What is /Library/Updates on Mac? Can you delete it?

Where it is

What it is

/Library/Updates belongs to Software Update. On older versions of macOS, downloaded updates waited here until they were installed. On current versions the folder is usually small and holds records about updates, while a downloaded macOS update is staged in system areas you cannot open.

The folder is covered by System Integrity Protection, so Finder and Terminal are refused if they try to change it. That is expected.

If you are looking for space taken by a macOS upgrade, check the Applications folder for an app named Install macOS followed by the version name. That installer is an ordinary app, it is large, and it is safe to delete once you have upgraded or decided not to.

How big it gets

Usually small on current macOS. A downloaded update that is waiting to install takes several GB elsewhere on the system until it has been installed.

How to shrink it the right way

1. Run the command below to see what is in the folder. It only lists the contents.
2. Open System Settings, choose General, then Software Update, and install any update that is waiting. macOS removes the downloaded files when the update has finished.
3. Look in the Applications folder for an Install macOS app you no longer need and move it to the Trash.
4. Do not turn off System Integrity Protection to empty this folder.

ls -la /Library/Updates

What happens afterwards

Once a pending update is installed, the space it was using is released. A deleted Install macOS app can be downloaded again from the App Store or Software Update.

How Diskzy handles it

Diskzy's System Data view shows macOS support files as their own named part, marked "Managed by macOS". Old installers are something its Clean up tab looks for.

Related guides

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