Mac file guides
How to find, search and tidy the files on your Mac, with macOS’s own tools first and Peekaboo second.
How to free up space on a Mac
Find what’s filling your Mac’s disk and clear it safely: Storage settings, the Downloads folder, old installers, duplicates and the Trash. Step by step.
How to find duplicate files on a Mac
Find duplicate files on a Mac with Photos, Finder, Terminal or a duplicate finder, and remove the copies safely without losing the original.
How to search the text in screenshots on a Mac
Find a screenshot by the words in it: Live Text, Spotlight and Preview on macOS, and how to search and copy text from many images at once, on-device.
How to see where a file was downloaded from on a Mac
Find the website or app a file came from on a Mac using Get Info’s “Where from”, Terminal’s mdls, and how to group every download by its source.
How to find large files on a Mac
Three ways to find the largest files on your Mac: Storage settings, a Finder size search and one Terminal command, plus what’s safe to remove.
How to find files by date on a Mac
Find files on a Mac by the date they were created, modified or last opened, with Finder search, Spotlight and Terminal, or by typing it in plain English.
Where are my downloads on a Mac?
Find the Downloads folder on a Mac, open it from Finder, the Dock or a shortcut, change where Safari and Chrome save files, and find a download you lost.
Mac search not finding files? How to fix Spotlight and Finder search
Spotlight or Finder search can’t find files you know exist? Check the search scope, Spotlight privacy settings and indexing, then rebuild the index safely.
Why is System Data so large on my Mac, and how do I shrink it?
What System Data is on a Mac, why it grows, and safe ways to shrink it: restart, local Time Machine snapshots, iPhone backups, Xcode caches and the Trash.