How to Fix ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac: 9 Best Ways

Written by

Ojash

Reviewed by

Hashir Ibrahim

Last updated: August 20, 2024

Expert verified

Ever got that warning pop-up saying ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac? In this guide, I’ll show you why this happens and give you practical fixes to optimize your Mac’s storage and keep it running smoothly.

9 Ways to Fix ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac

Here’s all the steps to fix ‘Your Disk is Almost Full’ on Mac:

1. Uninstall Unnecessary Applications

Unused apps can take up the most space on your disk. To uninstall them on a Mac, either drag them from the Applications folder to the Bin or use Launchpad.

Here’s how to uninstall apps on your Mac via Finder:

1. Open the Finder on your Mac.

2. Click Applications in the left sidebar.

3. Right-click the app you want to delete and select Move to Bin or drag it to the Bin.

Here’s how to uninstall apps via Launchpad:

1. Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock, or use the Mac keyboard shortcut key: F4.

2. Find the app you want to uninstall in Launchpad.
3. Click and hold the app icon until it starts shaking, and an X icon appears on it. Click the X icon to delete the app.

4. Tap Delete on the confirmation pop-up and it will move the app to the Bin.

5. After deleting the app, right-click the Bin icon in the Dock and select Empty Bin.

While these methods delete apps, they don’t delete the leftovers. You can use MacKeeper to delete app leftovers along with the apps. Here’s how:

1. Download and install MacKeeper.
2. Launch MacKeeper and click Smart Uninstaller under Cleaning.

3. Click Start Scan.

4. Then, click Applications and select unused applications from the list. Then, click Remove Selected.

5. Confirm the deletion by clicking Remove on the pop-up.

6. This will uninstall unused apps, and you’ll see a Removal Completed message. Click Rescan to scan your Mac again.

2. Remove Large and Old Files

To free up storage space on your Mac, remove large and old files that you no longer need. This will fix ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac. Here’s how to remove large and old files on Mac:

1. Open Finder and click File in the menu bar. Then, select New Smart Folder.

2. In the Smart Folder window, click the + icon in the upper-right corner.

3. Set the search parameters to find files larger than a specific size. You can select a size limit according to your preference.

4. After finding the files, right-click the ones you want to delete and select Move to Bin. 
5. Finally, permanently empty the Bin.

3. Empty the Trash Bin

If you just click the Delete button to remove files from your Mac, they keep piling up in the Bin. So, you should regularly empty your Mac’s Bin.

Here’s the easiest way to empty the trash on Mac:

1. Right -click the Bin icon in the Dock.

2. Click Empty Bin.

3. Click Empty Bin on the confirmation prompt and it will remove all the files in your Bin.

You can also set up the Bin to clean up automatically by going to System Settings > General > Storage. Then, click the Turn On button next to Empty Bin automatically.

4. Transfer Photos to External or Cloud Storage

If you’ve lots of photos and videos that you don’t want to delete, you should move them to external or cloud storage to free up disk space.

Here’s how to transfer photos to external storage on Mac:

1. Plug in your external hard drive or USB drive to your Mac.
2. Launch the Photos app on your Mac.

3. In the Photos app, under the Library tab, select the photos or albums to transfer. Hold Command ⌘ to select multiple photos.

4. Go to File in the menu bar > Export > Export [number] Photos.
5. Choose the desired format (JPEG, PNG, etc.) and quality settings and click Export.
6. In the dialog box, select your external drive, pick or create a folder, and click Export. This will export photos to your external storage.

To transfer your photos to iCloud, follow these steps:

1. On your Mac, open the Photos app.
2. Go to Photos in the menu bar > Settings.

3. Select the iCloud tab and check iCloud Photos.

4. Next, select one of the two storage options:
   • Download Originals to this Mac: Store full-resolution photos on both your Mac and iCloud.
   • Optimize Mac Storage: Save space on your Mac by storing full-resolution photos in iCloud.

5. Now, your photos will automatically upload to iCloud.

5. Trash the Old iPhone Backups

If you’ve backed up your iPhone to your Mac, it can take up lots of disk space. It’s smart to check for and remove old backups regularly to free up space.

Here’s how to delete outdated iPhone backups on Mac:

1. Open Finder, click Go in the menu bar, and select Go to Folder…

2. Paste the following path in the bar and press Enter.

~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup

3. Move the contents of this folder to the Bin, and you’re done.

6. Clean Up System Files

System files are essential but can accumulate unnecessary data like caches and logs. Regularly cleaning them frees up space and keeps your Mac running smoothly.

a. Clear Cache Files

You can remove cache files to fix ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac. Follow these steps to clear the cache on your Mac manually:

1. Open Finder, click Go in the menu bar, and select Go to Folder.

2. Type the following path in the text box and hit Enter:

~/Library/Caches/

3. Choose the cache files you want to delete or select all by holding the Command ⌘ key while clicking the files.

4. Right-click the selected files and choose Move to Bin.

5. Right-click the Bin icon and select Empty Bin to permanently delete these files.

b. Remove User Log Files

App crashes on Mac can generate bug reports with user logs, which can accumulate over time. Here’s how to remove user log files on Mac:

1. Open Finder on your Mac.

2. Press the Command ⌘ + Shift ⇧ + G keys to open the Go to Folder window.

3. Type the following path in the field and press Enter.

~/Library/Logs

4. Delete all the user log files by dragging them to the Bin. You can also select files, right-click them and choose Move to Bin..

5. Right-click the Bin icon and select Empty Bin.

c. Delete System Log Files

Log files record system events and errors. While they don’t take up much space, deleting them can declutter your Mac. Here’s how to delete system log files on your Mac:

1. Open Finder, click Go in the menu bar and select Go to Folder.

2. Type in the following path and press Enter:

/var/log

3. Select the system log files you want to delete and drag them to the Bin, or right-click and choose Move to Bin.

4. Right-click the Bin icon and select Empty Bin.

7. Clear Out Downloads Folder

Keeping your Downloads folder organized keeps it clutter-free and even speeds up a slow Mac. Here are the steps to delete downloads on your Mac:

1. Open Finder and click Downloads in the sidebar.

2. Move the files you want to keep to a more organized location on your Mac.
3. Delete files by dragging them to the Bin or right-clicking them and selecting Move to Bin.
4. Lastly, empty the Bin to delete the files from your Mac permanently.

8. Delete .DMG Files

After installing or extracting the contents, .DMG files become dead weight that you can safely delete. Here’s how to delete disk images on a Mac: 

1. Open Finder from your Dock.

2. Click the small magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the Finder window.
3. Type dmg in the search bar to show all files with the same extension.

4. Delete the .dmg files by right-clicking and selecting Move to Bin.

5. Finally, empty the Bin to remove the files from your Mac permanently.

9. Delete Browser Cache

If you frequently browse the internet, your Mac’s drive must have a lot of browser cache. These are temporary files left behind by every site you visit.

Here’s how to clear Safari cache on Mac:

1. ​​Open Safari, click Safari in the menu bar, and select Settings.

2. Click the Advanced tab and check the box next to the Show Develop menu in menu bar.

3. Click Develop in the menu bar and select Empty Caches.

4. This will successfully clear your browser cache on Safari.

Why Are You Getting ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ Notification on Your Mac?

The ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ notification on your Mac appears when your hard drive or SSD runs out of storage space. Here’s why you might receive this notification on your Mac:

1. 💾 Your Downloads folder can accumulate a large number of files over time.
2. 📁 Large files like videos and high-resolution images occupy significant space on your Mac.
3. 💻 Your system cache and temp files can take up a lot of disk space on your Mac.
4. 🗑️ Junk files can accumulate over time and take up valuable storage space.
5. 🔙 Old backups and system images can occupy valuable disk space.
6. 📌 Having too many apps installed on your Mac can take up a lot of disk space.
7. 🔀 A partitioned hard drive can run low on space, especially in the OS or app storage area.
8. 🦠 Malware can fill your hard drive with unwanted files, consuming disk space.

Free Up Space on Your Mac’s Disk

To maintain your system’s performance, regularly clean unnecessary files to free up space and speed up your slow Mac. Here are more tips to fix ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac:

• Clean up your Mac regularly to remove unnecessary files and apps and avoid getting a startup disk full error.
• You must clean up junk files on your Mac to avoid them from accumulating and slowing down your system.
• Remove unnecessary login items from your Mac to free up memory and improve its speed.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does the Your Disk Is Almost Full notification on Mac mean?

The Your Disk Is Almost Full notification on Mac indicates that the storage on your computer is running low, and you need to free up space to avoid performance issues and potential data loss.

2. What’s the easiest way to fix ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac?

The easiest way to fix ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac is to empty the Bin regularly. This quick and simple action can instantly free up space if you have recently deleted files that are still sitting in the Bin.

3. How can I free up space on my Mac?

To free up space on your Mac, empty the Bin, delete unused files, and uninstall unneeded apps. Use Optimize Storage in System Settings to remove clutter like old files and downloads. Clear browser cache and move large files to external storage or cloud services.

4. Is it safe to delete system files and logs?

It is generally safe to delete system files and logs, like caches and old logs. However, only delete these if you’re sure they’re non-essential or after creating backups. Plus, be cautious not to delete essential system files, as this could affect your Mac’s functionality.