Tidy Macbird (com.apple.bird) is the macOS process that syncs iCloud Drive. Its folders hold the sync database and local copies of iCloud files. Don’t delete them by hand: you can lose files that haven’t finished uploading and force a full re-sync. To free space, let macOS remove local copies of iCloud files instead.
Location: ~/Library/Application Support/CloudDocs · ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.bird
What’s inside
- iCloud Drive sync database (CloudDocs)
- Local copies of iCloud Drive files
- Upload and download queues
Free space safely
- Turn on System Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Optimise Mac Storage: macOS keeps recent files and removes local copies of older ones when space is low.
- Or, in Finder, right-click a large iCloud Drive folder and choose Remove Download. The file stays in iCloud.
If bird is using lots of CPU
That means it is syncing. Leave your Mac awake and online until it finishes; restarting can help if it seems stuck.
Find every folder like this on your Mac
Tidy Mac’s Space Map shows every big folder at its real size, and Apps › Leftovers finds folders left by apps you already deleted.
Frequently asked questions
Can I delete com.apple.bird?
Leave alone: Removing this directly can break something. There’s a right way to shrink it. bird (com.apple.bird) is the macOS process that syncs iCloud Drive. Its folders hold the sync database and local copies of iCloud files. Don’t delete them by hand: you can lose files that haven’t finished uploading and force a full re-sync. To free space, let macOS remove local copies of iCloud files instead.
Where is com.apple.bird on my Mac?
~/Library/Application Support/CloudDocs · ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.bird. In Finder choose Go › Go to Folder and paste the path.
How big does com.apple.bird get?
Usually 100 MB – many GB (depends on your iCloud Drive).