APFS: space from deleted files is not reclaimed

Originator:lenny.khazan
Number:rdar://32968927 Date Originated:06/24/2017
Status:Open Resolved:No
Product:macOS Product Version:10.13 beta 2 (17A291j)
Classification:Serious Bug Reproducible:Always
 
Area:
Something not on this list

Summary:
On an APFS drive in macOS 10.13 beta 2 (17A291j), storage space is not always reclaimed when deleting files and folders (from Terminal or by clearing Trash).

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Note the amount of free disk space listed in Finder's status bar.
2. Delete a sizable file/folder, either by moving it to Trash and then emptying it or by using `rm`.
3. Note the new amount of free disk space listed in Finder's status bar.

Expected Results:
The amount of free disk space will increase by the size of the file/folder that was deleted.

Observed Results:
The amount of free disk space remains the same, both immediately after deletion and after a restart.

Version:
macOS 10.13 beta 2 (17A291j)

Notes:
Daisy Disk lists the occupied space as "(hidden space)", even after scanning as administrator -- this hidden space increases as more files are deleted. None of the files/folders that I have tried deleting are copies of other files (so this is not a consequence of the new copy-on-write semantics). I've noticed the disk space fluctuating +/- ~1GB since noticing this bug, but I'm not sure if this behavior was around before (or if it's being caused by another running application). Running First Aid on the disk from Disk Utility reports no problems and does not correct the error.

Configuration:
This is on a low-end 15" 2016 MBP with a 512GB SSD, with an APFS macOS partition (as well as a Bootcamp partition).

Comments

I've got the same issue, though mine has a whopping 248.5 GB unavailable on a 1TB drive. This is new behavior after High Sierra upgrade. http://cloud.coneybeare.me/mtfo

By matt at Oct. 4, 2017, 7:31 p.m. (reply...)

Same issue here: MBP 2012, 240GB SSD, only 1GB free now. Had about 6GB free, deleted about 100GB of data. Storage Management app lists 'System' now over 180GB in use...

I noticed 17A291m being released shortly after 17A291j, but am unable now to update due to 'not enough space' on my system disk/partition...

Is there any solution known yet?

By bram.kortleven at June 30, 2017, 8:44 a.m. (reply...)

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