Get More Storage on a MacBook Air: Delete, iCloud, a Drive
To get more storage on a MacBook Air, we lay out three options from Apple’s storage page: free up space on the Air itself with Apple’s delete list, let iCloud make more space available on the Air automatically when needed, or move big files to an external drive. The middle one, iCloud optimize, is our pick for a full Air that still has to carry everything.
All three come from Apple’s “Free up storage space on Mac” article, which is written for any Mac and never names the MacBook Air. Its purpose line: “Learn what to do if your Mac startup disk is almost full, or you don’t have enough storage space to download, install, or copy.”
First, see what is using the space
Apple’s first section is the Storage screen. In its words, “In macOS Ventura 13 or later, choose System Settings from the Apple menu” and “click General in the sidebar, then click Storage on the right.” On older versions, Apple says to choose About This Mac from the Apple menu, then click Storage.
The screen does the counting for you and keeps counting as you delete. Apple says it “shows how much storage space is used by various categories of files. As you take the steps in this article to free up storage space, this information updates automatically.”
System Data is the category to understand. Apple’s definition: “The category named System Data (or Other) is a general category that measures the storage space used by all Apple and third-party files that don’t belong to any more specific category.”
Option 1, the bare minimum: delete what the Air does not need
Apple’s delete list is where the quick wins are, and it starts with media you can get again. Its line: delete music, movies, podcasts “or other media, especially if it’s media that you can stream or download again as needed.”
Then the folders that fill up on their own. Apple’s steps are “Delete files in your Downloads folder.” and, for Mail users, “choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail from the menu bar in Mail. Also choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.”
Old iPhone or iPad backups and unused apps come next. Apple says that if you use your Mac to back up your iPhone or iPad you can delete old backups, and to delete or uninstall apps “that you no longer use.”
Apple’s list also covers a Mac set up for multiple users: delete users who no longer need access, and check the Users folder on Macintosh HD for data left by deleted users and shared files you no longer need to share.
Two last ones. For files you want to keep, Apple says “you might be able to save space by” compressing them, and the Trash rule is the one to remember: “Empty your Trash. When you move a file to the Trash, its storage space doesn’t become available until you” empty the Trash.
Option 2, our pick: let iCloud optimize the Air’s storage
This is our pick for a full Air with no drive attached. Apple’s description: “Your Mac can optimize storage by using iCloud to automatically make more storage space available when needed.”
The catch is in Apple’s footnote, and it travels with our pick: “Storing files in iCloud uses storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach your iCloud storage limit, you can” buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. Apple links its optimize steps for macOS Ventura 13 or later and for earlier versions from the same section.
Option 3, the full fix: move big files to an external drive
An external drive is the one added storage device Apple’s page names. Its wording: “If you have another storage device, such as an external drive connected to your Mac, you can move files to that device.”
Apple says “Media files such as photos and videos can use a lot of storage space, so you might want to” move your Photos library or move your iMovie library.
When you only need space for a minute
A macOS update that will not fit has its own trick. Apple’s page says “To temporarily make more storage space available, it might help to” start up your Mac in safe mode, and that “Your Mac then clears certain system caches, which are automatically created again as needed.”
Apple scopes it to the task in hand: “This might provide enough storage space to complete a task that needs more space only while the task is underway, such as when installing a macOS update. To leave safe mode, restart your Mac normally.”
Where Apple’s page stops
Apple’s page prints no internal drive upgrade or replacement step. The words upgrade, SSD, internal and replace do not appear on it.
It names no SD card, Thunderbolt drive, RAID or network storage either; its one added storage device is “another storage device, such as an external drive connected to your Mac”. And it never names the MacBook Air, so everything above is Apple’s guidance for any Mac, applied to the Air.
If the full machine is an iPad rather than a Mac, see how to add more storage to an iPad. For the System Data category on its own, see clear system storage on a Mac, and if you are choosing a new Air, where to buy a MacBook Air.
Frequently asked questions
Can you upgrade the storage inside a MacBook Air?
Apple’s storage page prints no internal drive upgrade or replacement step; the words upgrade, SSD, internal and replace do not appear on it. The storage it names adding is an external drive, and the space it names making is iCloud optimize, its delete list and, for the length of one task, safe mode.
What is taking up space on my MacBook Air?
Open System Settings, click General, then Storage on macOS Ventura 13 or later, or About This Mac then Storage on earlier versions. Apple says the screen shows the space used by category, and that if you see a More Info button next to a category, clicking it gives “more information and options for managing storage in that category.”
Does iCloud give my MacBook Air more storage?
It frees space on the Air by storing files in iCloud; Apple says the Mac can optimize storage this way “automatically” and “when needed”. Those files count against your iCloud plan, and Apple says you can buy more iCloud storage or make more available if you reach the limit.
I am over 80 years old, and my mac air has let me down. It will not, all of a sudden
show my Easy Store 4 Tr. on the left of a page or on my desktop when plugged in.
There are all kinds of options. I copy and save books to my easy Store. I Had over 2000, then added 1000, then more. My East Store crashed and I lost all that was not in my computer. Now my second one won’t appear when I plug it in. Upped to
Tahoe 26.3 MacOS. What now? New computer or can I add to my Mac 8/