Mac clean up

The macOS automatically handles minor tasks like cleaning caches and temp file, and even automatic defrags without your having to do anything. The automated maintenance routines have been running in the wee hours of the morning since the earliest days of OSX. Since macOS 10.5 "Leopard," they run even if the computer is asleep. If the computer is off at the appointed hour, the tasks run during idle time after the next startup. Very slick.

These are elegant bits of brilliance; third-party apps that claim to clean, optimize, disinfect, polish, or find you Mac a mate only interfere with some great programming you've paid Apple to include in macOS.

If you visit sites that could give you a dose of adware, MalwareBytes that TheLittles mentions is good at detecting adware and other "PUPs"—"potentially unwanted programs."

Although I quite like the thorough job that apps like OmniSweeper can do, I've recently found that the Manage Storage function in "About this Mac.." > Storage tab > Manage.... > "Reduce Clutter..." option works well for a quick check:

It picks up things I tend to forget about, like large system updater files that are no longer need or can be re-downloaded.

And remember, the best and fastest way to clear out RAM caches and other deadwood is free—simply restart your computer every few days.

JJEF Said:

"Mac clean up: What's the best way to clean up your Mac (i.e., delete duplicate files, organize, re-gain spaces, etc.)?"

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Saving Space:

What to consider deleting:

• Unneeded Items (i.e. iTunes Movies, TV Shows, and Music)
• Extremely Large Files (i.e. Virtual Machines)
• Clear: Temporary Internet Files (cookies and cache). 
• Empty: the Trash

also...

Scan with Malwarebytes for Mac:

Malwarebytes searches for malware (short for (malicious software) and spyware. Those make your Mac act in a mislead manor. So scan with it, and remove what is found from the quarantine. It is created by longtime users of these forums making it the only reliable Security Software for a Mac. If synced with iPad connected, it may have got installed on your Mac.

Downloads:

1. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac
2. Malwarebytes Uninstaller

Duplicates are real tough, but are they pics or what?

Have you emptied the trash lately?

Look for iOS backups…

/Users/[USERNAME]/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup

OmniDiskSweeper shows you the files on your drive, largest to smallest, and lets you quickly Trash or open them.

https://www.omnigroup.com/more/

Purging local backups

Please note that although this doesn't affect your remote backup from Time Machine, this will get rid of the redundancy (at least until the next Time Machine backup) that a local backup disk will provide. If you need such redundancy or are worried about the recovery of your data then you would be best served to let macOS determine when to purge these files.

Start Terminal from spotlight.

At the terminal type tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates. 

Hit enter.

Here, you'll now see a list of all of the locally stored Time Machine backup snapshots stored on your disk.

Next you can remove the snapshots based on their date. I prefer to delete them one at at time. Once my "System" disk usage is at an acceptable level, I stop deleting but you can delete all of them if you want to reclaim all of the disk space.

Back at the terminal, type tmutil deletelocalsnapshots YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS , where will be one of the dates from your backup. This will be in the form of xxx-yy-zz-abcdef. Try to start with the oldest snapshot.

Hit enter.

Repeat for as many snapshot dates as required

http://www.thagomizer.com/blog/2018/03/27/cleaning-up-time-machine-local-snapshots.html

tmutil deletelocalsnapshots /  # deletes all the snapshots