RemoveMacAI tool deletes Apple Intelligence files to free Mac storage

In short: A new open-source tool called RemoveMacAI can switch off Apple’s built-in AI features on a Mac, delete the stored AI files, and stop them from downloading again.

What happened

A developer has released RemoveMacAI, a free open-source command line tool for macOS. “Open-source” means the code is public, so others can inspect it, like a recipe anyone can read and test.

The tool is meant for people who want to remove Apple Intelligence from their Mac. Apple Intelligence is Apple’s set of AI features, like writing help, image tools, and summaries. On macOS 27, Apple removed a single Settings switch that used to disable Apple Intelligence in one step.

According to the developer, even if you turn off all the Apple Intelligence features you can find in Settings, the “foundation models” still stay on your disk. (A model is the set of files the AI needs to work, like a big offline reference book stored on your computer.) The developer says those files take up about 12GB, and some users suggested it could be more.

RemoveMacAI aims to do the old one-switch job. The developer says it turns off Siri, Writing Tools, Genmoji, Image Playground, the ChatGPT extension, and summary features. It then deletes the AI models and blocks macOS from downloading them again.

The developer also says Dictation should still work. If you change your mind, a “removemacai revert” command can turn features back on and allow the models to download again.

Why it matters

Many people run out of storage on laptops, especially smaller MacBooks. RemoveMacAI offers a one-step way to reclaim space, but it also disables Apple’s AI features, so users have to decide if the tradeoff is worth it.

Source: The Verge AI