{"id":"moving-folders.no-links-were-left-behind-so-no-space-came-back","url":"/faq/moving-folders/no-links-were-left-behind-so-no-space-came-back","category":{"id":"moving-folders","title":"Moving folders"},"subcategory":{"id":"messages-and-problems","title":"Messages and problems"},"question":"Why does it say \"no links were left behind, so no space came back\"?","alt_questions":["Move completed but no space freed","macOS won't allow a link here","files still on my mac storage studio"],"short_answer":"The copy reached the drive, but the originals couldn't be swapped for links — usually because macOS doesn't allow links in that spot — so they're still on your Mac and no space came back. Nothing was lost; check Full Disk Access and try again.","answer_markdown":"It means the copy reached the drive, but the files at the original place couldn't be replaced with links, so they're still on your Mac and no space came back. Nothing was lost.\n\nThe usual reason is that macOS doesn't allow a link in that particular place — some locations are protected, and which ones depends on your Mac and its permissions. Storage Studio finds this out by trying rather than guessing, and tells you instead of retrying pointlessly.\n\nWhat to do: check Storage Studio has Full Disk Access, then try again. If it still can't, that folder is best left on your Mac; you can remove the extra copy from the drive.\n\nSee [Why won't What's Using Space move an app's data?](/faq/moving-folders/why-wont-storage-studio-move-an-apps-data-folder)","answer_html":"

It means the copy reached the drive, but the files at the original place couldn't be replaced with links, so they're still on your Mac and no space came back. Nothing was lost.

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The usual reason is that macOS doesn't allow a link in that particular place — some locations are protected, and which ones depends on your Mac and its permissions. Storage Studio finds this out by trying rather than guessing, and tells you instead of retrying pointlessly.

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What to do: check Storage Studio has Full Disk Access, then try again. If it still can't, that folder is best left on your Mac; you can remove the extra copy from the drive.

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See Why won't What's Using Space move an app's data?

","answer_text":"It means the copy reached the drive, but the files at the original place couldn't be replaced with links, so they're still on your Mac and no space came back. Nothing was lost.\n\nThe usual reason is that macOS doesn't allow a link in that particular place — some locations are protected, and which ones depends on your Mac and its permissions. Storage Studio finds this out by trying rather than guessing, and tells you instead of retrying pointlessly.\n\nWhat to do: check Storage Studio has Full Disk Access, then try again. If it still can't, that folder is best left on your Mac; you can remove the extra copy from the drive.\n\nSee Why won't What's Using Space move an app's data?","tags":["message","links","no space freed"],"related":[{"id":"moving-folders.why-wont-storage-studio-move-an-apps-data-folder","question":"Why won't What's Using Space move an app's whole data folder?","url":"/faq/moving-folders/why-wont-storage-studio-move-an-apps-data-folder"},{"id":"moving-folders.how-does-storage-studio-check-a-move-worked","question":"How does Storage Studio check that a move worked?","url":"/faq/moving-folders/how-does-storage-studio-check-a-move-worked"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Why does it say \"no links were left behind, so no space came back\"? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"The copy reached the drive, but the originals couldn't be swapped for links — usually because macOS doesn't allow links in that spot — so they're still on your Mac and no space came back. Nothing was lost; check Full Disk Access and try again.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Moving folders","path":"/faq/moving-folders/"},{"name":"Why does it say \"no links were left behind, so no space came back\"?","path":"/faq/moving-folders/no-links-were-left-behind-so-no-space-came-back"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/moving-folders/no-links-were-left-behind-so-no-space-came-back","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why does it say \"no links were left behind, so no space came back\"?","alternateName":["Move completed but no space freed","macOS won't allow a link here","files still on my mac storage studio"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It means the copy reached the drive, but the files at the original place couldn't be replaced with links, so they're still on your Mac and no space came back. Nothing was lost.\n\nThe usual reason is that macOS doesn't allow a link in that particular place — some locations are protected, and which ones depends on your Mac and its permissions. Storage Studio finds this out by trying rather than guessing, and tells you instead of retrying pointlessly.\n\nWhat to do: check Storage Studio has Full Disk Access, then try again. If it still can't, that folder is best left on your Mac; you can remove the extra copy from the drive.\n\nSee Why won't What's Using Space move an app's data?","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/moving-folders/no-links-were-left-behind-so-no-space-came-back"}}]},"fragment":"
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Moving folders · Messages and problems

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Why does it say "no links were left behind, so no space came back"?

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Short answer: The copy reached the drive, but the originals couldn't be swapped for links — usually because macOS doesn't allow links in that spot — so they're still on your Mac and no space came back. Nothing was lost; check Full Disk Access and try again.

\n

It means the copy reached the drive, but the files at the original place couldn't be replaced with links, so they're still on your Mac and no space came back. Nothing was lost.

\n

The usual reason is that macOS doesn't allow a link in that particular place — some locations are protected, and which ones depends on your Mac and its permissions. Storage Studio finds this out by trying rather than guessing, and tells you instead of retrying pointlessly.

\n

What to do: check Storage Studio has Full Disk Access, then try again. If it still can't, that folder is best left on your Mac; you can remove the extra copy from the drive.

\n

See Why won't What's Using Space move an app's data?

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Last reviewed

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Related questions

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