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macOS folders

What macOS keeps on your Mac, which folders are safe to delete, and what you lose.

FolderSafe to delete?
/Applications/Install macOS *.app
macOS installer
Rebuilds itself
/Library/Caches
Temporary files shared by all users
Check first
/Library/Caches/*
Shared temporary files of one program
Safe
/Library/Caches/com.apple.iconservices.store
Shared icon store
Safe
/Library/Fonts
Fonts for all users
Keep
/Library/Logs
Activity records for the whole Mac
Check first
/Library/Logs/*
Activity records of one system helper
Safe
/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports
System crash reports
Safe
/Library/Printers
Printer and scanner software
Check first
/Library/Printers/PPDs
Printer description files
Keep
/private/tmp
System scratch folder
Check first
/private/var/db/diagnostics
System activity archive
Keep
/private/var/folders
Hidden temporary storage
Check first
/private/var/folders/*/*/C
Hidden temporary files of one user
Check first
/private/var/folders/*/*/C/com.apple.FontRegistry
Font lookup files
Safe
/private/var/folders/*/*/C/com.apple.iconservices
App and file icons
Safe
/private/var/folders/*/*/C/com.apple.QuickLook.thumbnailcache
File preview images
Safe
/private/var/folders/*/*/T
Hidden scratch files of one user
Check first
/private/var/log
Core system records
Keep
/private/var/vm
Memory saved to disk
Keep
/System/Library/AssetsV2
Built-in downloadable features
Keep
/System/Library/AssetsV2/*
One downloadable system feature
Keep
/Users/Shared
Files shared between users
Check first
/Users/Shared/Previously Relocated Items*
Files set aside by an older upgrade
Check first
/Users/Shared/Relocated Items
Files set aside by a macOS upgrade
Check first
~/Library/Application Support/*
Data of one app
Check first
~/Library/Application Support/CrashReporter
Crash reporter preferences
Safe
~/Library/Autosave Information
Unsaved document copies
Keep
~/Library/Caches
Temporary files of your apps
Check first
~/Library/Caches/*
Temporary files of one app
Safe
~/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpd
Downloaded help pages
Safe
~/Library/Caches/com.apple.nsurlsessiond
Downloads in progress
Check first
~/Library/CloudStorage
Files of cloud services
Keep
~/Library/CloudStorage/*
Files of one cloud service
Keep
~/Library/Containers/*
Private folder of one app
Check first
~/Library/Containers/*/Data/Documents
Documents of a sandboxed app
Check first
~/Library/Containers/*/Data/Library/Caches
Temporary files of a sandboxed app
Safe
~/Library/Fonts
Fonts you installed
Check first
~/Library/Group Containers/*
Shared folder of related apps
Check first
~/Library/Logs
Activity records of your apps
Check first
~/Library/Logs/*
Activity records of one app
Safe
~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports
Crash reports of your apps
Safe
~/Library/Saved Application State
Remembered window layouts
Check first

Clean up macOS with Gigabroom

  1. Open Gigabroom and wait for the scan.
  2. Open Clean Up and look under the group for these folders. Every folder above is named and labeled (Safe, Rebuilds itself, Check first, Keep).
  3. Tick what you want to remove and click Clean Up. Items go to the Trash first.