Free up disk space on your Mac
On most Macs the space is spread across caches, build files, old downloads and copies you forgot about, so start by finding out what’s using it. macOS points you to the big files. Mint scans the rest and sorts each finding by what you can do with it. Identical copies can share their storage without losing a file, caches that come back on their own are ready to clean, and your own files are left for you to decide.
TL;DR
- Short answer. On most Macs the space is spread across caches, build files, old downloads and forgotten copies, so find out what’s using it first.
- With Mint. Mint sorts what it finds into four buckets: Optimizable, Safe to clean, Yours and Keep. Exact copies go to Optimizable, which gets the space back without deleting anything.
- Your own files. Old downloads, screen recordings and agent conversations go to Yours, where nothing is ticked for you.
What macOS already shows you
Open System Settings, choose General, then Storage. You get a total for each category and a few recommendations. That’s often enough when the problem is one huge video or an app you never open.
For your own folders, Finder is still the quickest tool. Open Downloads in list view, turn on Calculate all sizes in View Options, and sort by size. Move anything you recognize and no longer need to the Trash, and leave it there for a few days until you’re sure nothing depended on it.
Be careful with caches and Library folders
Apps rebuild their caches, but that doesn’t make every cache disposable. Clearing one can sign you out of an app or throw away its offline downloads. If the app has its own setting for clearing the cache, use that first.
The same caution applies to folders inside ~/Library. A name that looks like an old app can belong to something you still use.
What Mint does when it scans
Click Scan on Mint’s Disk page and it sorts what it finds into four buckets: Optimizable, Safe to clean, Yours and Keep. Open one and you get a list like Finder’s, with each item’s path, type, size and when you last used it. Optimizable holds identical copies that can share their storage and idle files macOS can store smaller. Since no file is deleted there, every row starts ticked.
Safe to clean holds caches, build output and leftovers that come back on their own. It opens with its rows ticked, except rows that ask for your Mac password and things like AI models that take a long download to get back. Recommended puts those default ticks back, and Select all adds the rest. Your own files, such as old downloads and screen recordings, go to Yours, and nothing there is ticked for you.
Keep lists what Mint leaves alone, each with its reason. If something can’t be removed at the moment, for example a cache whose app is running, it waits in Keep and moves back on its own once the app quits.
Where removed files go
It depends on the bucket. Optimize removes nothing. Each file stays where it is with the same name and content, and only the space it takes shrinks. Safe to clean has one button, Clean, which deletes the ticked rows permanently after one confirmation. Moving that kind of data to the Trash wouldn’t free anything until you emptied it.
For your own files in Yours, Move to Trash sits next to Delete permanently, and Mint records the run so you can undo it for 90 days. That helps if you pick the wrong row, but it doesn’t replace a backup, so keep one for anything you can’t replace.
What each edition can see
The Direct and Setapp editions scan supported locations across your whole Mac, using the access you grant. The App Store edition runs inside Apple’s sandbox. It only looks in supported places in your home folder and in folders you approve, so app caches in ~/Library and Xcode build data are out of its reach.
Frequently asked questions
Does Mint delete files permanently?
Safe to clean does. Caches and build output come back on their own, so Clean deletes them outright after one confirmation. Optimize deletes nothing. For your own files in Yours, you choose between Move to Trash, which you can undo later, and Delete permanently.
Is every cache safe to remove?
No. A cache can hold offline content or keep you signed in, and clearing it makes the next launch slower. While an app is running, its cache waits in Keep, and Mint checks again when you click.
Can the App Store edition clean my whole disk?
No. Even with access to the startup disk, it only finds items in supported locations inside your home folder and in folders you approve separately.
See where your space went before you delete anything
Run a scan in Mint, open a bucket, and remove only the rows you understand.