

Most of the files in the system storage can be difficult to find.

#Mac system storage usage free
To make sure the system runs properly on the computer, macOS system files MUST NOT be deleted, but the rest of the list can be deleted to free up system storage. Cache of browsers, emails, photos and third-party applications.Files that are important for the macOS operating system to function properly.
#Mac system storage usage mac

That swap space will grow over time between startups. I’ve got 32 GB of RAM, so I like to make sure I’ve kept 64 GB free on my SSD. There is a rule of thumb/tip about Swap Space: You should keep double the amount of physical memory on your storage free for your system to work well. Why did it feel so fast? Because it would swap in and out of its SSD, making it feel like it had much more RAM. When the MacBook Air debuted, it only had 4 GB of RAM. And what happens when you switch back to that application? It swaps those memory sections back, paging it back in. The term for that is “swap.” You’re swapping elements in your RAM and paging them out to your storage.

When your Mac runs out of RAM, it starts to push sections in RAM to your storage. When I’m running intensive applications, like After Effects or DaVinci Resolve, I keep the activity monitor open just to keep an eye on the system’s memory usage.
#Mac system storage usage upgrade
Your memory pressure may momentarily be in the red, but if it happens often, it’s time to buy more RAM or upgrade your system. If it’s red, there’s just not enough RAM. If it’s yellow, your Mac is stressed, and you should start quitting some applications. Generally speaking, if it’s green, you’re good. It’s a summary of how much of your RAM is being used. Some applications, like Google Chrome, run multiple processes (Chrome has a process for each window).įor RAM, we need to focus on the block at the bottom. Notice, I said process there and not an application. The list shows how much RAM each process is using. In the Memory section, you should sort by Memory. Most often you click on “% CPU” to see what is working hardest. Every five seconds, it changes as different processes have different needs. Click on the Finder icon in your dock and press Command-Shift-U to go there directly.Īctivity Monitor shows all the live processes on your Mac. This app is in the Utilities folder inside of your Applications folder. This information is found in the Activity Monitor application, specifically the “Memory” tab.
