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Why is System Data consuming so much disk space?

Just finished installing Applications on my new M1 MacBook Pro and noticed a huge chunk of disk space is being used by "System Data." Can someone explain what this is and why it would be consuming so much data? I looked at older threads addressing this issue but haven't really found any good answers. I've included the diskutil list if that might be helpful. Thanks!


~ % diskutil list internal


/dev/disk0 (internal):


   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER


   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                         1.0 TB     disk0


   1:             Apple_APFS_ISC ⁨⁩                        524.3 MB   disk0s1


   2:                 Apple_APFS ⁨Container disk3⁩         994.7 GB   disk0s2


   3:        Apple_APFS_Recovery ⁨⁩                        5.4 GB     disk0s3




/dev/disk3 (synthesized):


   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER


   0:      APFS Container Scheme -                      +994.7 GB   disk3


                                 Physical Store disk0s2


   1:                APFS Volume ⁨Macintosh HD⁩            15.4 GB    disk3s1


   2:              APFS Snapshot ⁨com.apple.os.update-...⁩ 15.4 GB    disk3s1s1


   3:                APFS Volume ⁨Preboot⁩                 557.6 MB   disk3s2


   4:                APFS Volume ⁨Recovery⁩                827.3 MB   disk3s3


   5:                APFS Volume ⁨Data⁩                    422.6 GB   disk3s5


   6:                APFS Volume ⁨VM⁩                      20.5 KB    disk3s6

MacBook Pro Apple Silicon

Posted on Aug 16, 2022 12:50 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 16, 2022 1:00 PM

WillyMcFly wrote:

Just finished installing Applications on my new M1 MacBook Pro and noticed a huge chunk of disk space is being used by "System Data." Can someone explain what this is and why it would be consuming so much data? I looked at older threads addressing this issue but haven't really found any good answers. I've included the diskutil list if that might be helpful. Thanks!

   5:                APFS Volume ⁨Data⁩                    422.6 GB   disk3s5

 




What Apple used to label "Other" is now labeled "System Data".


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How to free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support


See used and available storage space on your Mac

See used and available storage space on your Mac - Apple Support



User tip: "Other and What Can I Do About It ?"

What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how… - Apple Community





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3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 16, 2022 1:00 PM in response to WillyMcFly

WillyMcFly wrote:

Just finished installing Applications on my new M1 MacBook Pro and noticed a huge chunk of disk space is being used by "System Data." Can someone explain what this is and why it would be consuming so much data? I looked at older threads addressing this issue but haven't really found any good answers. I've included the diskutil list if that might be helpful. Thanks!

   5:                APFS Volume ⁨Data⁩                    422.6 GB   disk3s5

 




What Apple used to label "Other" is now labeled "System Data".


Empty your Trash — Delete files and folders on Mac - Apple Support

Delete files and folders on Mac - Apple Support


How to free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support


See used and available storage space on your Mac

See used and available storage space on your Mac - Apple Support



User tip: "Other and What Can I Do About It ?"

What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how… - Apple Community





Why is System Data consuming so much disk space?

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