How to Delete Downloads on Mac, Including Old Installers

By Martin Hale Published November 13, 2026 10 min read

To delete downloads on Mac, open Finder and choose Go > Downloads (or press Option-Command-L). Select the files you no longer need, press Command-Delete to move them to the Trash, then empty the Trash to get the space back. Old .dmg and .pkg installers are safe to delete once the app is in your Applications folder.

If your Mac is low on space, Downloads is the easiest place to start, before harder jobs such as clearing System Data.

Where downloads go on your Mac

Your Downloads folder sits in your Home folder, at ~/Downloads. Apple calls it the default location for files you download from the internet, receive as attachments, or accept using AirDrop.

To open it, click Downloads in the Dock or in the Finder sidebar, or choose Go > Downloads in Finder. If a browser saves files somewhere else, check its download setting. In Safari, that is Safari > Settings > General > "File download location". In Chrome, it is More > Settings > Downloads.

How to delete downloads on Mac in Finder

These Finder steps are how to clear downloads on Mac in a way that removes the files, unlike clearing the browser lists further down. They are the same on every Mac, including MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

Open Downloads from the Finder sidebar, or press Option-Command-L in Finder.
Switch to List view with the View buttons at the top of the window, or press Command-2.
Click the Size column heading to put the largest files first. Turn on "Calculate all sizes" in View > Show View Options (Command-J), or folders show no size and big unzipped ones sort as if empty.
Click a file and Command-click to add more, or Shift-click another to select every file in between. Command-A selects everything, one of Apple's standard Mac keyboard shortcuts.
Press Command-Delete, Control-click and choose Move to Trash, or drag the files to the Trash in the Dock.
Empty the Trash, as shown below.

Storage settings offer a second route, with a list you can sort by size; the steps are further down.

Paper stacks lined up from tallest to shortest, like sorting by Size to delete downloads on Mac biggest first — Sorting by Size puts the biggest files first, so a few deletions free the most space.

Find the biggest and oldest files first

In List view, Control-click any column heading and turn on Date Added, as Apple's guide to sorting items in the Finder shows. Turn on Date Last Opened as well: a file added years ago and never opened again is usually an easy one to let go.

Sort by Date Added, click the oldest file, then Shift-click the newest one you want gone. Press Command-Delete to delete multiple downloads on Mac at once.

Sorting by Kind groups disk images together and installer packages together, so old installers are easy to spot.

Delete or clear all downloads at once

Before you delete all downloads on Mac, skim for things that may live only here, such as a tax PDF, a boarding pass or photos from AirDrop, and move anything you want to keep to Documents. Then press Command-A to select everything and Command-Delete to move it to the Trash.

A zip archive you have already unzipped is a second copy of its folder, so the archive can go.

Empty the Trash to get the space back

Files in the Trash still use space until you empty the Trash. Click the Trash in the Dock and click Empty, or press Shift-Command-Delete in Finder. Emptied items are deleted for good, so glance through the Trash first.

Delete old app installers (.dmg and .pkg files)

Apple's guide to installing apps says to double-click "the disk image or package file (looks like an open box)" in your Downloads folder. A .dmg is a disk image, a virtual disk you open and drag the app out of. A .pkg is an installer package that runs an installer for you.

Both are only delivery files. Delete them after three quick checks:

Check the app is installed. Open Finder > Applications and confirm the app is there and opens. If you have been running it straight from an open disk image, drag it into Applications first. If a .pkg installed a driver or plug-in, make sure it works.
Eject the disk image if it is still open. A mounted image shows on the desktop and in the Finder sidebar, as Apple's Disk Utility guide notes. Click the Eject button next to its name. If it will not eject, quit the app using it, then try Apple's steps for a disk that will not eject.
Move the installer to the Trash. The installed app is not affected. If you need the installer again, you can usually download the latest one from the vendor's site.

Empty open cardboard box beside a device resting on a shelf, showing an old installer is separate from the installed app — The installer is the delivery box. Once the app is in Applications, the box can go.

Deleting an installer does not uninstall the app

Deleting a .dmg or .pkg removes only the installer. The app stays in Applications, and its support files stay in your Library folders. So if you want to know how to uninstall downloads on Mac, the answer is to remove the app itself.

Apple's advice in Delete or uninstall apps on Mac is to use the app's own uninstaller when it has one. Apple calls it the best way to delete the app and any login items, extensions or other data it stored elsewhere. Otherwise, drag the app to the Trash.

The Trash often leaves files behind, as the guides to uninstalling Google Chrome on Mac and removing Microsoft Office show.

Removal tools you downloaded once

Vendor removal tools pile up here too. Once the job is done, each can go to the Trash, and the vendor's page offers it again:

Kaspersky's kavremover-mac, from removing Kaspersky from a Mac.
Malwarebytes' MB-Mac-Uninstall, from removing Malwarebytes from a Mac.
Adobe's AdobeAcroCleanerTool.dmg, from removing Adobe Acrobat from a Mac.
Microsoft's Office license removal package, Microsoft_Office_License_Removal.

Clear the download list in Safari, Chrome and Firefox (it does not delete the files)

Google's page on deleting browsing data in Chrome says clearing download history deletes the list, but "the actual files aren't removed from your computer." Safari and Firefox work the same way.

Clearing a list is tidying, not freeing space. Only the Firefox Delete command below also removes the file.

Blank list card beside an untouched stack of files, showing that clearing a browser download list does not delete the files — Clearing a download list wipes the list. The files stay until you delete them in Finder.

Safari

Click the Downloads button near the top-right corner of the Safari window to open the list. It is hidden when the list is empty. In the list, click Clear, or Control-click one item and choose Remove From List.

By default, Safari removes an item from the list after one day; change that in Safari > Settings > General > "Remove download list items".

Google Chrome

Open More > Downloads. Clicking Remove next to a file takes it off your Downloads page in Chrome, not off your computer. Clearing "Download history" in Delete browsing data clears the whole list and leaves the files in place.

Firefox

Click the menu button, then Downloads, to open the Library window. There, Clear Downloads clears the history without deleting the files, while Delete in a download's right-click menu removes the file from your disk. Mozilla's article Where to find and manage downloaded files in Firefox covers both commands.

Other places downloads end up

Mail attachments

In Apple Mail, attachments you save go to the Downloads folder by default (Mail > Settings > General lets you pick another). Mail doesn't delete attachments that you have saved, so they stay until you remove them in Finder.

Deleting a message also deletes the attachment inside it, though not a copy you saved. To change that, use the "Remove unedited downloads" pop-up menu in Mail > Settings > General.

"Remove Download" is not the same as delete

In iCloud Drive, Control-click a file and choose Remove Download when you no longer want the download on your Mac, as Apple's iCloud Drive guide describes. The local copy goes, but the file stays in iCloud Drive. To delete the file itself, move it to the Trash.

You may also see Remove Download on Desktop and Documents files, because iCloud Drive holds those folders too if you turned on Desktop & Documents Folders in iCloud settings. After a Remove Download, the file still shows in Finder with an iCloud icon; Control-click it and choose Download Now to bring it back.

AirDrop

Files you accept over AirDrop land in Downloads too, so the same sweep catches them.

The Downloads stack in the Dock

The Dock's Downloads folder can appear as a folder or as a stack. Click it to expand it, then click Open in Finder to delete files with the steps above. Control-click it to sort it by date added, or to view it as a fan, grid or list.

Removing the Downloads icon from the Dock deletes nothing. Apple's guide to the Dock says only the alias is removed and the actual item stays on your Mac. To get downloads back on the Dock, open your Home folder (in Finder, choose Go > Home) and drag the Downloads folder into the Dock, to the right of the line that separates recently used apps.

Blank tag on a wall hook above a folder resting on the desk, like the Dock shortcut and the real Downloads folder — Taking Downloads out of the Dock removes only the shortcut. The folder stays put.

Delete downloads from Storage settings

Apple's Find and delete files guide adds a second way:

Choose Apple menu > System Settings > General > Storage.
Click the Info button next to Documents.
Click Downloads.
Sort by Size or Last Accessed.
Select items and click Delete, or click Show in Finder.

Skim for keepers first. Apple's page on how to free up storage space on Mac says these figures update as you free space.

If System Data still looks large, see how to clear System Data on Mac.

If a download is in use or still mounted

If macOS says an item is in use, quit the app that has it open with Command-Q. If the app will not quit, see how to force quit an app on Mac. For a .dmg, eject the disk image first.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I delete all my downloads at once on a Mac?

Open Downloads and skim for anything you want to keep. Then press Command-A, press Command-Delete and empty the Trash.

Is it safe to delete the Downloads folder itself?

Keep the folder and delete only the files inside it. New downloads, attachments and AirDrop files keep arriving there, and the empty folder itself takes up almost no space.

Does deleting downloads free up space?

Yes, once you empty the Trash. Apple's own list of ways to free up storage includes deleting files in your Downloads folder.

If I delete my downloads, will it delete the apps I installed?

No. A .dmg or .pkg file is only the installer, and the app stays in Applications until you remove it. Use the vendor's uninstaller if there is one, then clear the leftovers, as the Firefox removal guide shows.

Where is the delete key on a MacBook Air?

The key labeled delete sits at the top right of the main keys and erases backward, like Backspace. In Finder, Command-Delete moves a selected file to the Trash. Fn-Delete is forward delete on keyboards without a Forward Delete key.

Removing other apps from this Mac

An old installer in Downloads often points to an app you no longer use. These guides show how to remove one properly, leftovers included:

The full list of guides covers the rest. If your app is not covered yet, email hello@uninstallonmac.com with the app's name and version and your macOS version.