Guide to Delete System Log Files on MacBook or iMac

Some users have noticed plenty of system logs on their MacBook or iMac. Before they are able to clear the log files on macOS or Mac OS X and get more space, they have questions like these: what is system log? Can I delete crashreporter logs on Mac? And how to delete system log from Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite and more? Check out this complete guide about deleting Mac system log.

What is System Log?

System logs record the activity of system applications and services, such as app crashes, problems, and internal errors, on your MacBook or iMac. You can view/access log files on Mac through Console program: just the open the program and you’ll see the system log section.

However, these log files are only needed by developers for debugging purposes and are basically useless to regular users, except when a user submits an app crash report to the developers. So if you notice that system log files are taking up lots of space on your Mac, it is totally safe to delete the log files, especially when you have a MacBook or iMac with small SSD and is running out of space.

Where is System Log File Located on Mac?

To access/locate system log files on macOS Sierra, OS X El Capitan, OS X Yosemite, please follow these steps.

Step 1. Open Finder on your iMac/MacBook.

Step 2. Choose Go > Go to Folder.

Step 3. Type ~/Library/Logs and click Go.

Step 4. The ~/Library/Logs folder will be open.

Step 5. Also, you can find log files in /var/log folder.

To clean the system logs, you can manually move the log files from different folders to Trash and empty the Trash. Or you can use Macube Cleaner, a clever Mac cleaner that can scan out system logs from different folders on your Mac and allows you to delete the log files in one click.

How to Delete System Log Files on macOS/Mac OS X

Macube Cleaner (opens new window) can help you free up space on the hard drive on Mac by cleaning system log files (opens new window), user logs, system caches, mail attachments, unneeded old files and more. It is a good helper if you want to perform a complete clean-up of your iMac/MacBook and free up more space. Here is how to delete system log files on macOS/Mac OS X with Macube Cleaner.

Step 1. Download Macube Cleaner on your iMac or MacBook Pro/Air. The program is totally easy to use.

Step 2. Launch the program. It will show the system status of your Mac, including its storage and how much storage has been used.

Step 3. Choose System Junk and click Scan.

Step 4. After the scanning, choose System Logs. You can see all system log files, including file location, created date, and size.

Step 5. Tick System Logs and selectively choose some of the log files, and click Clean to delete the files.

Tip: You can then clean users logs, application caches, system caches and more on Mac with Macube Cleaner.