{ "schema": "https://storagestudio.us/schema/wiki-page.v1", "title": "The Apps window", "slug": "the-apps-window", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-apps-window", "markdown_url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-apps-window.md", "category": "Apps", "category_url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/apps/", "tags": [ "apps", "external drive", "free up space" ], "summary": "The Apps window lists every app on your Mac and lets you open, move, offload or uninstall each one. It has four tabs: All Apps, Internal, Moved and Offloaded.", "published_at": "2026-10-01T06:19:30.000Z", "updated_at": "2026-10-01T05:31:24.000Z", "headings": [ { "level": 2, "text": "Opening it", "id": "opening-it" }, { "level": 2, "text": "The four tabs", "id": "the-four-tabs" }, { "level": 2, "text": "The Internal tab's filters", "id": "the-internal-tab-s-filters" }, { "level": 2, "text": "Sorting and filtering", "id": "sorting-and-filtering" }, { "level": 2, "text": "The header", "id": "the-header" }, { "level": 2, "text": "Messages you might see", "id": "messages-you-might-see" }, { "level": 2, "text": "Which action to choose", "id": "which-action-to-choose" } ], "links_out": [ { "slug": "the-all-apps-grid", "label": "The All Apps grid and its shortcut", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-all-apps-grid" }, { "slug": "app-safety-levels", "label": "App safety levels", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/app-safety-levels" }, { "slug": "missing-moved-apps", "label": "Missing moved apps: hide, recover or remove", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/missing-moved-apps" }, { "slug": "moving-an-app", "label": "Moving an app to your external drive", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moving-an-app" }, { "slug": "offloading-an-app", "label": "Offloading and restoring an app", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/offloading-an-app" }, { "slug": "uninstalling-an-app", "label": "Uninstalling an app completely", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/uninstalling-an-app" }, { "slug": "why-some-apps-cant-be-moved", "label": "Why some apps can't be moved", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/why-some-apps-cant-be-moved" }, { "slug": "moved-apps-when-the-drive-is-offline", "label": "Moved apps when the drive is disconnected", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moved-apps-when-the-drive-is-offline" }, { "slug": "glossary-app-safety-level", "label": "App safety level", "exists": true, "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-app-safety-level" } ], "links_in": [ { "slug": "a-moved-app-wont-open", "title": "A moved app won't open", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/a-moved-app-wont-open" }, { "slug": "the-data-parking-window", "title": "A tour of the Data Parking window", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-data-parking-window" }, { "slug": "app-safety-levels", "title": "App safety levels", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/app-safety-levels" }, { "slug": "drive-formats", "title": "Drive formats: APFS, Mac OS Extended and exFAT", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/drive-formats" }, { "slug": "missing-moved-apps", "title": "Missing moved apps: hide, recover or remove", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/missing-moved-apps" }, { "slug": "move-merge-or-relocate", "title": "Move, Merge or Relocate: which to choose", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/move-merge-or-relocate" }, { "slug": "moving-an-app", "title": "Moving an app to your external drive", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moving-an-app" }, { "slug": "glossary-offload", "title": "Offload", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-offload" }, { "slug": "offloading-an-app", "title": "Offloading and restoring an app", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/offloading-an-app" }, { "slug": "show-apps-in-dock", "title": "Show in Dock", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/show-apps-in-dock" }, { "slug": "the-all-apps-grid", "title": "The All Apps grid and its shortcut", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-all-apps-grid" }, { "slug": "the-home-folder-in-finder", "title": "The Home folder in the Finder location", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-home-folder-in-finder" }, { "slug": "the-shortcut-left-behind", "title": "The shortcut left behind after a move", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-shortcut-left-behind" }, { "slug": "uninstalling-an-app", "title": "Uninstalling an app completely", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/uninstalling-an-app" }, { "slug": "compared-with-dragging-an-app-to-the-trash", "title": "Uninstalling an app versus dragging it to the Trash", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/compared-with-dragging-an-app-to-the-trash" }, { "slug": "what-storage-studio-does", "title": "What Storage Studio does", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/what-storage-studio-does" }, { "slug": "exfat-drives", "title": "What to know about exFAT drives", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/exfat-drives" }, { "slug": "where-to-start", "title": "Where to start: pick your goal", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/where-to-start" } ], "diagrams": [ { "kind": "mindmap", "caption": "The Apps window at a glance", "outline": "- Apps window\n - All Apps\n - Search\n - Open with Return\n - Right-click actions\n - Internal\n - Safety badge\n - Move\n - Offload\n - Uninstall\n - Moved\n - Move back\n - Reinstalled by vendor label\n - Offloaded\n - Restore\n - Remove\n", "source": "%% caption: The Apps window at a glance\nmindmap\n root((Apps window))\n All Apps\n Search\n Open with Return\n Right-click actions\n Internal\n Safety badge\n Move\n Offload\n Uninstall\n Moved\n Move back\n Reinstalled by vendor label\n Offloaded\n Restore\n Remove" } ], "images": [], "screenshots_pending": [ { "alt": "The Apps window on the All Apps tab in Demo Mode, showing the icon grid, the search box and the four tab buttons with their counts", "caption": "The Apps window, opened on All Apps" } ], "faqs": [ { "question": "How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them?", "answer": "Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click.", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq" }, { "question": "How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook?", "answer": "Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive.", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq" }, { "question": "Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive?", "answer": "Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,…", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq" }, { "question": "Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight?", "answer": "Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible.", "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq" } ], "text": "The Apps window is where you manage the apps on your Mac. It shows every app in one place, tells you how safe each one is to move, and gives each app its own buttons to Open , Move , Offload or Uninstall it. Apps that you have moved or offloaded have their own tabs, so you can always bring them back. Opening it In the Intelligence view , click the Manage Apps card on the Home screen to open the full window. The Apps tab at the top of the main window shows the same app grid without the other tabs. In the Advanced view , click Apps in the menu bar popover. From anywhere , press the Apps shortcut ( ⌃ Space unless you've changed it). See The All Apps grid and its shortcut . Storage Studio calls your external drive your fast drive in this window, and some labels still say NVMe . Both mean the external drive you set up for Storage Studio. The four tabs Each tab shows a count, so you can see at a glance how many apps are in each state. Tab What it shows What you can do there All Apps Every app, as a grid of large icons Search, open, and right-click for every other action Internal Apps still on your Mac's built-in disk, as a list See each app's safety badge, then Open , Move , Offload or Uninstall Moved Apps you moved to your external drive Open , Move back , Offload or Uninstall Offloaded Apps archived on your external drive Restore or Remove The Apps window at a glance Mind map outline: The Apps window at a glance Apps window All Apps Search Open with Return Right-click actions Internal Safety badge Move Offload Uninstall Moved Move back Reinstalled by vendor label Offloaded Restore Remove The Internal tab's filters The Internal tab is built for finding apps worth moving, so it starts filtered: Older than shows only apps you haven't opened for at least that many days. It starts at 30 days. The stepper goes from Any age to 365 days, and the All , 30d , 60d , 90d , 180d and 365d buttons jump straight to a value. Apps with no record of being opened are always shown. Hide running is on by default. Apps that are open can't be moved, so hiding them keeps the list short. The count on the right says how many apps the filters are hiding, and why. If the list is empty, you'll see No apps match the current filter . Lower the Older than value or turn off Hide running . Sorting and filtering The sort menu sorts by Name , Last used , Size or Safety . It can also filter by app category and, on the All Apps grid, by location ( All locations , Internal , Moved or Offloaded ). Sorting by Safety puts all the apps you can move freely together, then the ones with a caveat, then the ones that need an override, then the blocked ones. App safety levels explains the badges. The header Scanning… and Classifying … of … show progress while Storage Studio reads your apps and works out how safe each one is to move. Rows show Classifying… until their badge is ready. The ? button opens a guide to every badge and label in the window. Refresh scans your apps again. Do this after you quit an app that was blocked because it was running. Messages you might see A red line at the bottom of the window explains anything that couldn't be done, such as a move that failed. Nothing fails silently. An orange banner, An app you moved is missing from your fast drive. , appears when a moved app's files are gone from a connected drive. Its Review… button opens the steps in Missing moved apps: hide, recover or remove . When several moves are running, a banner shows which app is moving and how many are done. Which action to choose Move keeps the app working exactly as before, from your external drive. See Moving an app to your external drive . Offload frees the most space, but the app can't open until you restore it. See Offloading and restoring an app . Uninstall removes the app and its leftover files. See Uninstalling an app completely . See also: Why some apps can't be moved · Moved apps when the drive is disconnected · App safety level Common questions How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them? Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click. How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook? Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive. Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive? Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,… Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight? Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible.", "markdown": "The **Apps** window is where you manage the apps on your Mac. It shows every app in one place, tells you how safe each one is to move, and gives each app its own buttons to **Open**, **Move**, **Offload** or **Uninstall** it. Apps that you have moved or offloaded have their own tabs, so you can always bring them back.\n\n## Opening it\n\n- **In the Intelligence view**, click the **Manage Apps** card on the Home screen to open the full window. The **Apps** tab at the top of the main window shows the same app grid without the other tabs.\n- **In the Advanced view**, click **Apps** in the menu bar popover.\n- **From anywhere**, press the Apps shortcut (**⌃ Space** unless you've changed it). See [The All Apps grid and its shortcut](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-all-apps-grid).\n\nStorage Studio calls your external drive your **fast drive** in this window, and some labels still say **NVMe**. Both mean the external drive you set up for Storage Studio.\n\n## The four tabs\n\nEach tab shows a count, so you can see at a glance how many apps are in each state.\n\n| Tab | What it shows | What you can do there |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| **All Apps** | Every app, as a grid of large icons | Search, open, and right-click for every other action |\n| **Internal** | Apps still on your Mac's built-in disk, as a list | See each app's safety badge, then **Open**, **Move**, **Offload** or **Uninstall** |\n| **Moved** | Apps you moved to your external drive | **Open**, **Move back**, **Offload** or **Uninstall** |\n| **Offloaded** | Apps archived on your external drive | **Restore** or **Remove** |\n\n```mermaid\n%% caption: The Apps window at a glance\nmindmap\n root((Apps window))\n All Apps\n Search\n Open with Return\n Right-click actions\n Internal\n Safety badge\n Move\n Offload\n Uninstall\n Moved\n Move back\n Reinstalled by vendor label\n Offloaded\n Restore\n Remove\n```\n\n*Mind map — The Apps window at a glance. Outline:*\n\n- Apps window\n - All Apps\n - Search\n - Open with Return\n - Right-click actions\n - Internal\n - Safety badge\n - Move\n - Offload\n - Uninstall\n - Moved\n - Move back\n - Reinstalled by vendor label\n - Offloaded\n - Restore\n - Remove\n\n## The Internal tab's filters\n\nThe **Internal** tab is built for finding apps worth moving, so it starts filtered:\n\n- **Older than** shows only apps you haven't opened for at least that many days. It starts at 30 days. The stepper goes from **Any age** to 365 days, and the **All**, **30d**, **60d**, **90d**, **180d** and **365d** buttons jump straight to a value. Apps with no record of being opened are always shown.\n- **Hide running** is on by default. Apps that are open can't be moved, so hiding them keeps the list short.\n- The count on the right says how many apps the filters are hiding, and why.\n\nIf the list is empty, you'll see **No apps match the current filter**. Lower the **Older than** value or turn off **Hide running**.\n\n## Sorting and filtering\n\nThe sort menu sorts by **Name**, **Last used**, **Size** or **Safety**. It can also filter by app category and, on the All Apps grid, by location (**All locations**, **Internal**, **Moved** or **Offloaded**). Sorting by **Safety** puts all the apps you can move freely together, then the ones with a caveat, then the ones that need an override, then the blocked ones. [App safety levels](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/app-safety-levels) explains the badges.\n\n## The header\n\n- **Scanning…** and **Classifying … of …** show progress while Storage Studio reads your apps and works out how safe each one is to move. Rows show **Classifying…** until their badge is ready.\n- The **?** button opens a guide to every badge and label in the window.\n- **Refresh** scans your apps again. Do this after you quit an app that was blocked because it was running.\n\n## Messages you might see\n\n- A red line at the bottom of the window explains anything that couldn't be done, such as a move that failed. Nothing fails silently.\n- An orange banner, **An app you moved is missing from your fast drive.**, appears when a moved app's files are gone from a connected drive. Its **Review…** button opens the steps in [Missing moved apps: hide, recover or remove](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/missing-moved-apps).\n- When several moves are running, a banner shows which app is moving and how many are done.\n\n## Which action to choose\n\n- **Move** keeps the app working exactly as before, from your external drive. See [Moving an app to your external drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moving-an-app).\n- **Offload** frees the most space, but the app can't open until you restore it. See [Offloading and restoring an app](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/offloading-an-app).\n- **Uninstall** removes the app and its leftover files. See [Uninstalling an app completely](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/uninstalling-an-app).\n\nSee also: [Why some apps can't be moved](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/why-some-apps-cant-be-moved) · [Moved apps when the drive is disconnected](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moved-apps-when-the-drive-is-offline) · [App safety level](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-app-safety-level)\n\n- **How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them?** Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n- **How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook?** Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n- **Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive?** Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,… (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n- **Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight?** Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n" }