Short answer: when a MacBook runs out of space mid-edit, clear it in this order: editing app caches (often 20 to 150 GB), render and preview files (5 to 30 GB), draft exports, then downloads and the Photos library. That buys a week. The permanent fix is to keep footage off the internal drive, because footage is 80 to 90 percent of what fills a Mac, and a single 4K shoot can be larger than the whole SSD.
Why does a MacBook fill up so fast when editing?
A “512 GB” MacBook formats to about 494 GB. macOS, the editing apps, fonts, plug-ins and system data take 80 to 120 GB before you import anything. That leaves roughly 370 GB. One hour of camera 4K H.264 at 150 Mbps is about 67 GB, so five hours of footage from a two-camera wedding or a corporate shoot is about 337 GB. Add Premiere’s media cache at 5 to 8 GB per 100 GB of footage, render previews, proxies and three rounds of exports, and the drive is full before the first client review. How much storage one hour of 4K takes has the full table by codec.
What to delete first: the order that recovers the most
Work down this list. Nothing in it is your only copy of anything.
| Step | What | Where it lives on a Mac by default | Typical size | Rebuilds itself? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Premiere Pro media cache | ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Media Cache and Media Cache Files | 20–150 GB after a year | Yes |
| 2 | DaVinci Resolve CacheClip and ProxyMedia | Inside the cache location set in Project Settings, usually under the first Media Storage folder (~/Movies by default) | 10–100 GB | Yes |
| 3 | Final Cut Pro render files | Inside the .fcpbundle library, per event | 10–50 GB per library | Yes |
| 4 | Premiere video previews | “Adobe Premiere Pro Video Previews” folder next to the project | 5–30 GB | Yes |
| 5 | Draft exports | Wherever you export | 5–20 GB per project | No, but you keep the final |
| 6 | Downloads and Trash | ~/Downloads, Trash | 5–40 GB | Not applicable |
| 7 | Photos library | ~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary | 20–200 GB | No, move it, do not delete it |
Step 1 alone often clears more than everything else combined. Premiere never trims the cache on its own, so an editor who has used the same Mac for two years usually finds 50 GB or more. In Premiere, Preferences, Media Cache, Delete Unused removes cache for projects that are not open. In Resolve, Playback, Delete Render Cache, All clears the CacheClip folder for the open project; the ProxyMedia folder can be emptied from Finder once a project is delivered.
Final Cut keeps render files inside the library bundle, which is why a library grows to several times the size of its footage. File, Delete Generated Library Files removes render, optimised and proxy media without touching originals.
How do I see what is taking space on a Mac?
System Settings, General, Storage shows a bar by category. “System Data” is where caches hide; if it is 100 GB or more, the editing app caches above are the reason. For precise numbers, open Terminal and run du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Adobe/Common or du -sh ~/Movies.
Should I delete old projects?
Not the project file. A .prproj or .drp is a few megabytes and holds every edit decision. Delete the generated files instead. A delivered project should shrink to the project file, the final export and the original footage on an external or cloud drive. Everything else in the Premiere project storage breakdown can be regenerated if the client comes back.
The real fix: footage should not live on the Mac
Deleting caches buys a week. The Mac fills again on the next shoot because the footage still lands on the internal drive. The durable layout is:
- On the Mac: macOS, apps, caches, the current project file and proxies for the active edit. Roughly 150 to 250 GB.
- Off the Mac: every frame of footage, every final export, every archived project.
“Off the Mac” can be an external SSD (a mid-price 2 TB drive is about ₹15,000 and fills in three or four 4K shoots), a NAS in the office, or a streaming cloud drive that shows the library in Finder and fetches only the frames you play. External SSD vs cloud over three years runs the rupee maths. The short version is that drives are cheap until you need the fourth one and cannot remember which holds the March wedding.
Whichever you choose, set the editing app’s scratch disks and cache to the internal SSD, where they are fast, and point media at the external location, where it is safe.
Where Driveless fits
Driveless is a streaming cloud drive for Mac, launching in India in January 2027. Your footage library appears in Finder as a normal drive; files show their real size but take 0 KB on the Mac, and Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut stream only the frames you touch. Caches stay local and fast; footage stays off the SSD for good. The waitlist is open, with Solo at ₹999 a month for 1 TB and a founding price of ₹699 a month locked for life for sign-ups before launch; all plans are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What should I delete first when my MacBook is full during an edit?
Editing app caches first. Premiere’s media cache and Resolve’s CacheClip and ProxyMedia folders rebuild themselves and often hold 20 to 150 GB. Then render and preview files, then draft exports. Never delete original footage or project files to make room.
Can I delete the Premiere Pro media cache without losing my project?
Yes. The media cache holds index, peak and conformed audio files that Premiere regenerates the next time a clip is opened. You lose a few minutes of re-indexing, not any footage or edit decisions.
How do I stop my MacBook filling up every project?
Keep footage off the internal drive. The Mac should hold macOS, apps, caches and the current project file, roughly 150 to 250 GB. Footage lives on an external SSD, a NAS or a streaming cloud drive that shows the files in Finder without storing them locally.