How do i delete photos off my Mac but keep in icloud?
Trying to free up storage on my iMac... How do i keep photos in icloud and off my device?
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
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You have to disconnect your mac from iCloud first.
First and foremost take a backup of your library to an external drive. You need a backup in any case to mitigate problems with iCloud.
Also consider moving your library to an external volume, rather than just not having your pictures on the mac at all.
See
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201517
Then
Disable iCloud photos on the mac.
Then to double check, delete some images and make sure they don't delete in iCloud (after a day or so, and making sure your mac has access to the internet)
If you want to remove all pictures off the mac, then the best way is just to delete the library - as this would not be replicated to iCloud even if it were still connected.