BeeClear guide
Move your Photos library to an external drive on Mac
A large photo library can be worth keeping outside your Mac. Work through the transfer in stages, keeping the original until you have checked the external copy.
1. Choose the drive
Use a directly connected external hard drive or SSD that is not used for Time Machine backups, formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
Allow room for the library and future imports. If reformatting is necessary, save the drive’s existing files elsewhere first: erasing removes them.
2. Copy the library
If originals are stored outside the library as referenced files, first select those items in Photos and choose File → Consolidate → Copy to bring them into the library. Allow enough space for this copy.
Quit Photos. Copy the library from Finder’s Pictures folder to the external disk. Keep the internal copy for now, along with a separate backup.
3. Open the external copy
After copying finishes, double-click the external library. Connect the drive before opening Photos in future.
4. Reconnect iCloud, if you use it
In Photos → Settings → General, choose Use as System Photo Library. A disabled button means this library is already the system library. Then open the iCloud tab and enable iCloud Photos. Designating this library also makes it available to other apps’ photo pickers.
Want every original on the external disk? In Photos → Settings → iCloud, select Download Originals to this Mac. With the external library open, originals download into that library. If the old library used Optimize Mac Storage, allow room for full-size originals on the external disk and wait for downloading to finish.
5. Check before removing the old copy
Compare albums and recent imports, open several older photos and videos, then quit and reopen the external library. If you wanted all originals locally, check that downloading has finished before treating the external copy as complete.
Once satisfied, remove the old library in Finder, then review the Trash before emptying it. Do not delete pictures inside Photos to remove the old library: with iCloud Photos, item deletions sync to your other devices.
Still need more room?
For other storage sources, follow how to free up space on your Mac. BeeClear lets you review scan results by path and size when deciding what else to clean up.
BeeClear for Mac by PangJiong
BeeClear scans and analyzes files locally. Scanning and reviewing results are free; cleaning access is a one-time purchase in the app.
View BeeClear and download the official PKG · About PangJiong