



So what's the recommended way to delete huge amounts of files?



The complete steps are:

  1. Launch Terminal.app
  5. You may be asked to type the password for the admin account.

Type man rm for documentation.

  • is Backups.backupdb the same as the MachineName.sparsebundle on the time machine volume? I'm not seeing any backupdb files. (Dec '15, El Capitan) – Olie Dec 4 '15 at 20:14
  • 1
    I needed the /System/Library/Extensions/TMSafetyNet.kext/Contents/Helpers/bypass prefix in mattorb's answer to bypass the "Operation not permitted" errors. – Dave X Oct 5 '16 at 16:16

If you've got:

Operation Not Permitted

after executing

sudo rm -rf Backups.backupdb

you should follow this approach, which is adding bypass before the remove command:

sudo /System/Library/Extensions/TMSafetyNet.kext/Contents/Helpers/bypass rm -rfv Backups.backupdb

Mattorb's approach works fine.


However the path for Backups.backupdb can be more easily entered by dragging and dropping the folder into the terminal window after the command rm -rfv[space]

It still works if you have put Backups.backupdb in trash - all that is needed is to move it to it's original disc and then apply the above terminal command from there. I hope this helps


Once terminal is open, I used the following command:

rm -rfv /path/to/folder/

The r means recursive, f means forcefully, v means verbose so you can actually see the files being deleted.

Be careful when using this command. You must specify the exact path otherwise there is no undo for this command (unless you have a backup which is wise).


I found that link on the web, check on the website the time the information was last modified.

I've tried and it is reasonable fast.


  • While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. – Tetsujin Jul 16 '15 at 19:21
  • I fixed it, added the link address. – Marco Jul 16 '15 at 19:37
  • Hope the answer is fine now, it is actualized, verified, recommended and a fast way to delete backup files. – Marco Jul 17 '15 at 13:22

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protected by Community Sep 2 '17 at 20:34


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