OrbStack Taking Too Much Disk Space On Mac?

OrbStack can look much larger than `docker system df` because VM storage, sparse allocation, build cache, images, and volumes are different buckets. The safe move is to measure first, then clean cache before touching volumes or resetting state.

OrbStack disk usage can include VM storage, sparse allocation, images, build cache, and volumes. Please do not reset OrbStack or prune volumes yet.

First collect read-only evidence:

du -sh "$HOME/.orbstack" "$HOME/OrbStack" 2>/dev/null
find "$HOME/.orbstack" "$HOME/OrbStack" -maxdepth 4 -type f -size +1G -print0 2>/dev/null | xargs -0 du -h 2>/dev/null | sort -hr | head -30
docker system df -v
docker builder du 2>/dev/null | tail -60

Clean rebuildable build cache and unused images first. Review named volumes before deleting anything because they may contain local databases, fixtures, or project state.

Start With Read-Only Measurements

du -sh "$HOME/.orbstack" "$HOME/OrbStack" 2>/dev/null
find "$HOME/.orbstack" "$HOME/OrbStack" -maxdepth 4 -type f -size +1G -print0 2>/dev/null | xargs -0 du -h 2>/dev/null | sort -hr | head -30
docker system df -v
docker builder du 2>/dev/null | tail -60

Usually Lower Risk

• Old build cache shown as reclaimable by Docker or BuildKit.
• Unused images that can be pulled or rebuilt again.
• Stopped containers from inactive projects.

Review First

• Docker volumes, especially local Postgres, MySQL, Redis, object stores, and fixtures.
• OrbStack VM data or disk images, because they can contain active container state.
• Resetting OrbStack, because it may recover space but can wipe local state.

Safer Cleanup Order

1. Save `docker system df -v` output so volumes and reclaimable cache are visible.
2. Clean build cache first if it is clearly old and rebuildable.
3. Remove unused images after checking active projects.
4. Back up or export database volumes before pruning volumes.
5. Only consider reset after you know what state will be lost.