MacDebug

Verified for macOS Tahoe 26.2

title: How to Fix macOS Tahoe 26.2 System Data Storage Bloat

description: Fix the "System Data" storage issue in macOS Tahoe 26.2 where hidden logs and caches consume hundreds of gigabytes of disk space.

category: System

How to Fix macOS Tahoe 26.2 System Data Storage Bloat

One of the most persistent issues in macOS Tahoe 26.2 is the sudden explosion of "System Data" storage. Users often find that 200GB+ of disk space is consumed by this mysterious category, often caused by runaway logging or temporary Apple Intelligence cache files.

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Method 1: Clear the Unified Logging System

A bug in Tahoe can cause system logs to grow indefinitely.

  1. Open Terminal.
  2. Run the following command to see the size of your log database:
sudo du -sh /var/db/diagnostics
  1. If it's over 5GB, clear the logs using:
sudo log erase --all

Method 2: Delete Apple Intelligence Temporary Files

If you are using the new AI features, Tahoe stores large language model (LLM) cache files that aren't always cleaned up.

  1. Open Finder and press Command + Shift + G.
  2. Paste: ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.aiml/
  3. Delete the contents of this folder.
  4. Restart your Mac.

Method 3: Clear Local Time Machine Snapshots

If Time Machine is unable to complete a backup, it stores "local snapshots" that show up as System Data.

  1. Open Terminal.
  2. List snapshots:
tmutil listlocalsnapshots /
  1. Delete them all at once:
for d in $(tmutil listlocalsnapshots / | grep -oE '[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{6}'); do sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots $d; done

Method 4: Clear the Caches Folder

The standard system cache can sometimes bloat in 26.2.

  1. Press Command + Shift + G in Finder.
  2. Paste: ~/Library/Caches/
  3. Delete the folders for apps you no longer use or those that are unusually large.