Mac users running low on storage have a free option for finding and clearing out what is filling their drives. Purge, an open source application, breaks down what is consuming disk space and offers several ways to reclaim it. The app carries no ads or upsells, and it also provides a way to remove Apple Intelligence's offline models from macOS 27, a step that could free up more than 10 GB. The tool was reviewed by Wired, which found few storage apps easier to recommend.
Purge works from lists of files known to be safe to clear. It also maintains a list of items it will never touch, including critical system files and a user's own documents. Rather than deleting anything outright, it moves files to the Trash so they can be recovered if something breaks. After installation, the app presents an overview of what is occupying the hard drive.
Users who trust the app can press a Clean Safe Items button and let it handle the work, though closer attention offers more control. Caches appear in a list that is safe to clear periodically, and Apple's Aerial screen savers are flagged as large files worth removing for people who do not use a screen saver. A Dev Tools section, relevant mainly to Homebrew users, allows cached installation files to be deleted.
The app also isolates the largest files on a computer, typically videos and other large media, and includes an uninstaller that removes an application along with its settings, caches and downloaded content. Removing an app through Finder does not do this, which can leave files behind. A separate tool surfaces leftover data from applications that were already deleted, which in one case amounted to several gigabytes of wasted space.
Apple's recent operating systems ship with offline AI models that power notification summaries, writing suggestions and the new AI-powered Siri. Users who do not rely on those features cannot simply switch them off, because Apple removed the toggle for disabling them in macOS 27. Purge's final tool lists installed models above a delete button, and pressing it removes the models and stops macOS from reinstalling them.
Your Mac, like any computer, accumulates clutter over time, including forgotten downloads and caches saved to speed up operations that linger longer than needed. Settings and caches from apps uninstalled long ago also remain on the drive. Purge is positioned to clear that material while giving users a view of what is taking up space and the means to act on it.
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