Question: Q: Which is the best Mac system cleaner app? As a recently converted mac user I am interested to see if there is a Mac equivalent to pc's 'disk cleanup' and a defragger. I know mac's are far more robust than pc's but they surely need a clean every so often. Clean your Mac's hard drive Sometimes, all your MacBook needs is a data clean-up. Over the years, you've probably cluttered your Mac with files and applications you no longer use or need. Aug 30, 2019 With macOS Mojave’s release just around the corner, MacPaw’s CleanMyMac X launches today as the best whole-system cleaner around — a Swiss Army knife of simple tools that radically slim a Mac’s software footprint, improve performance, and augment Apple’s existing malware protection. I have used TinkerTool System (along with the free TinkerTool) for several years and I have never had an issue with it. It has some cleaning functions and they work well. like the internet cache cleaning and log cleaning. It behaves very safely and won't let you delete or mess with things you shouldn't. Oct 01, 2015 Download Disk Aid: System Cleaner for macOS 10.7 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. Disk Aid is a professional grade system utility app for keeping your Mac running at its very best. It is lovingly developed by the leaders in utility software, FIPLAB, who have created award-winning and extremely popular apps used by millions of Mac users.
So, your Mac is running out of storage. You try to figure out what’s taking up your disk space by clicking the Apple logo on the top-left of the screen, selecting About This Mac, and hitting the Storage tab.
To your surprise, you see a yellow bar representing “System” that seems to occupy way more space than you think it should. In the example above, it only shows 33.87 GB, but take a look at this Apple discussion — some Mac users report that System Storage takes an astonishing 250 GB.
Worse yet, you have no idea what’s included in “System” storage, because clicking the “Manage” button brings you to this System Information window… and the “System” row is greyed out.
Why does my Mac system require so much space?
What does it contain?
Is it safe to remove some of those system files?
How do I regain more storage space?
Questions like these may easily get to your head. Although my Mac now has a good amount of disk space available, I’m always wary of files that are taking up more space than they should.
I have no idea why “System” is greyed out while “Documents,” “System Junk,” “Trash,” etc. allow you to review the files based on size and type. My hunch is that Apple does this on purpose to prevent users from deleting system files that could lead to serious issues.
What Files Are Included in System Storage on Mac?
During my research, I found many people report that Apple counts iTunes backup files and app caches (e.g. Adobe video cache files) in the System category.
CleanMyMac X is perfect for this kind of analysis. Since I tested the app in our Mac cleaner review, it immediately came to my head when I saw “System” was greyed out in Storage. Note that CleanMyMac isn’t freeware, but the new “Space Lens” feature is free to use and it allows you to scan your Macintosh HD, and then show you an in-depth overview of what’s taking up disk space on your Mac.
Step 1:Download CleanMyMac and install the app on your Mac. Open it, under “Space Lens” module, first click the yellow “Grant Access” button to allow the app to access your Mac files and then select “Scan” to get started.
Step 2: Soon it’ll show you a folder/file tree and you can hover your cursor over each block (i.e. a folder). There you can find more details. In this case, I clicked “System” folder to continue.
Step 3: The file breakdown below indicates that some Library and iOS Support files are the culprits.
The interesting part is that the System file size shown in CleanMyMac is much smaller than the size shown in System Information. This puzzles me and makes me believe that Apple definitely has counted some other files (not real system files) in the System category.
What are they? I have no clue, honestly. But as reported by other Mac users who experienced the same issue, they said Apple also considers app caches and iTunes backup files as System files.
Out of curiosity, I ran CleanMyMac again for a quick scan. That app found 13.92 GB in iTunes Junk. Further review revealed that the junk files are old iOS device backups, software updates, broken downloads, etc.
But even after adding this amount to the original system files returned by DaisyDisk, the total size is still a bit less than what’s returned in System Information.
If cleaning the System Storage is still not enough to bring your Mac available disk space to a normal level (i.e. 20% or more), see below.
What Else Can I Do to Reclaim More Disk Space?
There are tons of ways out there. Here are a few of my favorites that should help you get back a decent amount of space quickly.
1. Sort all files by size and delete old large files.
Open Finder, go to Recents, and look at the Size column. Click on it to sort all recent files by file size (from large to small). You’ll have a clear overview of what items are eating up a large amount of space, e.g. From 1 GB to 10 GB, and from 100 MB to 1 GB.
In my MacBook Pro, I found a few large videos that could be transferred to an external drive.
Note: If the Size column doesn’t show up, click on the Settings icon and select Arrange By > Size.
2. Run CleanMyMac.
If you are not a power Mac user, another way to help you quickly locate unnecessary files is using CleanMyMac, an app that won our award for the best Mac cleaner software. As you can also see in my detailed review here, I believe CleanMyMac is a must-have app for all basic users.
3. Remove duplicate files with Gemini 2.
Don’t forget those duplicates and similar files! They can stack up without you being aware of it. Finding them is sometimes time-consuming. That’s what Gemini 2 is designed for. Simply select a few frequently used folders (e.g. Documents, Downloads, etc.) in the main zone of Gemini.
It then scans them and returns all the duplicate files that might be worth removing. Of course, it’s always a good practice to review them before doing so. You can also read our Gemini review here.
Wrapping It Up
Ever since Apple introduced the Optimized Storage feature on macOS Sierra and High Sierra, users got the option of saving space by storing content in the cloud. Apple also has several new tools that make it easy to find and remove unneeded files.
That bar under the Storage tab is beautiful. It does allow you to get a quick overview of what’s taking up the most space on our hard drive. However, it still lacks insights on the “System” category as it’s greyed out.
Hopefully, the guides above have helped you figure out the reasons you’ve got so much “System” data, and most importantly you’ve reclaimed some disk space — especially for new MacBooks pre-installed with flash storage (usually 128 GB or 256 GB) — the storage is so precious!
In fact, even Apple Macs need regular clean up like any other Windows computers. To clean up Mac manually is a laborious task, and it is not nearly enough. That's how some professional Mac cleaner software come. An old Mac can store gigabytes of junk files and which can not only takes up space but also slows your Mac.
In this article, we have rounded up 4 of the best Mac cleaner software in 2017 with their reviews and screenshots for you to speed up your Mac by cleaning up all unnecessary junk files on your device.
4 Best Mac Cleaner
Best Mac Cleaner - MacClean 3
Price: $19.99 (Offers you “60-Days Money Back Guarantee”, you can ask a refund if you find it doesn’t work well. Get It Now)
MacClean is the best Mac cleaner 2017 for all Mac desktops and laptops. It is mainly for Mac users who want to clean up and free up Mac hard drive with no effort.
Main Features of MacClean
It is fully capable of detecting and removing all types of junk files – Internet Junk, User Junk, System Junk, Development Junk, and Application Junk from Mac.
It wipes out malicious cookies and malware from Mac to keep your Mac safe.
It provides you with 10 useful tools like Duplicates Finder, Old & Large Files Finder, File Eraser, App Uninstaller, and Extension Manager etc.
It works all Macs including MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, etc.
It helps clean the junk files from your Mac like user cache files, user log files, system log files, broken preferences, iOS software updates, etc.
It finds out and removes old files from Mac to free up space.
It manages to delete entire applications, including all the extra files.
It empties the trash can on Mac and makes it unrecoverable.
Also Read: 11 Ways to Make Your Mac Faster >
Mac Cleaning Software - Detox My Mac
Price: 24.95$
Detox My Mac is basically the Mac software cleaner. It is designed to clean up junk stored in the storage space on the Mac and makes the memory space free. There is a free trial of Detox My Mac which allows you to scan and remove logs and trashes like user logs, trash bin, etc. And you need to unlock the full version for 24.95$ for more functions.
Main Features of Detox My Mac
Mac System Cleaner Software
It's quite simple and easy to use.
It helps remove only those unused files and documents that clutter your Mac, letting you with a lot of free memory on your Mac.
It removes unused language files for applications and system helping free up more disk space.
It manages to delete unused history files for browsers and applications.
Mac Cleaning Software – Detox My Mac
Mac Cleaning Software - AppZapper
Free Mac Cleanup
Price: 12.95$ - 79.95$
Removing applications from your Mac is an easy job, however, the leftovers like behind folders and preference files still take hard drive space and generally clutter your system. AppZapper allows you to uninstall application as well as the app left - just drag and drop.
Main Features of AppZapper
It is very easy to use, you can uninstall any app by dragging the app onto AppZapper.
It finds all the extra files left on your Mac, and allows you to remove them in a single click.
It remembers which apps you want to keep safe, and the log tracks all the files you've zapped.
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Mac System Cleaner
The Bottom Line
Best Mac Os System Cleaner
If your Mac computer is getting sluggish, that means its time to clean out it with some Mac cleaner. You can choose one from the above mentioned tools. If you have any good ideas about best Mac cleaning software, please share with us in the comment section.