MacBook storage: 21 GB Documents discrepancy

In the storage overview for my Macbook it says that I have 21 GB of storage taken up by documents. When I open the actual list it just gives me this, which definitely doesn't add up to 21 GB. Any idea of what's taking up all that space?


MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Jan 16, 2026 7:32 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 16, 2026 8:18 PM

  • You have 21.95GB of Documents on your computer and your Documents Folder only contains 90Kb.
  • If you click on the Downloads folder there, you will see probably 743MB of files there that are counted as Documents.
  • As you click through the other Folders, the ones that are greyed out are not counted as a Document.
  • You can also use the Large Files tab to see the largest Documents and where they are located.
3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 16, 2026 8:18 PM in response to j0ahie

  • You have 21.95GB of Documents on your computer and your Documents Folder only contains 90Kb.
  • If you click on the Downloads folder there, you will see probably 743MB of files there that are counted as Documents.
  • As you click through the other Folders, the ones that are greyed out are not counted as a Document.
  • You can also use the Large Files tab to see the largest Documents and where they are located.

Jan 18, 2026 12:25 AM in response to j0ahie

Go back to the File Browser and click on each folder. For example, the Pictures folder will likely have files that are counted as Documents that do not belong to your Photo Library. The Photo Library is probably greyed out in that folder because that storage is counted in the Photos section.


Are you seeing all the folders listed in the File Browser? The difference on my computer is that I have a Library section there that contains a lot of Documents and also the folders in the File Browser are listed in descending order by size, where yours appears to be more random. I am on Mac OS 15.7.3, so if you are on 15.6 as seen in your tagline, there may have been a change made in the update.

MacBook storage: 21 GB Documents discrepancy

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.