Blog
Plain-English guides to where Mac storage actually goes.
Apple Intelligence is taking 30 GB on your Mac in macOS 27. Here's what you can do.
The off switch is gone and the models stay. How to see your number, why the Recovery hacks aren't worth it, and where the same 30 GB is hiding. 30 Sep 2026
Not enough free space to install macOS 27? Free 40 GB without deleting your files.
How much Golden Gate really needs, why Finder and the installer disagree, and seven places to free it in order of GB per minute. 30 Sep 2026
Old iPhone backups on your Mac: find them, see which is which, delete the ones you don't need
Every backup of every device, kept forever. Tell them apart, keep the right one before your new iPhone, and the IPSW files next door. 30 Sep 2026
Claude Code ate 472 GB on one Mac. What's in ~/.claude and what's safe to delete.
MCP logs and debug logs, the folders you must keep, and the one setting that stops it growing back. 30 Sep 2026
macOS 27 update ate 15 GB of your storage. Here's where it went and how to get it back.
The pre-update snapshot, Apple Intelligence models and rebuilt caches. What each one is, the tmutil command that gets most of it back, and the 400 GB case. 20 Sep 2026
Old iOS simulator runtimes: 55 GB you can delete in one command
Every Xcode update leaves the last runtime behind, 7 to 10 GB each, and du can't see them. simctl can. 15 Sep 2026
Project build folders: the 54 GB hiding in ~/Development
Flutter build/, node_modules, Gradle, Rust target. How to find it, what a clean costs, what not to touch. 15 Sep 2026
Docker Desktop is using 30 GB on your Mac. Here's what to delete.
Why Docker.raw looks like 494 GB, docker system df, and the prune commands that never touch your volumes. 15 Sep 2026
Time Machine local snapshots: why deleting files didn't free any space
Hourly snapshots hold deleted data until macOS thins them. List them, delete them with tmutil, know what you lose. 15 Sep 2026
WhatsApp is using 18 GB on your Mac. Where it is and what's safe to delete.
One hidden folder per chat under Group Containers. Why the Mac copy is a copy, and the one caveat. 15 Sep 2026
What is "System Data" on a Mac, and how do I reduce it?
Every folder it lives in with typical sizes, what's safe to remove, and why it grows back. 16 Sep 2026
DaisyDisk alternatives for Mac: free and paid
GrandPerspective, OmniDiskSweeper, CleanMyMac and ddeploy. What each is for and what it costs. 16 Sep 2026
Why is System Data so huge on my Mac?
Where Apple's mystery bucket actually lives, Library, containers, snapshots, swap, and how to shrink it safely. 30 Aug 2026
Is it safe to delete DerivedData?
Yes, with one neighbor to be careful about. The rules for Xcode's caches. 30 Aug 2026
Clean up Ollama and Hugging Face models on a Mac
Local AI quietly takes 50–150 GB. Where it hides and the tool-native way to take it back. 30 Aug 2026