Freeing up space · Local snapshots and held space
Is it safe to delete local snapshots with Storage Studio?
Short answer: Yes for the right ones. Deleting a snapshot never touches your current files; green-checked ones are already on Time Machine. Required snapshots can't be deleted, and bulk delete skips anything not yet backed up.
Yes, with the right ones. Deleting a snapshot never touches your current files — it only removes a point in time your Mac could roll back to. Snapshots marked with a green check are already on your Time Machine backup, so deleting them loses nothing.
Storage Studio protects the rest: system-update snapshots can't be deleted at all, Delete all backed-up skips anything not yet on Time Machine, and every deletion asks you to confirm first, worded for that snapshot's status. Deleting an orange, on-this-Mac-only snapshot is allowed but gives up that restore point. See the snapshot icons.