Unreal Engine on a Mac: each version is tens of GB before your first project

Unreal Engine is one of the largest things you can install on a Mac. Each version installs separately, often tens of GB, and each project adds its own intermediate files and caches.

du -sh /Users/Shared/Epic\ Games/* 2>/dev/null
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Epic 2>/dev/null
find ~ -maxdepth 4 -type d -name DerivedDataCache -prune -exec du -sh {} + 2>/dev/null

Trim the engine install

In the Epic Games Launcher, open Unreal Engine, Library, click the arrow next to a version and choose Options. Untick what you do not use: target platforms such as Android or Linux, Starter Content, Templates and Feature Packs, and Editor symbols for debugging, which is very large. Remove old engine versions from the same screen.

The Derived Data Cache

The engine caches compiled shaders and processed assets so the editor opens faster next time. There is a shared cache for all projects and one inside each project. Both are rebuilt if deleted; the next launch is slow while shaders compile.

Cleaning a project

Game engine storage in general: Mac storage for game developers. A lighter engine: Godot.