Hands-On Mac

Feb 27th 2025

Hands-On Mac 171

Apple File System & Hyperspace

Hosted by Mikah Sargent

Using APFS Space-Saving Clones

New episodes every Thursday.
Category: Help & How To

Save space harmlessly on macOS! Mikah Sargent explores Hyperspace, a clever Mac app that helps users reclaim disk space without deleting any files. Unlike traditional cleaning apps, Hyperspace leverages the APFS (Apple Protected File System) to optimize storage by identifying opportunities to create space-saving clones of duplicate data. Traditional systems create entirely new files for each version, while APFS cleverly maintains one copy of the base data with different metadata references, saving significant space.

Users who have had their Macs for a long time or work with mixed file systems are most likely to benefit from Hyperspace, as they may have files that aren't optimized for APFS. The Hyperspace app (from Hypercritical) is free to download and scan with, but reclaiming space requires either a one-time unlock or subscription payment.

Hyperspace: Reclaim Disk Space - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hyperspace-reclaim-disk-space/id6739505345?mt=12

Hypercritical: Hyperspace - https://hypercritical.co/hyperspace/

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