Mac OSX cleaner apps

Technology
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Can anyone recommend a safe and easy to use app for organising storage on Mac OSX ?

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I was considering buying one, but they’re a bit expensive. I read reviews here: Best Mac Cleaner 2025: Best Mac cleaning software to speed up a Mac | Macworld and would probably have chosen CleanMyMac.

(I keep most of my files in the cloud: I have a MS365 family account which gives me all the storage I need,)

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Thanks Porridge. I got a 7 day trial of CleanmyMac but I got the willies half way through and cancelled it because the payment and activation process was very confusing. I began to not trust it with all my stuff ! And you’re right about the cost of this sort of s/w. I do have some stuff in iCloud. But I know I am very untidy so am trying to find an app to help make space and speed up the computer.

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I have CleanMyMac - i initially installed from the Apple App store but this year bought it direct from Macpaw, there are some features that Apple have had removed from their version.

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Thanks Peter.

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For macOS system maintenance, I have used Onyx for quite a while now, getting for nearly 10 years or so.

EDIT: for clarity, as the page indicates, only install the version of Onyx that corresponds to your version of macOS.

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Thanks RP ! I hadn’t heard of Onyx before. I definitely like the idea of a don instead of a payment. I have Ventura at the moment but am thinking of upgrading to Sequoia. I’m going to give Onyx a try.

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CleanMyMac used to work a treat back when I had Macs.

I remember it having Basic and Advanced menus.

Basic : Can’t **** anything up

Advanced: Can **** things up, but will ask users “This might **** something up, are you sure you want to proceed?”

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I used to use Cocktail for “system maintenance” but to be honest I haven’t bothered for years. I think such programs are mostly unnecessary.

I do a manual throw out of unwanted files every so often.

The only maintenance thing I do have is Macaroni from Atomic Bird which installs in System Preferences and runs UNIX cleanup tasks in the background automatically:

That seems to keep my Mac running smoothly without any intervention from me.

The Mac file system on spinning hard drives doesn’t need “defragging” like some other operating systems (cough) - SSD drives don’t need defragging anyway.

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Whan I still used a Mac, up until about 2018 , I found that just like windows, the os needed reinstalling about every 18-24 months to maintain tolerable performance. IIRC things got better with Lion, so perhaps it’s no longer an issue.

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I’m untidy and need help to tidy my Mac mini, hence my post. I’m going to try everyone’s suggestions ! Thanks all.

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Yes and again with the change to the APFS file system from Sierra onwards there was an improvement.

I don’t think I’ve done a reinstall of OS X in the last 15 years.

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That period definitely overlaps with when I still had to, but it was a core 2 duo machine that couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding, and anything that degraded performance was a disaster.

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I am going to jump into this thread if I may please, and ask a question of anyone who knows Macs:

Is this Mac too old for today’s world? I only use it for email, storing photos (not a huge amount) writing the odd letter, a couple of very basic spreadsheets and mostly browsing the internet. I do not game or do social media. Does it need replacing?

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Lovely to see someone using an elderly machine, and how well Macs (to be fair, most modern computers) last.

I am still using a late-2012 Mac Mini, for media (principally watching videos). It’s not my only computer (I have an older Mini somewhere, a couple of Windows machines and a MBP) but if yours does what you want it to do, it’s not too old!

Obviously you’re no longer getting system updates. You should ensure you have proper backups of stuff you wouldn’t want to lose. I would stick with it until it breaks or runs too slowly for you.

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yes - I keep getting messages asking if ‘I want to install an update tonight’ - I just click yes and let it do its own thing… but it does not get any faster!

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Not if it still does what you need acceptably. But. No OS updates may also mean no current security, so be vigilant about emails you open, sites you visit. As Porridge said, make sure it’s backed up, but it’s never going to get any faster unless you pop a lightweight OS on there.

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OK, thanks - what is a lightweight OS??

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Something like Linux Lite, Mint Mate Linux, Emmabuntus to name 3. They usually run pretty well from a USB stick, and are fast off a SSD. No idea if you can boot your Mac from a USB stick without OSX though, but the Intel hardware should be OK.

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Yes some of those latter-day Intel chips were a bit rubbish - the M-series ones are much better, and for the same money.

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