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Space Lens

Visual disk space analyzer with interactive treemap visualization.

Space Lens Interactive treemap visualization showing disk usage by folder and file

Overview

Space Lens helps you understand where your disk space is going through an intuitive visual representation. Find large files and folders at a glance.

How It Works

Space Lens uses a treemap visualization where:

  • Each rectangle represents a file or folder
  • Rectangle size is proportional to file/folder size
  • Colors indicate file types
  • You can drill down into folders

Color Coding

Color File Type
Blue Documents (PDF, DOC, TXT)
Green Images (JPG, PNG, HEIC)
Purple Videos (MP4, MOV, MKV)
Orange Audio (MP3, AAC, FLAC)
Red Archives (ZIP, DMG, PKG)
Gray Applications
Yellow Code & Development
Teal Other

Navigation

Drill Down

  • Click on any folder to zoom into it
  • See detailed breakdown of that folder's contents
  • Breadcrumb trail shows your current path

Zoom Out

  • Click the breadcrumb to go back
  • Use Back button to return to parent
  • Home icon returns to root view

Selection

  • Single click to select item
  • Info panel shows details (size, date, path)
  • Right-click for context menu

Actions

From the Space Lens view, you can:

Action Description
Reveal in Finder Open the file location
Quick Look Preview the file
Move to Trash Delete the file
Add to Cleanup Queue for batch deletion
Copy Path Copy file path to clipboard

Scanning Options

Quick Scan

  • Scans top-level directories
  • Results in seconds
  • Good for overview

Deep Scan

  • Scans all files recursively
  • Takes longer but complete
  • Best for finding hidden large files

Custom Path

  • Scan specific folder
  • Useful for targeted cleanup
  • Drag & drop folder support

Filters

Filter the visualization by:

  • Minimum Size: Hide files smaller than threshold
  • File Type: Show only specific types
  • Date Modified: Find old/recent files
  • Hidden Files: Show/hide dotfiles

Tips

  1. Start with home folder - Most user data is here
  2. Check Downloads - Often contains forgotten large files
  3. Look for duplicates - Similar-sized files in different locations
  4. Old iOS backups - Can be several GB each
  5. Application Support - Some apps store lots of data here

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Space Quick Look selected item
Cmd + Backspace Move to Trash
Cmd + Up Go to parent folder
Cmd + R Refresh scan
Cmd + F Filter/Search

Performance

  • Scans run in background
  • Progress indicator shows status
  • Cancel anytime without losing partial results
  • Results cached for quick re-access