# Clearing local storage of mac app **URL:** \ **Category:** šŸ“± Desktop & mobile clients\ **Tags:** mac\ **Created:** [June 29, 2026, 5:51am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353 "2026-06-29T05:51:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GreenFox](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/greenfox/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@GreenFox](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/GreenFox)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 5:51am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/1 "2026-06-29T05:51:13Z")
Iā€™m running the mac client with virtual files used, but itā€™s currently storing around 100GB of previously synced files locally. There doesnā€™t seem to be any way to clear the local storage in the UI. Is there any way to manually clear everything to free up local storage? Thereā€™s 40gb in `/Users/username/Library/Containers/com.nextcloud.desktopclient.FileProviderExt/Data` and more in other Nextcloud related directories which has been sitting around for a month now. ---
**Author:** ![iva.horn](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/iva.horn/32/78693_2.png) [@iva.horn](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/iva.horn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 8:29am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/2 "2026-06-29T08:29:10Z")
Hi, @GreenFox ! In regard to the data synchronized with your Nextcloud server through the file provider, macOS itself is in charge of freeing up space automatically, when actually needed. There is the possibility to prevent that and also forcefully ā€œevictā€ local downloads while not actually deleting an item. Please see our user manual here for further information: > **[Keep Downloadedļƒ - Using the macOS File Provider ā€” Nextcloud 35 User Manual](https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/user_manual/en/desktop/macosfileprovider.html#keep-downloaded)** > > The File Provider extension also provides special Nextcloud features through the context menu in Finder. Now, the path you have posted indicates an issue with app support data and not the actual content to synchronize. 40 GB in that path is unexpected and beyond normal operation. I can rule out certain ideas already due to the location. Is it possible that you have the problem tracked here? > > > \### āš ļø Before submitting, please verify the following: āš ļø > > \- \[x\] This is a \*\*bugā€¦\*\*, not a question or a configuration issue. > \- \[x\] This issue is \*\*not\*\* already reported on Github (I've searched it). > \- \[x\] Nextcloud Server and Desktop Client are \*\*up to date\*\*. See \[Server Maintenance and Release Schedule\](https://github.com/nextcloud/server/wiki/Maintenance-and-Release-Schedule) and \[Desktop Releases\](https://nextcloud.com/install/#install-clients) for supported versions. > \- \[x\] I agree to follow Nextcloud's \[Code of Conduct\](https://nextcloud.com/contribute/code-of-conduct/) > > \### Bug description > > I have lots of data under ~/Library/Containers/com.nextcloud.desktopclient.FileProviderExt/Data/tmp (about 20GB) that doesn't disappear on reboot. > > Is that supposed to be this way? > > \### Steps to reproduce > > 1. Right click on the file > 2. Click on Share Options > 3. The share dialog does not display the option to share by e-mail > ... > > > \### Expected behavior > > Temporary files get deleted automatically > > \### Which files are affected by this bug > > CFNetworkDownload\_Iw0TpG.tmp and many many others > > \### Operating system > > macOS > > \### Which version of the operating system you are running. > > macOS 15.7.1 > > \### Package > > Official Linux AppImage > > \### Nextcloud Server version > > 32.0.1 > > \### Nextcloud Desktop Client version > > 4.0 > > \### Is this bug present after an update or on a fresh install? > > Updated to a major version (ex. 3.16.3 to 3.17.0) > > \### Additional info > > I'm using VFS ---
**Author:** ![GreenFox](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/greenfox/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@GreenFox](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/GreenFox)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 11:24am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/3 "2026-06-29T11:24:30Z")
> [@iva.horn](#): > > Is it possible that you have the problem tracked here? Looks to be exactly the same issue Iā€™m having. Same \_\_fpfsdocID folder name taking up all the space. Is there a way I can manually clean it up? ---
**Author:** ![iva.horn](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/iva.horn/32/78693_2.png) [@iva.horn](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/iva.horn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/4 "2026-06-29T12:00:05Z")
When the desktop client is not running and any transfers were finished, you should be abled to delete it in Finder the way you delete other items. We were not abled to reproduce the problem yet. It is just a guess but it might be caused by crashes or failed uploads. When you open macOSā€™ Console.app and look into the crash reports section in the sidebar, are there any reports titled ā€œFileProviderExtā€ listed? What kind of server are you connected to? Self-hosted? Local network only? HTTP without ā€œSā€? Any VPN in the network connection? šŸ¤” ---
**Author:** ![GreenFox](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/greenfox/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@GreenFox](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/GreenFox)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/5 "2026-06-29T22:26:44Z")
Not seeing anything in the Console app, though I think this happened several months ago so the logs could be gone. Iā€™m using a self hosted server with https and it should have been connected over the local network. I had copied around 200gb to the nextcloud directory on my mac. ---
**Author:** ![iva.horn](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/iva.horn/32/78693_2.png) [@iva.horn](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/iva.horn)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 7:52am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/6 "2026-06-30T07:52:38Z")
When you now remove those files, they do not appear again? We will add a cleanup routine in a future release but I would like to determine the actual root cause nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![GreenFox](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/greenfox/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@GreenFox](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/GreenFox)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/7 "2026-06-30T22:27:19Z")
That folder does not seem to have filled up again after deleting. Iā€™m still left with a large amount of files in `/Users/username/Library/CloudStorage/Nextcloud-username@domain (25-5-2026 12/20)/`. I assume this is the file cache managed by MacOS? Though Iā€™m not sure why one has a date in the file path and one does not. ---
**Author:** ![iva.horn](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/iva.horn/32/78693_2.png) [@iva.horn](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/iva.horn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 9:55am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/8 "2026-07-01T09:55:22Z")
Folders in `~/Library/CloudStorage` which have a date suffix usually are backups of already removed file provider domains which were not fully synchronized with the server. It is not managed, neither by macOS nor by our client. Just a traditional folder with content. It is a feature of the file provider framework to prevent data loss on file provider domain removal. It is up to you to inspect and decide whether there still is something in there worth retaining. It has been some years already but I experienced that myself even with iCloud Drive itself after some macOS updates and never understood why Apple or iCloud suddenly creates these unsynchronized and local folder copy but nowadays I get it. It was a snapshot because something had to be set up from scratch in scope of the macOS update. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/system/32/29333_2.png) [@system](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2026, 5:51am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/clearing-local-storage-of-mac-app/246353/9 "2026-09-27T05:51:31Z")
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