To find large files on your Mac, run this in Terminal:

find ~ -type f -size +100M 2>/dev/null | head -20

This shows files larger than 100MB in your home folder.

Find the 20 Largest Files

find ~ -type f -size +50M -exec ls -lh {} \; 2>/dev/null | sort -k5 -h -r | head -20

This finds files over 50MB and sorts them by size, showing the biggest first.

What the Command Means

Part Meaning
find ~ Search in your home folder
-type f Only find files (not folders)
-size +100M Larger than 100 megabytes
2>/dev/null Hide permission errors
head -20 Show only the first 20 results

Size Options

Flag Meaning
-size +1G Larger than 1 gigabyte
-size +500M Larger than 500 megabytes
-size +100M Larger than 100 megabytes
-size +10M Larger than 10 megabytes

Find Large Files by Type

Large video files

find ~ -type f \( -name "*.mp4" -o -name "*.mov" -o -name "*.avi" \) -size +100M 2>/dev/null

Large disk images

find ~ -type f -name "*.dmg" -size +100M 2>/dev/null

Large zip files

find ~ -type f \( -name "*.zip" -o -name "*.tar.gz" \) -size +50M 2>/dev/null

Check Folder Sizes

To see how much space each folder uses:

du -sh ~/* | sort -h -r | head -20

This shows the 20 largest folders in your home directory.

For more detail in a specific folder:

du -sh ~/Downloads/* | sort -h -r | head -20

The du Command Explained

Flag Meaning
-s Summary (total for each folder, not every file inside)
-h Human readable (GB, MB instead of bytes)

Common Space Hogs

These folders often contain large files you can delete:

Location What's there
~/Downloads Old downloads you forgot about
~/Library/Caches App caches (safe to delete)
~/Library/Application Support App data (check before deleting)
~/.Trash Deleted files not yet emptied
~/Movies Video files

Clear the Trash

The Trash still uses disk space until emptied:

rm -rf ~/.Trash/*

Or just right-click the Trash in Dock and select "Empty Trash."

Check Total Disk Usage

See how much space is used vs. available:

df -h /

The "Used" and "Available" columns tell you what you need to know.

GUI Alternative: Disk Utility

If you prefer visual tools, macOS has built-in options:

  1. Click the Apple menu → About This Mac → Storage
  2. Or open Disk Utility from Applications → Utilities

But Terminal is faster for finding specific large files.

A Practical Cleanup Workflow

  1. Find what's big:

    du -sh ~/* | sort -h -r | head -10

  2. Drill into the biggest folder:

    du -sh ~/Library/* | sort -h -r | head -10

  3. Find specific large files:

    find ~/Downloads -type f -size +100M

  4. Delete what you don't need:

    rm ~/Downloads/old-installer.dmg

Keep Learning

Finding large files is just one way Terminal helps you manage your Mac more efficiently. The free course covers file management and more.

Check it out at Mac Terminal for Humans.