What are log files and what do they do?

Log files are a journal of system parameters and entries describing everything that takes place on your Mac. Any operation that is being performed at any time is noted down in the form of logs, much like a “black box” on an airplane.

For the most part, logs contain crash reports and app errors. To us, regular users, this information bears no sense because it’s unreadable. But when you need to diagnose a problem, log files are an indispensable invention.

How to delete user log files?

Why would anyone want to delete user logs on Mac? First, deleting outdated logs may speed up some of your apps. Second, however small they are, logs still take space on your disk. And lastly, outdated logs could potentially cause software conflicts.

User logs are a part of your user profile. They are stored at: ~/Library/Logs

You should know that deleting user logs is not an everyday operation. It may backfire if you don’t know what you’re deleting. But since you asked, here is how it’s done.

We've got two ways to do it: the manual way and the CleanMyMac X way.

How to clear log files on a Mac manually

Oct 03, 2018  As of Mac OS X Lion (10.7), the Library folder in your home folder is hidden by default. That doesn’t mean you can’t get to it. It’s hidden so you don’t accidentally. May 30, 2019 Despite the fact that Apple keeps the Mac Library folder hidden from users, it’s good to learn how to show the Library folder on Mac. You may need to access the Library folder when you need to clear cache, remove the app’s leftovers, edit preference files manually, etc. Sep 27, 2016 A lot of Mac tutorials mention the Library folder, which is where your macOS applications store things like settings and caches. Some settings can only be changed by editing files in the Library. But the Library is hidden by default. Jun 04, 2019  Describes how to enable logging in Microsoft Outlook for Mac and how to collect logs, log file locations, and other important information about logging in Outlook for Mac. Sign in to iCloud to access your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. Use your Apple ID or create a new account to start using Apple services.

1. Open Finder and select 'Go to Folder' in the Go menu.
2. Type in ~/Library/Logs and hit Enter to proceed to this folder (pay attention to the use of “~” — this will ensure that you’re cleaning user log files, not the system log files).
3. Optional step: You can highlight & copy everything to a different folder in case anything goes wrong.
4. Select all files and press Command+backspace.
5. Restart your Mac.
   Note: We recommend that you remove the insides of these folders, but not the folders themselves. Also note that some system applications, like Mail, have their own logs stored elsewhere.

Remember, if you want the additional space from cleaning these log files, be sure to empty your Trash. To do this, Control+click on the Trash icon in the dock and select “Empty Trash.”

In addition, some log files can be found in the /var/log folder, but not all the items contained therein are safe to remove. That’s why it is safer to remove log files using a Mac cleaning utility like CleanMyMac X.

How to clear log files with CleanMyMac X

Rather than searching all over your Mac for log files yourself, you can clean up logs with CleanMyMac X in just 4 steps. And that’s not all it does! Anyway, to clean them up with CleanMyMac X:

1. Download CleanMyMac X (free version) and launch it.
2. Choose System Junkin the left menu.
3. Click Scan at the bottom of CleanMyMac X.
4. Hit Clean.

How to repair mac os library. Done! If you’d like to remove only log files and nothing else, click on Review Details before clicking Clean. Deselect everything except for System Log Files and User Log Files, and then click Clean.

Make sure that once you have finished clearing out these logs for additional hard drive space, you empty out your Trash. To do this, Control-click on the Trash icon in the dock and select “Empty Trash.” Restart your Mac afterward so your Mac can begin to create new log files.

Is it safe to delete log files?

Many experienced users prefer to clean their user logs as part of their Mac cleaning routine on Mac. Though it doesn’t directly translate into speed, there is some benefit in keeping your disk clean. Some apps have notoriously large log files, especially media apps. For example, writing this article I’ve found a single log file by Elmedia player that weighted 325 MB.

As a word of caution, you shouldn’t delete the entire Logs folder, only delete what’s contained inside. As we have said, log files serve for diagnostic purposes. If your Mac is doing well, there’s nothing particularly harmful in deleting logs.

Cleaning up log files with CleanMyMac X is as easy as can be. And, like we said before, it can do so much more, too! With CleanMyMac X, you can clean up outdated apps, language packs, universal binaries, and gigabytes of useless junk you didn’t even know you had. Download CleanMyMac X now and feel what it’s like to have a faster, cleaner Mac.

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The Library Menu item is hidden by default on Macs, to prevent the possibility of inexperienced users deleting important files in the Library Folder. In this article, you will find different methods to reveal the hidden Library Menu and access the Library Folder on your Mac.

Access Library Folder On Mac

The Library Folder on your Mac contains Preference Files, Caches, and Application Support Data.

While regular Mac users may not find the need to access the Hidden Library Folder, advanced Mac users will at times come across the need to access files inside the Library Folder for troubleshooting and other purposes.

Notes:. Apple notebook built-in keyboards do not include a numeric keypad, and may have slight variations. You can see where characters are located on keyboards for various languages, including what characters are produced when using the shift and option keys by following the instructions in. How can i find my library keyboard layouts folder mac to pc. Not all keyboards are available in all countries or regions.

One example of the need to access the Library Folder on Mac would be to rebuild the Database Files in the Library Folder, in order to fix Launchpad related issues like Apps Missing From Launchpad or deleted Apps showing up in the Launchpad.

Before going ahead with the steps to Access the Hidden Library Folder on your Mac, you need to be aware that ~/Library Folder contains important Data and Files related to Mac User Accounts.

Hence, make sure that you are accessing the Library Folder for a good reason and you do know as to what you are trying to achieve.

Access Hidden Library Menu Option On Mac

Follow the steps below to access the Hidden Library Menu option on your Mac.

1. Left-click your mouse anywhere on the screen of your Mac. This will reveal the Go Option in the top menu bar of your Mac. You can also click on the Finder Icon in the Dock of your Mac to activate the Go Option.

2. Next, click on the Go option in the top menu-bar of your Mac.

3. While you are still on the Go option, press and hold the Option key on your Mac and then click on the Library option that appears when you press down the Option Key.

Note: Press the Alt Key in case you are using a Windows keyboard with your Mac.

4. Clicking on the Library Menu option will take you straight to the Library Folder on your Mac.

Access Library Folder On Mac Using “Go to Folder” Option

Another way to access the Library Folder on your Mac is by using the Folder Option on your Mac.

1. Left-click your mouse anywhere on the screen of your Mac to reveal the Go Option in the top menu bar. You can also click on the Finder Icon in the Dock of your Mac to activate the Go option.

Itunes library updater. As for the newly launch Music and Apple TV apps, they are too sophisticated to let you manage all of your tracks and videos with the desired flexibility. But don’t expect Apple to bring a whole lot of enhancements to the media library as the tech giant has just started to throttle it and may keep the software alive until it becomes completely irrelevant – in the typical Apple fashion (i.e iPod).Besides, even though Finder does a pretty good job of managing the iPhone, Apple’s versatile file manager still lacks quite a few essential features like the option to let users restore data selectively.

2. Next, click on the Go option from the top menu-bar on your Mac and then click on Go to Folder… option in the drop-down menu (See image below).

3. In the search window that appears, type ~/Library, and click on the Go button.

This will immediately take you to the Library Folder on your Mac.

Permanently Unhide the Library Menu Option On Mac

You can permanently unhide the Library Menu Option in the top-menu bar on your Mac by using the Terminal Command. The process is reversible and you can easily go back to the default hidden Library Menu Setting by using the Terminal command once again.

Mail In Library Mac

1. Click on the Finder icon in the dock of your Mac to activate the Go option in the top Menu bar of your Mac.

2. Next, click on the Go option in the top menu-bar and then click on the Utilities option in the drop-down menu.

Mail Library In Mac Os

3. On the Utilities window, open the Terminal App by clicking on it.

Mail Library In Mac Pro

4. Next, type chflags nohidden ~/Library/ and Press the Enter key to submit your command for execution.

Once the command is executed, you will see the Library Option clearly visible and permanently unhidden in the top menu-bar of your Mac.

As mentioned above, you can always go back to the default hidden Library option on your Mac by executing a simple command in the Command Prompt Window.

1. To hide the Library option, type chflags hidden ~/Library/ in the Command prompt window (See image below)

2. After typing the Command, hit the Enter key on the Keyboard of your Mac to execute this Command.

See Library On Mac

Once the Command is executed, you will see the Library Menu option becoming hidden.