How can we help?
Answers to common questions about LottaStorage, and how to reach us if you need more help.
Getting started
- Open LottaStorage and click Choose a Folder or Disk, or use the Macintosh HD shortcut to scan your startup disk.
- Confirm the location in the macOS open panel. LottaStorage can read only what you choose there.
- Explore the results as a hierarchy, radial chart, treemap, or list. Click a folder to look inside it, and use the location bar or ⌘ ↑ to go back up.
While a scan runs, you can pause, resume, or stop it. A stopped scan keeps a clearly labeled partial result that you can still browse, and Rescan starts over.
LottaStorage can remember the locations you approve so you don't have to confirm them every time. To remove one, open Settings and choose Forget. No files are deleted.
Permissions and access
Does LottaStorage need Full Disk Access?
No. LottaStorage never asks for Full Disk Access, administrator rights, or helper tools. It runs in the macOS App Sandbox and reads only the folder or disk you choose.
My startup disk scan seems stuck
macOS may ask whether LottaStorage can “access data from other apps” when a scan reaches folders that belong to other apps. The scan waits until you answer, and the prompt can appear behind other windows.
If a folder takes more than a few seconds to read, the scan header shows Waiting for a folder read with the folder's path, and VoiceOver announces it once. Most often macOS is waiting for your answer, though a very slow or unresponsive drive can cause it too. Look for the dialog, then choose Allow or Don't Allow. The message clears as soon as the folder is read. You can also pause or stop the scan while it waits.
If you don't allow access, the scan continues without those folders and lists them in its scan limitations. You can review this choice later in System Settings under Privacy & Security.
Why are some folders unreadable?
macOS protects some locations, such as parts of System Data and other people's files. LottaStorage doesn't hide what it couldn't read: open the scan limitations to see what was skipped and why, with counts and examples.
External drives and other disks
A folder scan never crosses into another disk mounted inside it. To include an external drive, choose that drive as its own source.
iCloud Drive and other cloud files
LottaStorage doesn't download files that are stored only in the cloud. They are shown as cloud-only and can't be moved to the Trash from LottaStorage.
Understanding the numbers
Why is the total different from Finder or About This Mac?
- For a whole disk, LottaStorage uses the used capacity that macOS reports, so the total never exceeds the size of the disk.
- Hard links and fully cloned APFS files take up space only once, so they are counted once.
- Some used space doesn't belong to any single file you can see, such as local snapshots, purgeable space, and system data that macOS protects. LottaStorage shows this as capacity it can't attribute to files instead of guessing where it went.
Available space in the charts
At the top level of a disk, the charts can include its available space as a crosshatched area. Turn this off with Show Available Space. It is context only, not a file, and nothing can be done to it.
Moving items to the Trash
LottaStorage never deletes anything permanently and never empties your Trash.
- Select an item and choose Review Move to Trash… (⌘ ⌫), or drag it from a chart onto the trash can beside the location bar.
- Check the exact path, size, and any warnings in the review.
- Click Move to Trash. LottaStorage checks each item again just before moving it and skips anything that has changed.
Why can't I move some items?
To keep your Mac safe, LottaStorage won't move:
- the folder or disk you scanned, or the top level of any disk;
- locations that macOS manages, plus sensitive folders such as app containers, Mail, Messages, Keychains, Preferences, Safari, and iCloud Drive;
- items that changed or disappeared since the scan (rescan first);
- symbolic links, cloud-only files, and items you don't have permission to change; or
- anything outside the folder or disk you chose.
How do I get something back?
Open the Trash in the Dock, select the item, and choose File › Put Back.
Why didn't my free space go up?
Space is freed when you empty the Trash. Even then, local snapshots and purgeable storage can delay the change for a while.
Insights
- Largest lists the biggest items in the location you scanned.
- Oldest lists items that haven't been modified for a long time; one year by default. Change the threshold in Settings.
- Exact Duplicates finds files with identical contents. Files must match completely, confirmed with a full SHA-256 comparison on your Mac, and only files of 1 MB or more are checked by default. Change the minimum size in Settings.
Insights only point things out. You decide what, if anything, to do about them.
Keyboard shortcuts
Everything in LottaStorage works with the keyboard and VoiceOver.
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘ O | Choose a folder or disk |
| ⌘ R | Rescan |
| ⌥ ⌘ P | Pause or resume a scan |
| ⌘ . | Stop a scan |
| ⌘ 1 – 4 | View as hierarchy, radial chart, treemap, or list |
| ⌘ ↑ | Go to the parent folder |
| Arrow keys | Move between items in a chart |
| Return | Open the selected folder in the hierarchy |
| Space | Quick Look |
| ⇧ ⌘ R | Reveal in Finder |
| ⌘ ⌫ | Review Move to Trash |
System requirements
macOS 15 Sequoia or later, on a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel processor.
Purchases and refunds
LottaStorage will be a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, with no subscription and no in-app purchases. Apple handles all payments, so we can't see or change purchase records. To ask for a refund, visit reportaproblem.apple.com.
Removing LottaStorage
First, forget any remembered locations in Settings if you'd like to remove them. Then drag LottaStorage from your Applications folder to the Trash.
Contact us
Tell us your macOS version, your LottaStorage version (LottaStorage › About LottaStorage), what you were doing, and any message you saw. Please don't send filenames, paths, file contents, or screenshots of your scan. We don't need them to help you.