really holding
A Photos library is rarely just photos. Originals, edits, previews and a database sit inside one bundle, and only some of it is safe to touch.
Read full storyThe mail attachments quietly stored on your Mac
Apple Mail downloads a local copy of every message and attachment it syncs. On an old account that is routinely several gigabytes nobody knew about.
Read full storyThe simulator runtimes and devices nobody deletes
Every iOS version you have ever simulated leaves a runtime behind, and every device you created keeps its own disk image. Both are several gigabytes each.
Read full storyTime Machine is storing backups on the disk it is backing up
Backups live on the external drive, but Time Machine also keeps snapshots on the Mac itself. That is why a backup drive can be full and the Mac fuller.
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