DaisyDisk 4.34.2 on Mac

A few seconds later you get a sunburst map of every folder and file, colour-coded by size. Click a big wedge, preview what’s inside, and drop the junk into the collector. It’s that direct.

Sits between Finder and CleanMyMac

Most Mac users already have Finder’s column view, maybe a terminal du command, and something like CleanMyMac. DaisyDisk sits between them: faster than digging through folders yourself, more visual than terminal output, and more surgical than a general cleaner. It scans mounted disks in parallel, works on both Intel and Apple Silicon, and now handles APFS clones correctly — counting only the first occurrence so your used space numbers stay honest.

Supported systems and languages

It runs on macOS 10.13 and later, supports Retina displays, and speaks eleven languages including English, German, Spanish, French, Russian, and Japanese. The current version 4.34.2 fixes a scanning bug and adds proper APFS clone support, so if you’re on an APFS volume with Time Machine local snapshots or duplicate-aware storage, the map finally shows real usage.

Quick Look integration for previewing files

DaisyDisk plays well with the system tools you already use. Quick Look integration means you can highlight a file in the visual map and press space to see what it is before deciding to delete it — no need to jump back to Finder. Drag and drop from the map into the collector panel works the same way you’d move files between folders on the desktop.

If you use Terminal for du or df, DaisyDisk doesn’t replace it so much as complement it. The terminal gives you raw numbers; DaisyDisk gives you a picture. For people who manage multiple external drives or network volumes, the ability to scan mounted disks in parallel saves time — you’re not waiting for one scan to finish before starting another.

It also respects macOS permissions. On modern macOS versions, you’ll need to grant full disk access for DaisyDisk to scan certain system locations, but that’s standard behaviour for any disk utility. The app surfaces this in a straightforward way during its first scan.

Runs on macOS 10.13 and Retina displays

DaisyDisk needs macOS 10.13 or later, and runs on both ARM and 64-bit Intel Macs. It supports Retina displays, so the map stays crisp on a MacBook’s built-in screen or an external 4K monitor. The installer is a standard disk image: mount it, bypass Gatekeeper with the terminal command provided, drag the app into Applications, and open it. No extra frameworks or helper tools to install.

The app itself is lightweight. It launches quickly and scans at a pace that depends on your drive speed and how many files you have. The interface is single-window and uncluttered — you pick a volume from the sidebar, click Scan, and wait for the map to build. Once it’s done, navigation is instantaneous: clicking a segment zooms into that folder’s contents without re-scanning.

Language support covers eleven languages, so if you prefer the interface in Spanish, Italian, Polish, or any of the others, it’s a simple switch in the preferences. No restart needed.

Avoid deleting unrecognized files from the map

The most common one is deleting files they don’t recognise without checking what they are. The visual map makes it easy to spot big blocks of data, but size alone doesn’t mean something is safe to remove. Use Quick Look or open the folder in Finder before trashing system-level caches or application support files. DaisyDisk gives you the information — it’s still your call what goes.

Another mistake is scanning the whole internal drive and panicking when you see a huge “Other” block. On modern macOS, “Other” includes system files, Time Machine local snapshots, and APFS clones. Version 4.34 now handles APFS clones properly, so the map is more accurate than before, but it still can’t categorise every byte. Don’t assume that big wedge is waste.

Some users also forget that the collector panel holds files you’ve marked for deletion until you explicitly empty it. Dragging something into the collector doesn’t delete it immediately — it queues it. You can review everything there before hitting Delete. That saved me once when I nearly binned a folder of sample libraries I still needed.

Finally, beginners sometimes scan only the boot volume and miss external drives or network shares. DaisyDisk can scan any mounted disk, so if you keep media or projects on an external SSD, scan that too. You might be surprised where the space went.

Scan a cluttered volume first to learn the map

Start with a volume you know is cluttered — maybe your main drive if it’s been filling up for months. Run the scan and just look at the map for a minute. Get a feel for how the segments represent folders and how clicking zooms in. Don’t delete anything on the first pass. Just explore.

After you understand the layout, pick one category: Downloads, Trash, or a specific project folder. Drag the obvious junk into the collector — old DMGs, duplicate downloads, completed torrents. Empty the collector, then check your free space. This step-by-step approach is safer than a mass cleanup.

If you use Time Machine, be aware that local snapshots can make your drive look fuller than it is. DaisyDisk shows them as part of the used space, but macOS will free that space automatically when the drive needs it. Before you delete anything from a snapshot-related area, check if the space is actually reclaimable by running a standard tmutil command in Terminal.

For external drives, scan them right after mounting. The sidebar updates in real time, so you can see capacity and free space at a glance. If you’re preparing a drive to hand off or archive, a quick scan confirms nothing large was left behind.

One more thing: keep a copy of the DaisyDisk disk image somewhere safe after installing. If you ever need to reinstall, you won’t need to search for a download — just mount it again and drag the app back into Applications.

• Fixes a bug.
• Adds support for APFS clones.
• Counts only the first occurrence of each APFS clone in used space calculations.

• macOS 10.13 or later
• 64-bit Intel or Apple Silicon processor

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