How to Delete Time Machine Local Snapshots on Mac

Method 2: Delete local snapshots in Terminal with tmutil

The tmutil command lets you see exactly which snapshots exist and remove them by date. Every command below comes from the tmutil manual page (run man tmutil to read it on your own Mac). The manual says some, but not all, of its commands need administrator rights and Full Disk Access for Terminal. If one fails with a permission error, grant Terminal access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access, or put sudo in front of the command.

Step 1: List the snapshots

Open Terminal (in Applications > Utilities) and run:

tmutil listlocalsnapshots /

This lists the snapshots on the volume group that holds your startup disk. To see only the Time Machine snapshot dates, in the format YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS that the delete command needs, run:

tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates /

When we ran both on a Mac with macOS Sequoia 15.7, the first command listed three entries starting with com.apple.os.update- and the second listed no dates. Those entries belong to macOS software updates, not to Time Machine. Leave them alone: they are part of how macOS installs updates.

Step 2: Delete snapshots from one date

tmutil deletelocalsnapshots 2026-11-06-093012

Replace the date with one from your list. The manual says this deletes all local Time Machine snapshots for that date on all mounted disks.

Step 3 (optional): Delete every snapshot on the disk

The manual also accepts a mount point instead of a date, which deletes all local Time Machine snapshots on that disk:

sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots /

This can’t be undone. You lose the ability to restore files from those hours unless the same versions are already on your backup drive.

Thin snapshots instead of deleting them

If you only need a certain amount of space back, thinlocalsnapshots asks macOS to remove snapshots until it reclaims that amount. The manual gives this form:

tmutil thinlocalsnapshots / [purge_amount] [urgency]

purge_amount is in bytes and urgency is a level from 1 to 4. For example, this asks for 10 GB at the highest urgency:

tmutil thinlocalsnapshots / 10000000000 4

If you leave out the urgency, tmutil uses its default.

Method 3: Delete snapshots in Disk Utility

Disk Utility can show and delete APFS snapshots one at a time. Apple’s guide View APFS snapshots in Disk Utility on Mac covers macOS 12 Monterey through macOS 27 Golden Gate:

1. Open Disk Utility (in Applications > Utilities).
2. Choose View > Show APFS Snapshots from the menu bar.
3. Select your startup volume in the sidebar. Its snapshots appear in a table at the bottom of the window.
4. Select one or more snapshots, then click the Delete Snapshot button.
5. When you finish, choose View > Hide APFS Snapshots.

The table can also show columns such as Date Created, Private Size and Kind through the More pop-up menu, which helps you spot the large ones. Check the name before you delete: Time Machine snapshots are the ones to target, not the macOS update snapshots described above.

When not to delete local snapshots

Deleting snapshots by hand is rarely needed. Skip it when:

• You don’t have a backup drive connected often. Snapshots may be your only recent copy of a file you changed this morning.
• A macOS update is in progress or just finished. Leave the update snapshots in place.
• You only want more free space in general. macOS already removes snapshots when space runs short, per Apple. You will get lasting space back from caches, large files and old device backups instead. See how to free up space on Mac, how to find large files on Mac and how to delete old iPhone backups on Mac.

Deleting snapshots makes sense when an app or installer insists the disk is full while the space is held by snapshots, or when you are about to do something that needs the space right now.

The faster way: MacWipe

MacWipe does not delete Time Machine snapshots. We leave that to macOS, which removes them when space is needed. What MacWipe does is show the space you can reclaim for good. Its Storage view shows what is taking up your disk, so you can see if your own files or the system take more of it. Smart Scan and Cleanup clear caches older than 7 days and logs, which apps rebuild. Files lists large and old files by size and age with a Quick Look preview. You see every item and the reason it is safe before anything is removed. MacWipe runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon and Intel.

Download MacWipe

FAQ

Is it safe to delete Time Machine local snapshots?

Yes. They are extra copies, and deleting them does not touch your backups on the external drive. You only lose the option to restore from those hourly copies.

Where are Time Machine local snapshots stored on a Mac?

On your startup disk, inside the APFS file system. They are not in any folder you can open, so you see them only with tmutil listlocalsnapshots / or Disk Utility’s Show APFS Snapshots view.

Why does my Mac still show little free space after deleting snapshots?

Apple says snapshot space already counts as available storage, so removing snapshots may not change the figure in System Settings much. If space is still tight, the cause is elsewhere: check System Data and large files.

How do I stop my Mac from making local snapshots?

Local snapshots are only made when automatic backups are on. Setting Backup Frequency to Manually in Time Machine settings stops them, but it also stops your automatic backups.