OSX Purgeable Disk Space: How to purge

The system purges that space when it needs it.

However, you can use the Tools ➙ Storage ➙ Clean Up option of the free version of the Etrecheck app to remove some files from the drive, mostly local snapshots. I've done it a couple of times and it cleared out about 9 GB of space each time.

I would follow the advised from the 2 Senior Contributors on your question.

But, just to add some additional context >> Ventura macOS 13, the Operating System resides in a Sealed and Read Only Volume that can not be opened by the User << so in effect, the user has little choice but to let the OS Manage the Purgable Space

I've noticed that since updating to Ventura, some apps say that there is not enough space available despite the same observations you have where there is ample taking into account the purgeable amount. To fix this, I enabled "Full Disk Access" in "Privacy and Security" settings for the specific application. This may not work in all instances though.

Since purgeable space is your data which can be easily replaced from iCloud or some other source, you can purge it my going through your data and deleting the things you can easily restore from another source.

Or, you can let the OS manage it as needed.

Old Toad wrote:

However, you can use the Tools ➙ Storage ➙ Clean Up option of the free version of the Etrecheck app to remove some files from the drive, mostly local snapshots. I've done it a couple of times and it cleared out about 9 GB of space each time.

Thanks for the tip, OT. I use Etrecheck on a frequent basis (the Pro version) and never thought to try this out.

But where do I find the files that the OS considers to be purgeable?

Anything stored in iCloud Drive, assuming you have Optimize Storage selected. I imagine any App Store apps you don’t use, possibly app installers in your downloads folder, caches that the OS considers unnecessary—you might be able to clear some of this by starting up in safe mode.

If you disable Optimize Storage, some of the purgeable space will go away, but it will be taken up by files that now must be downloaded from iCloud.

Why the desire to purge them? Do you not want easy access to your data.