Other Space in OS X

ByMike Moffit

A frequent question that I get from customers is, “Why does my Mac have x GB of ‘Other’ data?: where ‘x’ can range from 0 GB to 100 GB or more. “Other” space in the About This Mac Storage tab is defined by Apple as a “category to count any files that aren’t recognized as one of the other listed file types (audio, movie, photos, apps, backups).” This may include items such as system caches, app plugins, certain media files, file types not recognized by Spotlight, and more.

“That’s interesting and everything, but how do I free up some of that ‘other’ space?” you might ask. Well, I’m glad that you did ask! One thing you can try first is to rebuild the Spotlight index. The “Other” storage may not have been updated in a while, and may not be correctly reporting how much data of each type is currently on your Mac.

To rebuild the Spotlight index follow these steps:

  • Open System Preferences and click Spotlight.
  • Click on the Privacy tab.
  • Drag Macintosh HD (or whatever your OS X startup disk is called) into the box. Click OK to confirm.
  • Select the disk that you just added, and click the – button in the bottom left.
  • Quit System Preferences. Spotlight will now reindex your startup disk.

If you now bring up Spotlight (press Command-space bar or click on the magnifying glass in the top right corner), and start typing something, such as s-a-f-a-r-i, you’ll see a blue bar that says “Indexing…”. Wait a few minutes for it to finish indexing, and check the Storage tab in About This Mac again. See if the Other storage changed at all. If it looks better now, great! If it still looks the same, then tune in next time for further suggestions on how to manage Other storage.

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