{"id":"troubleshooting.folder-size-is-a-minimum","url":"/faq/troubleshooting/folder-size-is-a-minimum","category":{"id":"troubleshooting","title":"Troubleshooting & messages"},"subcategory":{"id":"permissions","title":"Permissions and Full Disk Access"},"question":"Why does a folder's size say it's only a minimum?","alt_questions":["part of this folder couldn't be read so this is a minimum","folder size minimum storage studio","at least in your home folder some of it couldn't be read","size shown is too small"],"short_answer":"Some of the folder couldn't be read, so the figure is what could be counted — the real size is at least that. Full Disk Access usually lets Storage Studio count the rest.","answer_markdown":"Part of the folder couldn't be read — usually because macOS protects it, or an app has it locked — so Storage Studio shows the size it could count and labels it a minimum. The real size is at least that, possibly more.\n\nGranting **Full Disk Access** in **System Settings → Privacy & Security** usually lets it count everything. Some system areas stay unreadable to every app by design.","answer_html":"

Part of the folder couldn't be read — usually because macOS protects it, or an app has it locked — so Storage Studio shows the size it could count and labels it a minimum. The real size is at least that, possibly more.

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Granting Full Disk Access in System Settings → Privacy & Security usually lets it count everything. Some system areas stay unreadable to every app by design.

","answer_text":"Part of the folder couldn't be read — usually because macOS protects it, or an app has it locked — so Storage Studio shows the size it could count and labels it a minimum. The real size is at least that, possibly more.\n\nGranting Full Disk Access in System Settings → Privacy & Security usually lets it count everything. Some system areas stay unreadable to every app by design.","tags":["folder size","full disk access","measuring"],"related":[{"id":"troubleshooting.breakdown-doesnt-add-up-to-whole-disk","question":"Why doesn't Storage Studio's breakdown add up to my whole disk?","url":"/faq/troubleshooting/breakdown-doesnt-add-up-to-whole-disk"},{"id":"troubleshooting.storage-studio-was-blocked-from-some-files","question":"What does \"Storage Studio was blocked from some of your files\" mean?","url":"/faq/troubleshooting/storage-studio-was-blocked-from-some-files"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Why does a folder's size say it's only a minimum? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Some of the folder couldn't be read, so the figure is what could be counted — the real size is at least that. Full Disk Access usually lets Storage Studio count the rest.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Troubleshooting & messages","path":"/faq/troubleshooting/"},{"name":"Why does a folder's size say it's only a minimum?","path":"/faq/troubleshooting/folder-size-is-a-minimum"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/troubleshooting/folder-size-is-a-minimum","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why does a folder's size say it's only a minimum?","alternateName":["part of this folder couldn't be read so this is a minimum","folder size minimum storage studio","at least in your home folder some of it couldn't be read","size shown is too small"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Part of the folder couldn't be read — usually because macOS protects it, or an app has it locked — so Storage Studio shows the size it could count and labels it a minimum. The real size is at least that, possibly more.\n\nGranting Full Disk Access in System Settings → Privacy & Security usually lets it count everything. Some system areas stay unreadable to every app by design.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/troubleshooting/folder-size-is-a-minimum"}}]},"fragment":"
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Troubleshooting & messages · Permissions and Full Disk Access

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Why does a folder's size say it's only a minimum?

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Short answer: Some of the folder couldn't be read, so the figure is what could be counted — the real size is at least that. Full Disk Access usually lets Storage Studio count the rest.

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Part of the folder couldn't be read — usually because macOS protects it, or an app has it locked — so Storage Studio shows the size it could count and labels it a minimum. The real size is at least that, possibly more.

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Granting Full Disk Access in System Settings → Privacy & Security usually lets it count everything. Some system areas stay unreadable to every app by design.

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Last reviewed

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