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"Others" folder size

How much space does the "Others" should take? Mine is taking 14,93GB and "System" is taking others 15,31GB. Is that normal?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.4

Posted on Jun 2, 2021 6:47 AM

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Posted on Jun 2, 2021 7:06 AM

there is no set amount that "other" takes up. it depends on many factors. mainly how much data is on your mac. i keep very little on my internal drive. i mostly rely on external HDDs for my storage needs. and it's funny that your "other" category takes ~14GB. my machine also has ~14GB of other. so, yes, i would say it's normal. i have seen threads here where some users have >100GB of other. all it is would be things that don't fit in any of the storage categories on your mac.


this page will describe it better: What is "Other" storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out? - Apple Community

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Question marked as Best reply

Jun 2, 2021 7:06 AM in response to AlexandreKVA

there is no set amount that "other" takes up. it depends on many factors. mainly how much data is on your mac. i keep very little on my internal drive. i mostly rely on external HDDs for my storage needs. and it's funny that your "other" category takes ~14GB. my machine also has ~14GB of other. so, yes, i would say it's normal. i have seen threads here where some users have >100GB of other. all it is would be things that don't fit in any of the storage categories on your mac.


this page will describe it better: What is "Other" storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out? - Apple Community

Jun 2, 2021 7:15 AM in response to AlexandreKVA

Agree with @jefferythefrog on no set size of Other Category. To define what Other is have a good read over here >> See used and available storage space on your Mac specifically


  • Other: Contains files that don’t fall into the categories listed here. This category primarily includes files and data used by the system, such as log files, caches, VM files, and other runtime system resources. Also included are temporary files, fonts, app support files, and plug-ins. You can't manage the contents of this category. The contents are managed by macOS, and the category varies in size depending on the current state of your Mac.



Jun 2, 2021 10:51 AM in response to AlexandreKVA

Here's another take on the "other" issue. Note the info on the Downloads folder:

The Other category is a potpourri of files which can include:

• System temporary files
• macOS system folders
• Archives and disk images (.zip, .iso, etc. - often found in the Downloads folder)
• Personal user data
• Files from the user’s library (Application Support, iCloud files, screensavers, etc.)
• Cache files: browser, Mail
• Mail messages & attachments
• Fonts, plugins, extensions
• Safari reading list
• iTunes backups
• Crud resulting from jailbreaking your iDevice
• Game data
• Saved data files
• Call history
• Notes
• Media
• Voice memos
• Other files that are not recognized by a Spotlight search
• Media files that cannot be classified by Spotlight as a media file because they are located inside of a package
• Files created and modified by other user accounts on your Mac.

They can be located anywhere on your hard drive.

The files that you have control over are located in the Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music and Movies folders.  You can use either of these two free apps, GrandPerspective  or OmniDiscSweeper, to find the largest files on your drive so you can determine if they can be deleted or moved to an external HD for storage.  

Note: you can empty the Downloads folder after the apps and/or updates that were downloaded have been installed or applied.  Many users have found a couple of Gigabytes of files in their Downloads folder which are no longer needed. 



"Others" folder size

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