Unusual Disk Writes on macOS: 400GB Recorded by cloudd and fileproviderd

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Level 1

4 points

Unusual Disk Writes on macOS: 400GB Recorded by cloudd and fileproviderd

I'm using a MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro bought it 2 days ago) running macOS [15.3 24D60]. I've noticed that my system is writing an excessive amount of data to the SSD—over 400GB in a single day. The primary culprits seem to be cloudd, fileproviderd, and bird, as shown in Activity Monitor.

Here are the key details:

I have completely reinstalled macOS from scratch, wiping the disk and starting fresh, but the issue persists.
I use iCloud Drive, but the amount of data being written far exceeds the actual size of the files in my iCloud. For example:
- iCloud only contains around 3GB of files in total, but these processes are writing tens of gigabytes per hour to the SSD.
The Activity Monitor shows cloudd, fileproviderd, and bird consistently writing large amounts of data, even when no visible sync or download activity is happening.
I've also observed this behavior in Safe Mode, which suggests it is related to system-level processes rather than third-party software.

I'm very concerned about the potential wear and tear on my SSD due to this constant and unnecessary writing. Despite resetting iCloud, clearing caches, and monitoring system logs, the problem continues.

Has anyone experienced something similar or found a solution? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm also open to suggestions on how to further investigate or resolve this issue.

PS.I wrote it using chatgpt cuz I was trying to resolve this issue with it.

Posted on Feb 8, 2025 6:44 AM

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Answer 1

MartinR

Level 7

24,672 points

Feb 8, 2025 7:23 AM in response to arjunok

I have seen one similar report involving Sequoia. Since you posted your question, has your Mac continued with these high level writes and is disk space actually bring consumed? (At 400GB in a single day it wouldn't take more than a day or two to completely fill the internal drive.)

With a new system, there may be significant updates being loaded in background. Also, fileproviderd is used by all cloud services, so if you are using things like Dropbox, Outlook, MacMail and other cloud services, your Mac is probably downloading all sorts of data. There may also be a lot of swapping going on and a lot of Spotlight searching.

If it hasn't settled down, let us know.

And, as a friendly suggestion, please avoid AI especially when it comes to describing a problem that you are asking for help with in these forums. Describe the problem in your own words.

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Answer 2

arjunok Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 8, 2025 7:42 AM in response to MartinR

Hi! I hve 512gb ssd. When Im saying its writing down 400gb per day i mean at leasr 400gb, and it does not actually right anything. Activity monitor was showing before the restart an hour ago "Data Written - 229gb" Even tho I have only 3gb on icloud and Icloud is the only cloud service im using

Upd: Currently I have 400gb of 490gb free space. The system is new yes. Now laptop is on for 1h and 5 minutes. 88gb writen.(Im doing nothing

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Answer 3

arjunok Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 8, 2025 7:43 AM in response to MartinR

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