What is .DocumentRevisions-V100 on Mac? Can you delete it?

Where it is

What it is

Many Mac apps, including Pages, Numbers, Keynote, TextEdit and Preview, save versions of a document as you work. That is what lets you choose File > Revert To > Browse All Versions and go back in time. The saved versions are kept in a hidden folder called .DocumentRevisions-V100 at the top level of each volume.

On the startup disk it sits on the Data volume, and an external drive gets its own when you edit documents stored on it. Only the system can read the folder.

It grows when you edit large files often, because each saved version can take up space. macOS removes old versions over time and when space runs low.

How big it gets

Usually small, from a few MB to a few GB. It is larger on Macs where big documents or images are edited many times.

How to shrink it the right way

1. Run the command below to see how much space saved versions take on the startup disk. It asks for your password because only the system can read the folder.
2. To remove versions of a document you edit often, open it in its app and choose File > Revert To > Browse All Versions.
3. Select a version, move the pointer to the top of the screen to show the menu bar, and choose File > Revert To > Delete This Version. Holding the Option key changes the command to Delete Old Versions, which removes all of them for that document.
4. Leave the folder itself alone, including on external drives.

sudo du -sh /System/Volumes/Data/.DocumentRevisions-V100

What happens afterwards

Versions you delete in an app can no longer be restored. The current document is not changed.

How Diskzy handles it

Diskzy's System Data view sizes macOS support files as their own named part, marked "Managed by macOS". Diskzy does not offer to delete saved document versions.

Related guides

• .Spotlight-V100/.Spotlight-V100
• Time Machine local snapshots(APFS snapshots, not a folder)
• /private/var/folders/private/var/folders