Deleting 75GB shutdown log on Mac
How do I delete the shutdown log. It's 75gb. Ouch.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Shutdown log is 75gb
iMac 27″, macOS 15.7
Question marked as
If you really have a 75 GB shutdown log, that’s not normal at all, that usually means the file isn’t actually a “log” but a runaway crash-report folder or a corrupted .log file inside /private/var/log. Spotlight often mislabels these files in Storage. First open Finder > Go > Go to Folder and check these two locations:
/private/var/log/
~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/
Look for anything huge like repeated shutdown_stall, panic, or sleepwake logs. If you find a single massive file, you can delete it with Command + Delete, but if Finder refuses, remove it with Terminal:
sudo rm -f /private/var/log/<filename>
A 75 GB log usually means your Mac is repeatedly failing to shut down properly, so after deleting it, check System Settings > Battery and System Settings > General > Login Items, something may be hanging during shutdown.
