Unable to Update Xcode Due to Insufficient Space Even With Sufficient Storage

Dimas Maulana Development Troubleshooting

21-09-2019

Contents

If you are encountering issues while updating Xcode on your Mac, specifically the error message “Not Enough Space,” despite having ample storage available, there might be a workaround you can try. In some cases, Time Machine local snapshots could be occupying space on your system, preventing the update from proceeding. The following steps outline a potential solution to clear local snapshots and allow the Xcode update to proceed smoothly.

Clearing Time Machine Local Snapshots

Open Terminal on your Mac. You can find it in the Applications > Utilities folder or use Spotlight search to locate it quickly.
In the Terminal window, enter the following command to create a large file, which will help clear the local snapshots:
```
dd if=/dev/zero of=./hugefile bs=100m
```
This command creates a file named “hugefile” with a size of 100MB. The “bs=100m” parameter sets the block size for each write operation. You can adjust the block size as per your requirements.
Monitor the file creation process until it reaches a size of at least 18GB. This size allows sufficient space for Time Machine to clear the local snapshots. You can keep an eye on the file’s size by executing the following command in a separate Terminal window:
```
du -h ./hugefile
```
Once the file reaches the desired size, proceed to the next step.
To cancel the file creation process, press Ctrl-C in the Terminal window where you executed the dd command.
Remove the huge file using the following command:
```
rm ./hugefile
```
This command will delete the file from your system.

Updating Xcode via the App Store

After completing the steps mentioned above to clear the Time Machine local snapshots, you can now attempt to update Xcode through the App Store:

Launch the App Store on your Mac. You can find it in the Applications folder or use Spotlight search to locate it quickly.
In the App Store, navigate to the Updates tab.
Look for the Xcode update and click on the Update button next to it.

The update process will begin, and the cleared space should now allow the update to proceed without encountering the previous “Not Enough Space” error.

By following these steps, you can address the issue of being unable to update Xcode due to inadequate space, even when you have sufficient storage available on your Mac.