Can I delete files in User\Library\Containers folder as it occupies 58 GB of my total storage (256GB) ?

1. No
2. I don't understand your question

The Containers folder is the directory used by sandboxed apps, such as what you might download from the Mac App Store. But any app can be sandboxed, so it isn't guaranteed to be Mac App Store apps.

There is no way to tell what that storage is being used for. One or more apps may stop working properly or lose data.

There is no way to tell if deleting this folder will even free up any storage. Modern versions of macOS do very clever things with storage. What this means is that it is pretty much out of your control.

What you can do is identify which folds inside Containers is taking up space. You could uninstall those apps and then remove their folder inside Containers. But you have to do it selectively, app-by-app. You must make sure to delete the app before deleting the associated folder inside Containers. These are special folders that are managed by the operating system. If you don't do it just right, it will be a mess.

You can't correlate any of this with software installation history. Don't even bother.

malithd wrote:

I recently noticed that size of the User\Library\Containers folder in of my MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) is 58 GB.

I also noticed that 252 out of 384 files in this folder has been created on 26/11/2019 at 00:07 to 00:15 and when I check software installation timing in system report I noticed that during this time frame "XProtectPlistConfigData" & "Gatekeeper Compatibility Data" has been installed.

My question are ;1.

Is is ok to delete these files in Containers folder as it is occuping 58 GB?

2. Is there any relation with these updates and files in Containers folder?

Further as per system report below are the installation done on near period.

Install Date:

macOS Catalina: 19/11/19, 19:26

Ulysses: 3rd Party 25/11/19, 22:48

XProtectPlistConfigData: 26/11/19, 00:13

Gatekeeper Compatibility Data: 26/11/19, 00:13

Always advised to have a current backup, in the event you have to reinstall the macoS and restore your data.

You can move the folder to the trash— it can be restored if necessary by control click>"Put Back" if you find it necessary.

Trash it and reboot the machine.

By comparison my container is 20.67GB On a new MBP all dates are March 5.

etresoft wrote:

Great post etresoft. Thanks for your insights and clarification here !