Those files or folders are hidden by default for Mac's smooth running, but in case you need to view them for examining or repairing, here we will offer you several methods to show the hidden files and folders on Mac, which can work on macOS Mojave, macOS High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, and more.

Random image selector app for mac download. Your Mac is smart enough to understand what files are redundant and can be removed. Your Mac calls these files Purgeable Data. Usually, it’s about outdated caches, duplicates, and any kind of files that can be deleted without any impact on your system.

To see purgeable data, you should enable the Optimize Storage feature on Mac. Go to the Apple menu, click About this Mac and then the Storage tab. If you’ve activated storage optimization, you’ll see that next to colour-coded sections for Documents, Apps, Photos, etc, there’s one called Purgeable.

The Optimize Storage feature allows you to quickly identify files that are taking up lots of space on your startup disk and either delete them or move them to iCloud, depending on the type of file. There are a couple of different ways to use it, one of which uses CleanMyMac and which adds an extra tab – ’System Junk’ – to the Manage Storage window. Here’s method one.

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If you have CleanMyMac installed on your Mac, you’ll have noticed an additional section – System Junk. These are system files CleanMyMac has identified that can be safely trashed. All you need to do is click on System Junk and click Run.

If you don’t have CleanMyMac installed, it’s available in Setapp – just launch Setapp, search for CleanMyMac and click Install.

Here’s what to do next.

1. Launch CleanMyMac, click the Smart Scan tab and then click Scan.
2. When CleanMyMac has finished scanning, click Run to perform cleaning.

Also you can perform clean up with Cleanup section – System Junk, Photo Junk, Mail attachments, etc and review the results. You may be surprised by the results and by just how much space you can reclaim.

To see in detail what CleanMyMac has found in each section, click Review Details. From there, you can uncheck any items you don’t want to delete. When you’re ready, click Clean to delete the junk.

When you’re done, you should have got rid of several gigabytes of purgeable data and freed up lots of room on your hard disk.

Other methods for identifying and removing purgeable data

Disk Drill, also available in Setapp, has a Clean Up section, which allows you to identify and delete files you don’t need.

1. Install Disk Drill from Setapp if you haven’t done so already.
2. Launch it and click ‘Clean Up’ in the toolbar.’ In the next window, click ‘Let’s get started.’ Click on the drive you want to clean up, then click Scan.
3. Disk Drill will now scan your Mac identifying all the files on the drive you selected. When it’s done, it will list the folders on the disk in order of the amount of disk space they are occupying. By default, it doesn’t display system or hidden files. To display those, click the left most menu and select ‘All files (including system and hidden ones).’
4. Starting at the top, click the drop down arrow to display files inside the folder. If there are more folders inside, click the drop down arrows on those. You’ll soon tunnel down to the files that are taking up the most space on your drive – they’ll be labelled in red.
5. To change the way Disk Drill displays files, use the other menus. For example, you can display files by the percentage of the total disk space they use, or only display files that take up more than the space your specify.
6. To delete a file you no longer need, click the checkbox next to it and click ‘Remove file.’

Another way to free up disk space is to get rid of duplicate files. Gemini, another app available in Setapp, does exactly that.

1. Install Gemini from Setapp and launch it.
2. Read the information cards that appear and click Next when you’re done.
3. When you see the window with a big ‘+’ in it, drag a folder onto it to identify duplicates. For example, open a Finder window and drag your user folder onto the ‘+’.
4. Gemini will start scanning the folder for duplicate files. When it reaches your iTunes and Photos libraries, it will ask you to open those applications. You can either do so, or skip them and Gemini will leave those libraries alone.
5. When it’s finished, click Clean Up to remove all the duplicates it’s found, or click Review Duplicates to select the ones you want to remove yourself.
6. In the review window, click on the drop down arrow next to folders of duplicates, make sure they really are duplicates, then check the box next to the one you want to delete and click Remove.

How to reduce Purgeable space manually

It’s always better if someone can do the cleaning for you, both at home and on your Mac. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to learn how to free up space manually. While purgeable information can be restored at any time, there’s little risk you’ll remove any important data:

1. Click on the Apple menu at the left of the Finder menu bar and choose About this Mac.
2. Click the storage tab and you’ll see a bar with different colored sections on it. Each of these sections describes a specific type of data. Documents is first, followed by System, then Apps, and so on. Towards the right, you’ll see a section called Purgeable.
   
3. Click Manage to free up space on your Mac. The next window that opens, launches with the first tab on the left, Recommended, selected. You’ll see four options. The first allows you to store all files on the Desktop or in your Documents folder in iCloud and only keep those you’ve opened recently on your Mac. To enable it, Click Store in iCloud.
   
4. The next three options allow you to remove movies and TV programmes you’ve already watched in iTunes from your Mac; empty the Trash automatically every 30 days; and review files in your Documents folder and delete any you don’t need.
5. Once you’ve been through the Recommended options, you can click on the other sections on the left and follow the instructions to either delete files or review them before deciding what to do.

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Without regular cleanups, purgeable data can pile up on your Mac, lightning fast. In fact, the redundant file caches and duplicates can occupy up to 30% of your disk space. That’s a lot of storage you could use for valuable things. With cleaning utilities and a few minutes of your time, you can free it up and forget about the problem of limited storage.

Just like the Windows operating system, the MacOS operating system has a hidden Library folder full of settings you shouldn’t really touch. Deleting some or all of these settings will at best force you to reinstall certain apps, and at worst, cause the whole system to collapse and require a complete reinstall.

But there may be times when accessing the Library folder is necessary. For example, many apps put backups in the Library folder and you may want to back up the backup. Or you might be customising your Mac, which will need access to certain library folders.

Here is how to get there and not cause your Mac to collapse in a cloud of dust in the process.

What Is The Library Folder On MacOS?

The library folder is the area of your MacOS computer where app settings are stored. When you install a program, a folder is created in the Library for all of the essential settings. This can be anything from plugins, preference files and log files.

It’s hidden because basically some people are just plain clumsy and quite often don’t know what they are deleting. It’s only when it’s too late when they realise that something they just deleted should have been kept.

So you could say that Apple is protecting you against your own worst impulses!

How To Find The Hidden Library Folder On MacOS

There are two ways to get to the hidden Library folder if you are confident enough of not triggering a nuclear apocalypse. But the second way is only really feasible when you know where to look.

First Method (The Easiest)

Go to Finder and drop down the “Go” menu. You’ll see that the Library folder is not listed.

To make the Library folder appear, press the “Alt” key (also known as the Option key) at the bottom left of your keyboard. The Library folder will now appear.

Click on the Library folder option to be taken straight to the folder. Travel itinerary template free for mac.

The problem though with this method is that this is very temporary. As soon as you take your finger off the alt key, the Library folder will disappear again.

Second Method (Not Difficult)

Once you know the path to the folder (by following the previous method), you can then use the path to go directly to the Library folder.

At the top of the Library folder, you will see the exact path (location) of the folder on your computer.

I have covered over my username in the screenshot, but the path is :

With that in mind, go back to Finder’s Go menu and at the bottom, you’ll see this option :

Choosing “Go to Folder” will bring up a box where you can type the path to the Library folder. Hitting the “enter” key will then take you straight there.

Even better, until you input the path to a different folder, the path to the Library will remain in the “Go to Folder” box.

When it is gone, dropping down the menu arrow on the right hand side will show you a list of previous folders you went to, and the Library one will be there too.

Conclusion

There used to be a way to keep the Library folder showing permanently. But as of High Sierra, the Terminal command no longer seems to work.

However, keeping the folder permanently visible isn’t a good idea since you might delete a system-critical file. Besides, as you have just seen, it is not difficult at all to go to the folder when you need it.