Troubleshooting Disk Map

Fix common issues with Disk Map.

Scan incomplete — missing folders

Grant Full Disk Access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access. Without this permission, Disk Map can only scan user-accessible folders.

Scan is very slow

Disk Map scans every file on your disk to build the treemap. The first scan on a large disk can take several minutes. SSD drives are significantly faster than HDDs.

Can't delete files from Disk Map

Make sure you have write permission to the file. System files and files owned by other users cannot be deleted. Files in use by running apps may also be locked.

Treemap colours confusing

Each colour represents a different file type category. Check the legend at the bottom of the treemap for the colour key.

Disk Map shows more or less space than Finder

Finder includes purgeable space (iCloud files stored locally, Time Machine snapshots) in its calculations. Disk Map shows actual file sizes on disk. See the dedicated article on disk space discrepancies.

External drive not showing

Make sure the drive is mounted and visible in Finder. Then use the folder picker in Disk Map to select the external drive's mount point.