# What Is ~/Library/Logs on Mac?

> ~/Library/Logs holds text logs and crash reports from your apps. They help diagnose problems, aren't needed to run anything, and are safe to clear.

- Updated: 2026-10-10
- URL: https://fresh.ist/library/logs/

**TL;DR:** ~/Library/Logs collects text log files written by apps and some macOS services for your account, plus crash and hang reports in DiagnosticReports. Nothing needs them to run, so removing them is safe. Keep recent ones if you're troubleshooting or a developer has asked for a crash report.

## Definition

- Full path: `~/Library/Logs`
- Scope: user (inside your home folder)
- Freshist checks this folder when uninstalling an app. When you uninstall an app, Freshist looks here for items that belong to it. Matches on the app's bundle ID can be pre-selected; name-only guesses are labeled “not sure” and never pre-selected. Removed items go to the Trash, so you can undo.

## What you'll find here

Apple's file system guide describes Logs as containing "log files for the console and specific system services," which you can also read in the Console app. In practice the folder mixes three things:

| Item | Written by | Typical size |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `DiagnosticReports/` | macOS, when an app crashes or hangs | Kilobytes per report |
| Folders named after apps | Apps that write their own log files | From kilobytes to hundreds of MB |
| Service folders (`CoreSimulator`, `JetBrains`…) | Developer tools and background services | Varies with use |

Expect anything from a few megabytes upward; one Mac we checked had about 8 MB across 20 entries. A developer machine running simulators daily can carry far more.

## How it relates to Console

The Console app has a **Reports** section with Crash Reports, Spin Reports, Log Reports and Diagnostic Reports. Several of these are the files from `~/Library/Logs` and `~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports`. Apple's Console guide notes you can select a report and choose **File → Move to Trash** to delete it from there, which is a tidy way to clear specific reports.

The live stream you see when you start Console is different: that's the unified log, which macOS stores elsewhere and trims automatically. It isn't in this folder.

## What deleting logs changes

Nothing that affects how apps run. You lose history: if an app has been misbehaving, its logs are the evidence a support team will ask for. Crash reports are also what lets you see which app crashed and when. Apps recreate their log files on next launch.

## Inspecting it read-only

```bash
du -sh ~/Library/Logs
du -sh ~/Library/Logs/* 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -10
ls -lt ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports | head
```

The last command lists the newest crash and hang reports first.

## Clearing it

1. Quit the apps whose logs you want to clear, so they aren't writing at that moment.
2. For crash reports, open **Console**, select reports under **Reports**, and choose **File → Move to Trash**, or remove files from `~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports` in Finder.
3. For app logs, choose **Go → Go to Folder…** in Finder, enter `~/Library/Logs`, and trash the subfolders or files you no longer need.

Clearing the contents is better than deleting the `Logs` folder itself, which macOS and apps expect to exist.

## When uninstalling an app

Log folders for apps you've removed are pure leftovers. They're usually small, but some reach hundreds of megabytes. Logs are also a cleanable category on their own: see [logs](/caches/logs/) and [crash reports](/caches/crash-reports/). System-wide logs in `/Library/Logs` need administrator rights and are covered with [system caches](/caches/system-caches/).

## Sources

- [View reports in Console on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/console/cnsl664be99a/mac), Apple Support
- [macOS Library Directory Details](https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/FileManagement/Conceptual/FileSystemProgrammingGuide/MacOSXDirectories/MacOSXDirectories.html), Apple File System Programming Guide
- [Logging](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/os/logging), Apple Developer Documentation

## Frequently asked questions

### Does clearing ~/Library/Logs remove the macOS system log?

No. The unified log that Console shows live is stored by macOS in a separate system location and manages its own size. ~/Library/Logs only holds files that apps and services wrote for your account.

### Why does one app have hundreds of megabytes of logs here?

Some apps log verbosely and never rotate or delete old files, especially after a bug or a debug setting. Check the app's settings for a logging level, or report it to the developer.

### Should I send crash reports from DiagnosticReports to developers?

Only if you choose to. They can include file paths and app names from your Mac, so read one before sharing it. Console's Reports section shows them in readable form.

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Canonical page: https://fresh.ist/library/logs/
Official site: https://fresh.ist/ (fresh.ist only)
Generated: 2026-10-10