When a Mac is running out of storage, I start with the tools already in macOS. Storage settings can show large individual files, and Finder can calculate the sizes of folders in a list. That is often enough.

I use a disk-space analyzer when I want to choose one folder, scan its accessible contents once, and keep drilling through a largest-first hierarchy. SimplyDiskSweeper is my version of that workflow.

Start with macOS Storage

Open System Settings → General → Storage, then open Documents. The Large Files view lists large documents and lets me sort by size. File Browser shows how much storage different folders use.

This is the quickest built-in route when I do not yet know where the large file is. I can select a file and use Show in Finder before deciding what to remove.

Storage settings also show categories such as Applications, Photos, Messages, and iOS files. Those categories are useful for deciding which app should manage the data. A large Photos library, for example, is not a loose folder of disposable images.

Show folder sizes in Finder

Finder is better when I already know the folder I want to inspect.

  1. Open the folder in Finder.
  2. Switch to List view.
  3. Choose View → Show View Options, or press Command-J.
  4. Turn on Calculate all sizes.
  5. Click the Size column heading to put the largest items first.

Finder may need time to calculate a folder that contains many items. The setting applies to the Finder view I am using, and I repeat the same navigation as I open deeper folders.

For one folder, I can also select it and press Command-I to open Get Info. That gives me the folder’s total without changing the Finder view.

Match the built-in view to the question

I use Finder when I can name the likely location: Downloads, Documents, a project folder, or an external folder I already recognize. Calculating all sizes in that one list tells me which branch deserves a closer look.

I use Storage settings when I cannot name the location yet. Its Large Files view is better for finding individual documents across the categories macOS exposes. File Browser is better for stepping through folder totals without first opening the right Finder window.

The two built-in views do not always describe storage in the same way. Storage groups data by categories, while Finder shows filesystem items in the current location. I do not treat a category total, a folder total, and free disk space as interchangeable numbers.

For a large System Data category, start with what macOS System Data means. A folder total cannot account for that category by itself.

Neither built-in route bypasses macOS permissions. Finder can show only what the current user can access, and Storage settings deliberately leave some categories to macOS or the app that owns them. When an item is dimmed, unavailable, or part of a managed library, I keep that boundary instead of changing permissions just to make a cleanup list look complete.

When I use SimplyDiskSweeper instead

Finder works well for a known folder and a quick check. SimplyDiskSweeper keeps the size-first inspection going as I move through the hierarchy.

In SimplyDiskSweeper, I choose a folder and scan its accessible contents. The app measures allocated space and ranks each column from largest to smallest. I open a large folder and continue into the next ranked column while keeping its parents visible.

Choosing Downloads answers a Downloads question. Choosing a project folder answers a project question. The sandboxed app works within granted access; choosing one folder does not turn the scan into a whole-Mac result. Completed scans report included items, paths that need access, and unavailable paths. I check those coverage counts before treating a folder total as complete.

I can move back to a parent, use Command-F to filter names in the current column, or select more than one item in that column. The name filter does not search every descendant. Linked folders are followed only when I opt in, and following links can make scan scopes overlap.

For individual files deeper in the folder, version 0.21.0 includes Largest Files (Shift-Command-L). It lists up to 50 of the largest scanned files by allocated size and can reveal each one in Finder. The list follows the scan’s coverage, and names that share storage can appear as separate rows, so I do not add those rows together. I did not use Largest Files in the example below, which predates it.

Job Finder and macOS Storage SimplyDiskSweeper 0.21.0
Find large individual files across common categories Storage → Documents → Large Files Starts from one folder I choose
Check one folder’s total Finder Get Info Included in the selected-folder scan
Compare folders in the current view Finder List view with Calculate all sizes Ranks accessible items by allocated space in every opened column
Follow a folder hierarchy Open each folder and inspect its Finder view Navigate the retained largest-first column hierarchy
Remove files Move selected files to Trash in Finder, or use the available Storage action Move only selected items to macOS Trash after confirmation

SimplyDiskSweeper does not replace Finder or promise a complete account of the Mac. Inaccessible entries are outside its result. It does not claim APFS snapshot accounting, purgeable space, cloud-account totals, unique physical blocks, or guaranteed reclaimable bytes.

Finder and Storage settings remain the better tools when I need a built-in answer, an individual file search, or a system category. A paid analyzer has to save enough repeated navigation to justify its price.

SimplyDiskSweeper ranking accessible files and folders by allocated space in nested columns
The ranked column workflow. This authentic 0.14.0 capture shows behavior that remains in the current 0.21.0 release.

A scan and restore with test files

For this example, I used a local development-signed SimplyDiskSweeper 0.19.0 (18) build on 17 October 2026. Apple’s public US listing also reported 0.19.0 that day. Version 0.20.0 later added Largest Files and a confirmation of how many items moved to Trash; this example shows neither. The folder contained only test files: a generated video, an installer stand-in, an archive named Old export – café.zip, 240 smaller files, a hard-linked pair, and a sparse file. The .pkg stand-in contained random data.

  1. I chose Large files example in the folder picker. The completed scan reported 253 files and folders included and 112.7 MB in its scan status. This covered the folder I chose.
  2. Many small files was the largest branch at 60 MB. The video was elsewhere: I clicked Videos → Exports → Test pattern.mov, keeping the parent columns visible. The video row showed 28.7 MB allocated for that path. A large folder made from many small files did not identify the largest individual file for me.
  3. I opened the filter in the Exports column and entered pattern. The field was labelled Filter Exports. The filter applied to that column’s names.
  4. With only the video selected, I used the Trash button and reviewed Move 1 Item to Trash? The confirmation named its containing Videos/Exports folder. After I confirmed, the video row disappeared and the scan-status total changed to 84 MB. I did not measure recovered disk space.
  5. In Finder, Put Back was disabled for this app-moved file. I selected the video in Trash, copied it with Command-C, opened the original Exports folder, and used Option-Command-V to move it there. The restored file matched the original contents. I rescanned the chosen folder before checking its totals again; I left Trash unemptied.
SimplyDiskSweeper 0.19.0 showing the chosen test folder, its Videos and Exports columns, and the selected Test pattern.mov file at 28.7 MB
The chosen-folder scan and the nested video. The larger 60 MB folder contains 240 smaller files. Open the image to inspect the capture at full size.

Why a file’s length and allocated size can differ

I measured these test files on the same filesystem. Logical bytes describe file length; allocated bytes below are the filesystem’s reported block count multiplied by 512.

Test item Logical bytes Allocated bytes for that path
Test pattern.mov 30,065,008 30,068,736
sparse-512MiB.bin 536,870,912 0
Each name in the hard-linked pair 8,388,608 8,388,608

The sparse file had a 512 MiB logical length and no allocated data blocks. SimplyDiskSweeper displayed Zero KB for it. The two hard-linked names referred to the same file: each row showed 8 MB, while their parent showed 8 MB for the pair. Adding those rows would count the same allocation twice. These measurements describe the test folder, not how many bytes a deletion would recover.

The restoration also changes my cleanup procedure. I check how to restore an item before moving a larger batch. Finder can move an item out of Trash even when Put Back is unavailable; SimplyDiskSweeper does not supply an undo history.

Check before moving anything

A large file is not automatically safe to delete. Before I move one, I check what created it, whether an app expects it to remain in place, and whether I have another copy.

Downloads, old installers, exports, and archives I created are useful places to start. I am more careful with photo libraries, virtual machines, app support folders, and anything under ~/Library or a system folder.

Finder moves an item to Trash when I drag it there or press Command-Delete. SimplyDiskSweeper moves only the items I selected, and it shows a confirmation first. An item in Trash still occupies storage. Before emptying Trash, I can drag the item out in Finder, or select it and use File → Put Back when that action is available. SimplyDiskSweeper does not provide its own undo or backup. I check the Mac and my important apps before emptying Trash; items emptied from Trash are permanently deleted.

Allocated size is also not a promise about the next free-space reading. Snapshots, clones, cloud-managed files, purgeable data, and items still in Trash can change that relationship. I move a small group, check what still opens, and then inspect the Mac’s available storage again.

The order I use

I keep the first pass narrow:

  1. Open Storage settings and check Large Files when I do not know where to start.
  2. Use Show in Finder or open the folder I already suspect.
  3. Turn on Calculate all sizes and sort that Finder list by Size.
  4. If repeating the calculation and navigation is slowing the inspection down, choose that folder in SimplyDiskSweeper and use its ranked columns.
  5. Preview or open each item I am considering. Move only a small selection to Trash.
  6. Check the affected app or project, inspect available storage again, and empty Trash only after I am sure.

This order keeps Finder as the default. SimplyDiskSweeper enters when the same folder-by-folder calculation becomes the work, not merely because a storage number looks high.

I also stop when the large item belongs to an app-managed library or a storage category I do not understand. The right next step may be the app’s own cleanup command, an archive, or a backup. A different size browser does not make that decision for me.

Which route to use

Use macOS Storage first when the question is simply “what large files can I find?” Use Finder when the likely folder is already known and calculating one list is enough.

Use SimplyDiskSweeper when I want one selected-folder scan, allocated-space ranking, and the same largest-first navigation at each level. For visual maps, whole-disk questions, older macOS releases, or free alternatives, the Mac disk space analyzer comparison covers the different trade-offs.

Sources

SimplyDiskSweeper 0.21.0 costs US$14.99 upfront and requires macOS 15 or later.

Get SimplyDiskSweeper on the Mac App Store