Storage Studio and macOS Storage settings

macOS has its own storage tools, and they're a good place to start. Storage Studio doesn't replace them — it adds ways to free space that macOS doesn't offer, chiefly moving folders and apps to an external drive while keeping them reachable.

What macOS does

In System Settings → General → Storage, macOS shows a bar of how your disk is used, split into categories such as Applications, Documents and Photos. Underneath are its recommendations, which can include:

• Store in iCloud — keep files in iCloud and only recent ones on the Mac.
• Optimise Storage — remove films and TV programmes you've already watched in the TV app.
• Empty Trash Automatically — remove items that have been in the Trash for 30 days.

Many of the categories can be opened to review what's in them and delete things you no longer need.

What Storage Studio adds

• Moving instead of deleting. Folders and apps can move to your external drive, leaving a shortcut so they still open from the same place. See Move, Merge or Relocate and Moving an app.
• Offloading apps you rarely use, ready to restore later — see Offloading and restoring an app.
• Clearing caches safely with Smart Care and Free Up Space — only folders an app rebuilds by itself.
• Finding what grew. Storage Inspector shows folder sizes, and Where Did My Space Go shows what changed over time.
• Local snapshots. The Local Snapshots window shows how much space local snapshots are holding.
• Other cloud accounts. Files in your cloud folders can be made online-only in one go.
• A way back. Things Storage Studio removes rest in the Recycle Vault for about six months.

%% caption: Which tool fits which job
flowchart TD
  A[Your Mac is short of space] --> B{What do you want to do?}
  B -->|Keep files in iCloud or tidy the TV app| C[macOS Storage settings]
  B -->|Delete things you are sure you no longer need| C
  B -->|Keep things but move them off the Mac| D[Storage Studio]
  B -->|Find out what grew and clear caches safely| D

Using both

There's no conflict between them. The free-space figure Storage Studio shows counts space the same way Finder does, including purgeable space, so the two tell the same story. A sensible routine is to accept the macOS recommendations that suit you, then let Storage Studio move what you want to keep but don't need on the Mac itself.

See also: Freeing up space: the options · What Storage Studio does