---
id: freeing-space.what-is-purgeable-space-in-storage-studio
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-is-purgeable-space-in-storage-studio
category: "Freeing up space"
subcategory: "Local snapshots and held space"
question: "How does Storage Studio treat purgeable space?"
alt_questions:
  - "What is purgeable space and why can't I see it?"
  - "My Mac shows space I can't find"
  - "Purgeable storage Storage Studio"
  - "Turn purgeable into free space"
  - "Why does free space look bigger than it is?"
short_answer: "Purgeable space is room macOS keeps in reserve — mostly local snapshots — and frees on demand. Storage Studio shows it as its own line and lets you release it now in Local Snapshots."
tags: ["purgeable", "snapshots", "free space"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/why-does-finder-show-different-free-space", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-is-held-in-automatic-backups"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# How does Storage Studio treat purgeable space?

Purgeable space is room macOS is keeping in reserve — mostly local snapshots and some caches — that it frees automatically when something needs it. It can make your free space look larger or smaller than you expect.

Storage Studio names it rather than lumping it into "other": the space breakdown shows space held by automatic backups as its own line, and the Local Snapshots window lets you turn some of it into space you can use right now. Note that because Finder already counts purgeable space as free, releasing it doesn't always raise the figure Finder shows — see [two free-space numbers](https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/why-does-finder-show-different-free-space).