Mac storage monitor: disk space and largest files

In your menu bar

Drive’s menu bar item shows each drive with a short label and how full it is: here Mac at 91% and Stu at 39%, with live read and write speeds beside each. Scope Free keeps one whole menu bar item of your choice, and Drive can be that item, with all your drives in it.

FinderTue 9:41

How full, in numbers

Drive shows the percentage used, the space available, and the space used out of the drive’s capacity, in decimal gigabytes as macOS counts them. Once a drive passes its limit, 90% unless you change it with Scope Pro, the bar turns orange and Low space appears.

Every drive, one picker

Click the drive’s name at the top of Drive to switch between your Mac’s own disk, an external SSD or hard drive, a USB flash drive or a memory card. “2 drives” counts the drives connected now. A drive you connect for the first time joins the menu bar item by itself.

Live read and write

Read is data coming off the drive, as when an app opens a file. Write is data going onto it, as when you save or copy something. A drive speed test sits right under these numbers for when you want a measurement instead of a live reading.

Drive activity

Drive activity charts reads above the line and writes below it, on one scale. Point at a bar for its exact value and time, or pause the chart to look closer. Scope Free shows the last 1, 5 or 10 minutes; Scope Pro adds 1, 6 and 24 hours, and saves a chart as a CSV file.

Largest files

Largest files lists the biggest files in your home folder on the Mac’s own disk, and anywhere on any other drive. Scope asks once, with Allow Access…, and Spotlight on your Mac finds the files, so nothing is uploaded. Show 10 more adds ten at a time, and the magnifier button shows a file in Finder. Scope never opens, moves or deletes your files: what to keep is your call.

Drive details

Drive details show the drive’s model, connection, physical capacity, file system, encryption, device name and where it’s mounted, and say when a drive holds Time Machine backups. Copy drive details copies them as text, with the drive’s latest speed test.

Storage alerts

When a drive stays over its limit for at least a minute, Scope says so: “Macintosh HD is 91% full”, with how much free space fell and since when. Scope Free shows the alert on the overview when you open Scope. Scope Pro adds a red + on the menu bar icon and a macOS notification, and names the file that filled the drive, with Show in Finder.

Scope Free and Scope Pro

Questions people also ask

Is Scope a disk cleaner?

No. Scope shows which files take the most space and where they are, and never deletes, moves or cleans anything. To free up space, use Storage in System Settings or Finder; How to free up space on a Mac ranks every way.

Does Scope show SSD health or SMART status?

No. Scope doesn’t read a drive’s SMART health. It shows how full each drive is, how fast it reads and writes right now, and its details.

Does Scope work with external drives?

Yes. Scope shows every mounted drive: external SSDs and hard drives, USB flash drives and memory cards. Largest files and the drive speed test ask once for access to each external drive, and one answer covers both.

Does Scope look through my files?

Only to list the largest ones, and only in the folders and drives you allow. Spotlight on your Mac finds them, your home folder is read only, and nothing is uploaded.

Will Scope warn me when my Time Machine drive fills up?

No, on purpose. Time Machine fills its backup drive by design, so a backup drive never raises a full-drive alert. Drive details mark it as used for Time Machine backups.

Is Scope free?

Yes. Scope Free shows every drive reading, Largest files and the drive speed test, for as long as you like. Scope Pro is a one-time purchase that adds alerts with the cause, more menu bar items and 24 hours of history.