How Do I Reclaim Purgeable Space on Mac?

On your Mac, nudge the Apple logo in the top left of the screen.

Click through the options available to you to conserve space.

Screenshot of Mac highlighting System Settings.

How Do I Reclaim Purgeable Space on Mac by Rebooting?

Here’s how to do so.

The method typically clears out temporary items, and many caches meaning your purgeable space should reduce temporarily.

Screenshot of System Settings on a Mac highlighting General and Storage.

hit the Apple logo on your desktop.

Your Mac will now restart having cleared many of its temporary files in the meantime.

How Do I Reclaim Purgeable Space on Mac by Clearing the Cache?

Screenshot of the Storage on a Mac.

Experts generally recommend leaving macOS to handle temporary files by itself and reboot rather than delve into them yourself.

Hold down the Option key and clickGo.

Choose which caches to delete.

MacOS desktop with Restart highlighted on Apple Menu

It’s possible to remove all if you so wish.

Empty the trash can to remove the temporary files permanently.

What Is Purgeable Memory?

MacOS desktop with Restart highlighted on Restart dialog

What Does Purgeable Space Mean on Mac?

This purgeable space is only removed when needed by the operating system.

It rarely needs to be removed manually.

MacOS Finder with Go button highlighted

Can I Use Third-Party Apps to Clear Purgeable Space?

Typically, few macOS users need to do this unless free space is quite limited.

Your Mac automatically removes purgeable files when space is needed.

MacOS Finder with Caches folder highlighted

Apple introduced the idea of purgeable space in macOS Sierra.

If you’re running an older macOS or OS X version, considerupdating your macOS.