How to find large and old files on a Mac

A practical guide from the makers of Clear Storage — Disk Visualizer

Disk cleanup has an efficient shortcut: most reclaimable space hides in a small number of large files, and most of those haven't been touched in months. Two targeted searches — by size and by age — find them faster than browsing ever will.

Search 1: The biggest files

In Clear Storage, run the Large Files scan on the folders you choose. Typical finds:

• Video files — screen recordings, exported edits, downloaded media. Video dwarfs everything else on most disks.
• Disk images and VM files.
• Old archives and backups of backups.
• Design and audio project files from finished work.

Each result shows its location and size; review and decide file by file.

Search 2: The forgotten files

The Old Files scan flips the axis: it finds files untouched for months, regardless of size. This is where finished-project material shows up — things too important to delete on sight but too stale to live on your main disk.

Delete, archive, or keep

A simple decision rule per file:

1. Delete if it's regenerable or redundant (installers, exports you can re-render, extracted archives).
2. Archive to an external drive or cloud storage if it's finished work you may need — old files that are large are the perfect archive candidates.
3. Keep if it's active. Then it isn't clutter, whatever its size.

Make it a habit, not a crisis

One large-and-old pass per quarter keeps a disk healthy indefinitely. The app logs each session's reclaimed space in history, and the menu bar usage icon tells you when the next pass is due.