How to find large files on a Mac

Updated 2026-10-18

A handful of large files often take more room than thousands of small ones. macOS gives you three free ways to find them. Each sees the disk a little differently, so it is worth knowing all three.

Start with Storage settings

Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
Click General, then Storage, and wait for the bar at the top to finish calculating.
Find Documents in the list and click the info button next to it.
Open the Large Files tab to see your biggest files, sorted by size.

From that list you can reveal a file in Finder or delete it. It is a good overview, but it only looks at certain locations, and it does not let you combine size with type or date.

Search by size in Finder

Open a Finder window and press Command-F, then click This Mac.
Click the first rule menu, choose Other, find File Size, and tick In Menu so it is quicker next time.
Set the rule to is greater than and type a value such as 1 GB.
Add a second rule with the plus button if you want to limit the type, for example Kind is Movie.
Switch to list view with Command-2 and sort by Size.

Finder search leaves out system files by default, which is what you want here. The files it lists are yours to keep or remove.

Show folder sizes in list view

A folder full of medium files can be as big as one huge file, and a size search will not show it. To see folder totals:

Open your home folder and switch to list view.
Press Command-J to open View Options.
Tick Calculate all sizes.
Sort by Size and open the largest folder, then repeat inside it.

Calculating sizes takes a moment on big folders. It is the quickest way to find something like an old project folder or a forgotten export.

Where large files usually hide

Downloads: disk images, installers and zip files you no longer need. See installer files.
Movies and the Desktop: screen recordings and exported videos. See where videos take up space.
iPhone and iPad backups: with the device connected, select it in the Finder sidebar and click Manage Backups to see and delete old backups.
Virtual machines and app libraries: these show up as single very large files or packages. Delete them from the app that made them.
Photos and music libraries: these are packages. Never delete files from inside them in Finder; manage them from the Photos or Music app.

Before you delete

Large does not mean unwanted. Open or preview each file with Space before removing it, move it to the Trash rather than deleting it immediately, and empty the Trash only when you are sure. If a file is only in iCloud Drive, deleting it frees almost nothing on your Mac, because the local copy is already gone.

For files you want to keep but not on your internal disk, copy them to an external drive, open one or two from there to check the copy, and then remove the originals.

See big files at a glance in FileSift

FileSift's home view includes a Large Files folder next to Images, Videos, Music, Documents, Archives and Apps, each with a live count and size, so the biggest items are one click away and shown as thumbnails. You can also type a question such as videos over 2 GB and see the size and type filters FileSift understood. When you want to clear space, the Clean Up screen lists unused apps, duplicates, old screenshots and installers with the space each could free, and removals go to the Trash first.

Common questions

What counts as a large file?

There is no fixed line. On a small disk, anything over a few hundred megabytes is worth a look; on a large one, start at 1 GB.

Why does Storage settings show a different total from Finder?

They measure different things. Storage settings groups space into categories, includes space macOS can free on its own, and skips some folders, while Finder adds up only what you select.

FileSift shows your folders as large thumbnails, searches in plain English and clears duplicates. US$19 once, for macOS 14 or later. See what it does.

Related guides

More in How-to guides, or see all guides.