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I've made a folder online-only, but it's still taking up several GBs on my Mac computer.
I have a folder named > Books which takes up a total 60.95 GB But I noticed that on my Mac (macOS Sequoia 15.3.1) the folder is listed as taking up 21.34 GB (25.81 GB on disk). Questio...
Thanks for posting on our forum, OChannel!
Before looking into this further, Iâd just like to mention that adding this character â>â to your folder name isnât generally recommended, since it can cause syncing issues in some cases (you can read more about this here).
Now, as for the folder size you see on your computer, does your folder contain a lot of files within? The larger size on the disk you see could be because it also includes the filesâ metadata.
Other than that, Iâd like to know the syncing status and app version of your Dropbox app, and Iâd also like a screenshot of the folder as it shows in your local Dropbox folder (so that I can check its syncing icon).
Finally, regarding your Dropbox cache folder, the Help Center article recommends deleting files from within the folder (if you want to urgently free up space from your computer); it's not suggested to delete the folder itself.
Did you follow these steps and you still canât see this hidden folder in your root Dropbox? If not, then most likely, youâre using Dropbox for macOS on File Provider (the cache folder wonât be visible in this case).
Let me know what you find.
Nancy
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorGlad to hear you were able to make your files online-only!
If you check the current location of your local Dropbox folder, is it under ~/Library/CloudStorage? If yes, then you wonât be able to see the Dropbox cache folder in general, as itâs not visible on Dropbox for macOS on File Provider.
Similar problem, only I dont have ">" in filenames.
Had not updated Dropbox for a while and yesterday, even explicitly shared phone photos were not syncing (phone was saying done and files were visibile, but mac was not showing files)
Dropbox then needed 3 hrs to 'update' / sync.. dont recall what it asked for exactly.
Now I have disk full with 150+GB of company folders with disk full.
My preferences-> sync is set to"online". In Finder the files have cloud icon. But "disk inventory X" shows the files on my hard drive and hard drive is full. Figured it must me the cache, but like person above, hidden folders only reveals .dropbox (NOT .dropbox.cache ). I dont have cloudstorage folder under /Library
- Walter
Hi jerry-123 - sorry to hear about this.
Can you please let us know your computer's exact OS version, and the version/status of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your menu bar? A screenshot of where you're spotting the hard drive space discrepancy would also help!
Also, how large is your Dropbox folder? Did you set all your files and folders to be online-only or all?
I can't speak to Disk Inventory but most 'disk space analysis' apps I've found don't properly size Dropbox. They look at "size" but not "size on disk." In other words, they are reporting the full Dropbox folder size (which includes all files online). Instead you want an app that looks at "size on disk" which is reporting only the files on your storage drive.
You can do that manually or you can download a trial for Daisy Disk https://daisydiskapp.com which I have found correctly sizes Dropbox.
If you want to do it manually, go to ~/Library/CloudStorage, right click on Dropbox, select "Get Info" and pay attention to "size on disk."
