Deleting .PKG files - taking up over 12GB of space on my harddrive

I have .PKG files taking up over 12GB of space on my harddrive but I am unable to delete them. I have tried troubleshooting a number of different ways.


I have seen some responses say that the .pkg file may be necessary but I don't see how that is possible when some of the files are duplicates. for example the, "macOSupd10.15.6.RecoveryHDUpdate.pkg" file is a duplicate and takes up over 500mb of storage. the MacOSUpd10.15.6.pkg file has a duplicate - each takes up 2.11GB of storage. This is killing my experience with my Mac.


I never have these types of issues with windows.. This is incredibly frustrating. Any nudge in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Nov 11, 2020 7:45 PM

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5 replies

Nov 11, 2020 8:50 PM in response to JoeOpus

The reason you cannot delete them is because they are not to be deleted. All files in the /Library folder should be protected. That means you should not be nosing around in the /Library folder. Consider it to be off limits to the user. Those package files are part of a downloaded updater/upgrader installer. You should not be mucking around in system files until you know a lot more about them. Even Windows has files inaccessible to the user.




Nov 11, 2020 8:28 PM in response to JoeOpus

Exactly, how are you trying to remove these files "as an admin?" Where are they located? When you try removing them, what are you doing, and are there any error messages? I can't help you when you provide no useful information.


The files you mentioned are installer files used to update your OS. Why are they on the computer and from where did you get them?


Nov 11, 2020 7:53 PM in response to JoeOpus

"I never have these types of issues with windows." Then why aren't you using Windows?


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Nov 11, 2020 8:13 PM in response to Kappy

That's not a bad idea.


Because my personal computer is a Mac. I use Windows 80% of the time nowadays, whereas I used mac 80% of the time a few years ago.


I am running MacOS Catalina - V.10.15.5

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)

Processor 2.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7


Trying to delete the .PKG files as an admin does not seem to work.

Nov 11, 2020 8:37 PM in response to Kappy

So I can't delete these files so I tried right clicking and unselect the "lock" image on the file. So now the file is "unlocked". It still says my permissions are "read only", which makes me wonder if the Macbook was setup properly under my user name or not.


The "Move To Trash" option is not available when I right click. If I drag them to the trash, the files do not execute the command. There are no error messages. Nothing happens when I try to drag them.


The files are located in Macintosh HD > Library > Updates. There are three update files from the past few months. They contain two kinds of files: "Document" files and "Installer Package" files.


The installer package files are .pkg and the document files are .integritydataV1


I believe the files were automatically downloaded via the Mac system update. They were most likely downloaded via the system "Software Update" function.



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Deleting .PKG files - taking up over 12GB of space on my harddrive

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