How to delete Time Machine local snapshots

When Time Machine is turned on, macOS keeps local snapshots of your startup disk: point-in-time copies stored on the Mac itself, so you can restore a file even when the backup disk isn't connected. They are useful, but they can hold a lot of space, and they are one of the reasons System Data looks so large. Here is how to see them, delete them and keep them in check.

How local snapshots work

macOS takes a local snapshot about once an hour and generally keeps them for 24 hours, plus a snapshot of the last successful backup. The space they use is purgeable: macOS deletes snapshots by itself when it needs room. The catch is that some installers and apps check free space without counting purgeable space, so a macOS update can still say there isn't enough room.

See your local snapshots

Open Terminal and run:

tmutil listlocalsnapshots /

Each line is one snapshot, named with the date and time it was taken, such as com.apple.TimeMachine.2026-10-13-101530.local. You can also open Disk Utility, select your startup volume and choose View → Show APFS Snapshots.

Delete one snapshot

Pass the date part of the snapshot name to tmutil. You'll be asked for your password:

sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots 2026-10-13-101530

In Disk Utility, select a snapshot in the snapshot list and click the delete (–) button.

Delete all local snapshots

This loop deletes every local snapshot on the startup disk:

for d in $(tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates / | grep -v :); do sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots "$d"; done

Run tmutil listlocalsnapshots / again to check they are gone. The space shows up in Storage after a short while.

Thin snapshots instead of deleting them

To ask macOS to free a specific amount of space by thinning snapshots, oldest first, use thinlocalsnapshots. This example asks for up to 50 GB with the highest urgency:

tmutil thinlocalsnapshots / 50000000000 4

Stop new snapshots for a while

If you are about to install a big update and need every gigabyte, you can pause automatic backups: open System Settings → General → Time Machine → Options and set the backup frequency to Manually. Remember to switch it back afterwards so your Mac stays backed up.

Do it in one click with Roomy

Roomy's Optimize screen has a Thin Time Machine snapshots task that asks macOS to release the space held by local snapshots, with no Terminal commands to remember. Your backups on the Time Machine disk aren't touched.

Frequently asked questions