--- title: "Optimize Mac Storage in iCloud: how it frees space" description: "Optimize Mac Storage keeps only recent iCloud Drive files on your Mac when space runs low. How to turn it on, use Remove Download, and why space may not return." url: https://tidymac.space/guides/optimize-mac-storage-icloud/ updated: 2026-10-17 --- [Home](/) [Guides](/guides/) Optimize Mac Storage in iCloud # Optimize Mac Storage and iCloud Drive: how it frees space, and when it doesn’t Optimize Mac Storage keeps only recent iCloud Drive files on your Mac when space runs low. How to turn it on, use Remove Download, and why space may not return. 5 min readUpdated October 16, 2026By the Tidy Mac team Short answer With Optimize Mac Storage on, iCloud Drive keeps recently opened files on your Mac and replaces older ones with download-on-demand placeholders when space runs low. It acts only when the disk is getting full. To free space now, right-click a file or folder in iCloud Drive in Finder and choose Remove Download; the file stays in iCloud. The steps 1. Open System Settings, click your name, then iCloud. 2. Turn on iCloud Drive, and Optimize Mac Storage. 3. Optionally turn on Desktop & Documents Folders to store them in iCloud. 4. To free space now, right-click big folders in iCloud Drive and choose Remove Download. 5. Keep files you need offline with Keep Downloaded (macOS 15 and later). ## What Optimize Mac Storage does iCloud Drive normally keeps a full copy of every file on your Mac. With **Optimize Mac Storage** on, macOS may remove the local copy of files you haven't opened in a while when your disk gets low, leaving a placeholder with a cloud icon. Double-click it and it downloads again. Your files stay in iCloud and count against your iCloud plan. ## Turn it on 1. Open **System Settings** and click your name at the top of the sidebar. 2. Click **iCloud**. Make sure **iCloud Drive** is on. 3. Turn on **Optimize Mac Storage**. Depending on your macOS version, it's on the iCloud page itself or inside the iCloud Drive settings. 4. Optional: turn on **Desktop & Documents Folders** so those folders live in iCloud Drive too. You can also reach it from **System Settings › General › Storage**, under Recommendations, **Store in iCloud**. ## Free space now: Remove Download Optimize waits until space is low. To free space today, open **iCloud Drive** in Finder, right-click a big file or folder and choose **Remove Download**. The local copy goes; the file stays in iCloud with a download icon. On macOS 15 Sequoia and later, the same menu has **Keep Downloaded** for files you always want offline, such as a project you work on on a plane. ![](/img/brand/tidy-128.png) ### Let Tidy Mac do this for you See every part of your storage explained, and clear junk to the Trash with Undo. $9.99 once, 2 Macs. [Download](/download/TidyMac.dmg) [Buy for $9.99 once](/buy/) ## Why the space doesn't always come back - **The upload isn't finished.** A file can't be removed locally until iCloud has it. Check the status in Finder's sidebar next to iCloud Drive. - **macOS decides when.** Files removed by Optimize count as [purgeable](/guides/purgeable-space-mac/) first; Finder shows them as available before they're actually gone. - **Your iCloud plan is full.** Nothing new uploads, so nothing can be removed locally. - **The files aren't in iCloud Drive.** Optimize only covers iCloud Drive (and Desktop & Documents if you turned that on), not Downloads or app data. ## Photos is separate iCloud Photos has its own setting. In **Photos › Settings › iCloud**, choose **Optimize Mac Storage** to keep smaller versions on your Mac and full-size originals in iCloud. ## Where Tidy Mac fits Tidy Mac counts iCloud-only files as zero, because they aren't using your disk, so its numbers show what's really stored on your Mac. Space Map shows which folders still hold downloaded copies. [Pricing](/#pricing) ## Frequently asked questions Does Remove Download delete the file? No. It removes only the copy on your Mac. The file stays in iCloud Drive and downloads again when you open it. Why is Optimize Mac Storage not freeing space? It only acts when your disk is low, files must be fully uploaded first, and it covers only iCloud Drive. Use Remove Download to free space right away. Is it safe to turn on Desktop & Documents Folders? Yes, but those files then depend on iCloud: they count against your plan, and on other Macs signed in to the same account they appear too. Keep a separate backup, such as Time Machine. Does turning off iCloud Drive delete my files? macOS asks whether to keep a copy on this Mac. Files that were only in iCloud are not downloaded automatically, so download what you need first. ## Keep reading [Purgeable space on Mac: why you get “not enough space” when Finder says there’s room](/guides/purgeable-space-mac/)[What is Purgeable space?](/glossary/purgeable-space/)[“Your disk is almost full”: how to free up space on a Mac safely](/guides/mac-storage-full/)[Tidy Mac for 256 GB MacBooks](/for/256gb-macbook/)[Why Finder, System Settings, Disk Utility and Terminal show different free space on a Mac](/guides/finder-disk-utility-free-space-different/)[Free disk space analyzers for Mac: GrandPerspective, OmniDiskSweeper, Disk Inventory X and macOS’s own](/guides/free-disk-space-analyzer-mac/) Share:[X](https://x.com/intent/post?text=Optimize%20Mac%20Storage%20and%20iCloud%20Drive%3A%20how%20it%20frees%20space%2C%20and%20when%20it%20doesn%E2%80%99t&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftidymac.space%2Fguides%2Foptimize-mac-storage-icloud%2F)[Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftidymac.space%2Fguides%2Foptimize-mac-storage-icloud%2F&title=Optimize%20Mac%20Storage%20and%20iCloud%20Drive%3A%20how%20it%20frees%20space%2C%20and%20when%20it%20doesn%E2%80%99t)[Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitlink?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftidymac.space%2Fguides%2Foptimize-mac-storage-icloud%2F&t=Optimize%20Mac%20Storage%20and%20iCloud%20Drive%3A%20how%20it%20frees%20space%2C%20and%20when%20it%20doesn%E2%80%99t)[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftidymac.space%2Fguides%2Foptimize-mac-storage-icloud%2F) #### On this page [What Optimize Mac Storage does](#what-optimize-mac-storage-does)[Turn it on](#turn-it-on)[Free space now: Remove Download](#free-space-now-remove-download)[Why the space doesn't always come back](#why-the-space-doesn-t-always-come-back)[Photos is separate](#photos-is-separate)[Where Tidy Mac fits](#where-tidy-mac-fits)[FAQ](#faq) **Tidy Mac** See this on your own Mac in under a minute. $9.99 once, 2 Macs. 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