# Bytesweep blog: where disk space actually goes

> Every article from Bytesweep on disk space: what fills a Mac, what System Data hides, how Xcode, Docker and local AI models grow, and what is genuinely safe to delete.

Canonical: https://bytesweep.app/blog/index.html
Last updated: 2026-11-03

## Where the space actually went

Every article from Bytesweep on disk space: what fills a Mac, what System Data hides, how Xcode, Docker and local AI models grow, and what is genuinely safe to delete.

- 32 articles so far
- A new one every day
- [RSS feed](https://bytesweep.app/blog/feed.xml)

### Latest

- [**Telling online-only files from local ones, on any sync client** iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive all show a placeholder that looks like a file. One command distinguishes them across every client at once, and the distinction decides what is in your backup.](https://bytesweep.app/blog/cloud-files-online-only.html)
- [**Inside a Photos library: originals, renditions and the database** A Photos library is a database with a file store attached, and most of its size is not your photographs. What each folder holds, why the library is larger than the sum of your pictures, and what you must never delete.](https://bytesweep.app/blog/photos-library-size.html)
- [**paccache, orphans and the Arch package cache** Arch never removes an old package on its own, by design, because downgrading is part of the deal. How to keep the number of versions you actually need and clear the rest, plus orphans and the AUR build cache.](https://bytesweep.app/blog/pacman-cache-cleanup.html)
- [**Moving AI model stores to an external drive, properly** Every local AI tool keeps its weights somewhere different and each has a supported way to relocate them. The environment variables and settings that work, the file system that will break symlinks, and the performance you actually lose.](https://bytesweep.app/blog/move-ai-models-external-drive.html)
- [**Orphaned Docker volumes are where the data actually is** A named volume outlives the container that created it and carries no label saying what it was for. How to inspect one before deleting it, how to find the genuinely orphaned ones, and how to back one up in a single command.](https://bytesweep.app/blog/docker-volumes-orphaned.html)
- [**Xcode Archives and dSYMs: the one folder not to delete** Archives hold the exact binary you shipped and the symbol files that turn a user's crash report into a line number. They cannot be regenerated, and every cleanup guide tells you to delete them.](https://bytesweep.app/blog/xcode-archives-dsym.html)

### Mac storage

Supporting [How to free up space on a Mac](https://bytesweep.app/free-up-space-on-mac.html). 4 articles.

- [You emptied the Trash and got nothing back: here is why](https://bytesweep.app/blog/empty-trash-mac-space.html) 15 October 2026
- [Time Machine keeps snapshots on your Mac, not just the backup drive](https://bytesweep.app/blog/time-machine-local-snapshots.html) 7 October 2026
- [Purgeable space on a Mac, and how to force it back](https://bytesweep.app/blog/purgeable-space-mac.html) 29 September 2026
- [“Your startup disk is almost full” on a Mac: what to do](https://bytesweep.app/blog/mac-startup-disk-full.html) 25 September 2026

### macOS internals

Supporting [What System Data really is](https://bytesweep.app/mac-system-data.html). 4 articles.

- [Swap files and the sleep image on a Mac](https://bytesweep.app/blog/mac-swap-and-sleepimage.html) 16 October 2026
- [APFS snapshots: the space you can’t see or easily delete](https://bytesweep.app/blog/apfs-snapshots-explained.html) 8 October 2026
- [The sealed system volume, and the 12 GB you cannot touch](https://bytesweep.app/blog/macos-sealed-system-volume.html) 30 September 2026
- [Why the macOS System Data number never adds up](https://bytesweep.app/blog/system-data-explained-numbers.html) 25 September 2026

### Xcode and iOS

Supporting [Xcode storage cleanup](https://bytesweep.app/xcode-storage-cleanup.html). 4 articles.

- [Xcode Archives and dSYMs: the one folder not to delete](https://bytesweep.app/blog/xcode-archives-dsym.html) 17 October 2026
- [Deleting iOS simulators safely, and what simctl really removes](https://bytesweep.app/blog/xcode-simulators-cleanup.html) 9 October 2026
- [iOS DeviceSupport is 30 GB of iPhones you no longer own](https://bytesweep.app/blog/ios-device-support-cleanup.html) 1 October 2026
- [DerivedData: what Xcode keeps there and when to delete it](https://bytesweep.app/blog/deriveddata-explained.html) 25 September 2026

### Docker and containers

Supporting [Docker disk space on a Mac](https://bytesweep.app/docker-disk-space-mac.html). 4 articles.

- [Orphaned Docker volumes are where the data actually is](https://bytesweep.app/blog/docker-volumes-orphaned.html) 20 October 2026
- [The BuildKit cache grows until something bounds it](https://bytesweep.app/blog/docker-build-cache.html) 10 October 2026
- [docker system prune: what each flag actually deletes](https://bytesweep.app/blog/docker-system-prune-guide.html) 2 October 2026
- [Shrinking Docker.raw on a Mac without losing your images](https://bytesweep.app/blog/docker-raw-shrink.html) 25 September 2026

### Local AI models

Supporting [Where AI models are stored](https://bytesweep.app/ai-model-storage.html). 4 articles.

- [Moving AI model stores to an external drive, properly](https://bytesweep.app/blog/move-ai-models-external-drive.html) 23 October 2026
- [The Hugging Face cache keeps every revision you ever pulled](https://bytesweep.app/blog/huggingface-cache-cleanup.html) 11 October 2026
- [LM Studio’s model folder, and what it keeps besides weights](https://bytesweep.app/blog/lm-studio-storage.html) 3 October 2026
- [Where Ollama stores models on Mac, Linux and Windows](https://bytesweep.app/blog/ollama-models-disk.html) 25 September 2026

### Linux disk usage

Supporting [Disk usage analyzer for Linux](https://bytesweep.app/linux-disk-usage-analyzer.html). 4 articles.

- [paccache, orphans and the Arch package cache](https://bytesweep.app/blog/pacman-cache-cleanup.html) 27 October 2026
- [apt caches, old kernels and what autoremove actually purges](https://bytesweep.app/blog/apt-cache-cleanup.html) 12 October 2026
- [The systemd journal is bigger than you think: bounding it](https://bytesweep.app/blog/journalctl-vacuum.html) 4 October 2026
- [/ is full on Linux — the first five commands to run](https://bytesweep.app/blog/linux-disk-full-root.html) 26 September 2026

### Duplicates and photos

Supporting [Duplicate file finder](https://bytesweep.app/duplicate-file-finder.html). 4 articles.

- [Inside a Photos library: originals, renditions and the database](https://bytesweep.app/blog/photos-library-size.html) 30 October 2026
- [HEIC and JPEG pairs are quietly doubling your photo library](https://bytesweep.app/blog/heic-jpeg-duplicates.html) 13 October 2026
- [Duplicate photos and similar photos are different problems](https://bytesweep.app/blog/duplicate-photos-vs-similar.html) 5 October 2026
- [Finding duplicate files on a Mac without installing anything](https://bytesweep.app/blog/find-duplicate-files-mac.html) 27 September 2026

### Cloud, backups and sync

Supporting [Disk space analyzer for Mac](https://bytesweep.app/mac-disk-space-analyzer.html). 4 articles.

- [Telling online-only files from local ones, on any sync client](https://bytesweep.app/blog/cloud-files-online-only.html) 3 November 2026
- [Google Drive and OneDrive on a Mac: where the local copies hide](https://bytesweep.app/blog/google-drive-onedrive-mac.html) 14 October 2026
- [Dropbox online-only files and the space they still use](https://bytesweep.app/blog/dropbox-smart-sync-disk.html) 6 October 2026
- [What “Optimise Mac Storage” really does to your files](https://bytesweep.app/blog/icloud-optimise-storage.html) 28 September 2026

### Or just look at your own disk

Bytesweep shows what is filling your drive and names what you would lose before anything goes. See it all free for 3 days, then one payment per computer unlocks cleaning, and most of what it clears can be put back for seven days.

[Try it free for 3 days](https://bytesweep.app/download.html) [Buy · $29.99](https://bytesweep.app/pricing.html)