Is it safe to delete Time Machine local snapshots?

Yes, as long as your real Time Machine backups on an external disk or network drive are working. Local snapshots are a short-term convenience, not a backup, and deleting them only removes those restore points.

How do I see local snapshots on my Mac?

Open Terminal and run tmutil listlocalsnapshots / to list them. You can also open Disk Utility, choose View > Show APFS Snapshots, and select your Data volume to see each snapshot with its size.

Does macOS delete local snapshots automatically?

Yes. Apple says Time Machine keeps hourly snapshots for about 24 hours and deletes them as they age or when space is needed for other things.

Why does my Mac still show low space after deleting snapshots?

Snapshots are often counted as purgeable or available space already, so deleting them may not change the number you were watching. Check the container free space in Disk Utility, and if space is still tight, the rest is real data you need to find.

Will deleting snapshots affect my Time Machine backups?

It does not delete anything on your backup disk. The next backup may take a little longer if you removed the most recent snapshot, which is why it is a good idea to keep the newest one.

How to delete Time Machine local snapshots on a Mac

List your local snapshots with tmutil listlocalsnapshots / in Terminal, then delete the ones you don’t need with sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots followed by the snapshot’s date. macOS deletes them on its own after about 24 hours or when it needs the space, so you only need to step in when they’re blocking you right now. Keep the newest one if you can.

What local snapshots are

When Time Machine is turned on, your Mac saves a snapshot of the startup disk roughly once an hour and keeps each one for about 24 hours. Apple also keeps a snapshot of your last successful backup and saves one before each macOS update. They let you restore files even when your backup disk isn’t plugged in.

A snapshot is a frozen view of the disk at one moment. It costs almost nothing when it’s made. It grows as you change and delete files, because the snapshot keeps the old versions. That’s why deleting a 30 GB video doesn’t seem to free 30 GB: the snapshot from an hour ago still holds it.

Apple counts snapshot space as available storage, and Finder usually shows it as available too. But it often lands in System Data in Storage settings, and an app that checks real free space before copying or installing may still refuse.

When you should delete them (and when to wait)

Most of the time you don’t need to do anything. Apple says Time Machine deletes snapshots as they age or as space is needed for other things. Step in when:

A macOS update or installer says there isn’t enough space.
You just deleted a lot of big files and need the space back now, not tomorrow.
You see snapshots that are days or weeks old, which suggests one got stuck.

Before you start, make sure your real Time Machine backups are working. Local snapshots are a bonus, not a backup.

Step 1: See what snapshots you have

Open Terminal (in Applications > Utilities). This command lists local Time Machine snapshots on your startup disk. It only reads:

tmutil listlocalsnapshots /

You’ll see lines like com.apple.TimeMachine.2026-10-17-093012.local. The part in the middle is the date and time the snapshot was taken. To see just the dates:

tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates /

If you’d rather see sizes, use Disk Utility:

Open Disk Utility and choose View > Show All Devices.
Choose View > Show APFS Snapshots.
Select your Data volume in the sidebar (usually “Macintosh HD - Data”). A list of snapshots appears at the bottom with their sizes.

The “Private Size” column is the better guide to how much deleting one would free, but even that is an estimate.

Step 2: Try Apple’s built-in way first

Apple’s own suggestion is to turn off automatic backups for a few minutes. Open System Settings > General > Time Machine, open Options, set backup frequency to Manually (or turn off automatic backups, depending on your macOS version), wait a few minutes, then set it back. Run the list command again to see whether the snapshots went away.

If they’re still there, use Terminal.

Step 3: Delete snapshots with tmutil

Deleting a snapshot is permanent. There’s no Trash and no undo. It doesn’t touch anything on your backup disk, only the restore points stored on your Mac.

Delete one snapshot

This deletes the local snapshot taken at that exact date and time. Replace the date with one from your list. You’ll be asked for your Mac password:

sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots 2026-10-16-093012

Repeat for each old snapshot. The best general strategy is to delete all of them except the newest one, which is usually the smallest. Time Machine uses the newest snapshot to work out what changed for your next backup, so removing it can make that backup slower.

Delete all of them at once

This deletes every local Time Machine snapshot on the startup disk. Only use it if you’re sure you don’t need any local restore points:

sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots /

Let Time Machine choose

If you just need a certain amount of space, you can ask Time Machine to thin snapshots until that much is free. The number is bytes, and the last value is urgency from 1 to 4. This example asks for about 20 GB at the highest urgency:

tmutil thinlocalsnapshots / 21474836480 4

This is the gentlest option because Time Machine decides which snapshots are safest to remove.

Delete from Disk Utility

With snapshots showing as in Step 1, Control-click a snapshot in the list and choose Delete. If you get a “resource busy” error, try again after a restart.

What not to delete

Snapshots that aren’t Time Machine’s. Only delete ones named com.apple.TimeMachine…. Backup apps like Carbon Copy Cloner make their own, so check that app’s documentation first. macOS may also hold snapshots around updates, which it manages itself.
Your only copy of something. If you deleted a file by mistake in the last day, restore it from the snapshot before deleting anything (open Time Machine from the menu bar or Launchpad).
Anything on your backup disk. This guide is about local snapshots only. Delete old backups from the backup disk through Time Machine, not with these commands.

Check that the space came back

Finder and Storage settings can lag behind. For the most accurate number, open Disk Utility with Show All Devices on and select the container that holds your Macintosh HD volumes. Its free space figure is what really matters.

If you deleted the snapshots and the disk is still nearly full, snapshots weren’t your main problem. The space is held by real files: see what to delete when your Mac storage is full or how to find large files on a Mac.

Will they come back?

Yes, as long as Time Machine is on. New hourly snapshots start immediately, and that’s normal. They only use space as files change, and macOS cleans them up again within a day or when space gets tight. If they keep piling up for days, check that your Time Machine backups are actually completing, because a backup that never finishes can leave snapshots behind.

Questions people ask

Is it safe to delete Time Machine local snapshots?: Yes, as long as your real Time Machine backups on an external disk or network drive are working. Local snapshots are a short-term convenience, not a backup, and deleting them only removes those restore points.
How do I see local snapshots on my Mac?: Open Terminal and run tmutil listlocalsnapshots / to list them. You can also open Disk Utility, choose View > Show APFS Snapshots, and select your Data volume to see each snapshot with its size.
Does macOS delete local snapshots automatically?: Yes. Apple says Time Machine keeps hourly snapshots for about 24 hours and deletes them as they age or when space is needed for other things.
Why does my Mac still show low space after deleting snapshots?: Snapshots are often counted as purgeable or available space already, so deleting them may not change the number you were watching. Check the container free space in Disk Utility, and if space is still tight, the rest is real data you need to find.
Will deleting snapshots affect my Time Machine backups?: It does not delete anything on your backup disk. The next backup may take a little longer if you removed the most recent snapshot, which is why it is a good idea to keep the newest one.