Storage Analyzer (macOS)
Storage Analyzer is a macOS Catalyst-only tool that scans a disk volume and builds an index so you can explore disk usage with interactive visualizations and reports.
Overview
Storage Analyzer is designed for deeper storage investigation than the iOS/iPadOS Storage tool:
- Scan a selected volume and build a searchable index.
- Navigate folders using a treemap-style visualization and a breadcrumb trail.
- Review reports for folder sizes, large files, duplicate candidates, and cleanup suggestions.
Table Of Contents
Availability
- Storage Analyzer is available only in the macOS Catalyst build of Lirum Device Info.
- On first use, macOS may prompt for permissions (and some folders may be inaccessible without additional access).
Drives Sidebar
The left sidebar lists mounted volumes and includes:
- Volume name and type.
- Used/total capacity and a usage bar.
- Scan status (idle, scanning, ready, failed).
- Actions to refresh the volumes list and start/rescan a volume.
You can also open Finder at the Volumes location from the sidebar.
Scanning And Index
Storage Analyzer builds an on-disk index for the selected volume:
- The bottom toolbar shows when the index was built.
- If an index is older than 24 hours, the tool marks it as outdated and highlights Update Now.
- You can rescan to rebuild the index for fresher results.
The Treemap view also shows index information (size, document count, location), and includes a Delete Index action if you want to remove the stored index and start over.
Navigation
Storage Analyzer provides multiple ways to move around a volume:
- Breadcrumbs at the top show your current path and let you jump back to a parent folder.
- In Treemap, select a segment to drill into that folder.
- A side panel lists the largest items in the current folder; selecting a folder navigates into it.
Modes
Storage Analyzer uses a two-level navigation system. The bottom toolbar has a mode picker with four top-level Modes: View, Large Files, Duplicates, and Cleanup.
View Mode
Within View mode, a floating selector on the left lets you switch between three View Modes:
Sunburst Chart
An interactive radial (sunburst) visualization of disk usage. Concentric rings represent nested folders -- inner rings are parent folders, outer rings are children. Hover over a segment to see a detailed callout with folder name, size, and percentage, connected to the segment by a line.
A resizable details panel on the right lists the largest items in the current folder. Hovering an item in the panel highlights the corresponding segment in the chart (and vice versa). The panel also shows the Lucene index information (index size, document count, and location) and a Delete Index button.
Mosaic
A rectangular treemap visualization where each rectangle represents a file or folder, colored by file type. The mosaic view includes:
- File type statistics showing the breakdown of space by extension.
- File type color highlighting -- tap a file type to filter and highlight only matching files.
- Extension filtering in the sidebar.
Folders
A list-based view showing folder sizes for the current path, with navigation controls to drill into subfolders.
Large Files
Shows files above a configurable size threshold. Features include:
- Size threshold picker with presets (for example, 1 GB) and a custom threshold option.
- File list with name, size, and path.
- Reveal in Finder and Move to Trash actions per file.
Duplicates
Shows files that may be duplicates, grouped by file size.
- Files are presented as candidates -- same-size files that may or may not be identical. A warning banner explains this distinction.
- Each group has a Verify button that performs a byte-level file comparison to confirm whether files are truly identical.
- Verify All sequentially verifies all candidate groups.
- Verification results show one of three states: Confirmed duplicate, Not duplicates, or Failed.
- Size threshold picker to filter by minimum file size.
- Reveal in Finder and Move to Trash actions per file.
- If files are deleted externally (for example, in Finder), they are automatically removed from the list and index.
Cleanup
Cleanup scans for common categories of reclaimable space. It is only available on the boot/system volume -- on other volumes, an "Unavailable" message is shown.
Categories are organized by risk level, each with a distinct color:
| Risk Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Safe | Temporary files and caches that can be safely removed |
| Moderate | Files that are likely safe to remove but may affect some apps |
| Developer | Build artifacts, derived data, and other developer-specific files |
| Consent | Files that require your explicit agreement before removal |
For each cleanup category you can:
- Expand it to see About (description), Consequences (what happens if cleaned), and Locations (path patterns being scanned).
- Reveal in Finder to inspect the files before cleaning.
- Select/deselect categories via checkboxes.
After selecting categories, tap Clean Selected to begin. A confirmation dialog shows the item count and total size before proceeding. During cleaning, a progress view shows a circular gauge and per-item status. After completion, a results view summarizes freed space and any errors.
Scanning runs concurrently across categories, with an elapsed timer and the current path being scanned displayed in real time.
Notes And Limitations
- Results depend on what the app is allowed to scan. Without broader permission (for example, Full Disk Access), some directories may be marked inaccessible and excluded from analysis.
- Scanning large volumes can take time. While scanning or loading, the tool shows a progress overlay and blocks interaction until ready.
- If the index is older than 24 hours, the bottom toolbar shows an orange Index Outdated warning with an Update Now button.