photoshop 2025 abnormal disk space consumption

[salvatorep31016834]

Hi, for a few days now, whenever I open and close Photoshop files, I've noticed a gradual decrease in free space on my system disk, which isn't recovered until Photoshop crashes. This is definitely a Photoshop or system issue, as it never happened before and still doesn't happen on my old computer. Has anyone had or has a similar problem? I'm working on an M1 MacBook Pro with Sequoia version 15.6.

[Srishti Bali]

Hi @salvatorep31016834

Sorry to hear about this inconvenience. It seems Photoshop may be leaving behind temporary cache or scratch disk files instead of clearing them when you close files. Please try the steps in the link below and let us know if that resolves the issue:

https://adobe.ly/4mLBjoU

Regards,

Srishti

[salvatorep31016834]

Hi, you nailed the problem. I also believe Photoshop doesn't clear the allocated space when it closes the file. I'd already visited the page you linked, and the settings are correct. As I mentioned below, the free space on the system disk is about 217 GB, which gradually decreases during Photoshop sessions, reaching a few MB after several hours of work. This forces me to close and reopen the program every couple of hours to free up space.

[salvatorep31016834]

I've already tried manually deleting the Photoshop cache from the system library. Deleting the Photoshop preferences file. Uninstalling and reinstalling Photoshop. But none of these actions helped.

[D Fosse]

You need to provide some numbers. How much is consumed? How much free disk space do you have?

Photoshop allocates disk space for the scratch disk. This is expanded as needed, but by design not released again until the application exits. 

Photoshop's total memory I/O is normally much more than any RAM you may have installed. There is no such thing as "enough RAM". So temporary working data are written to disk, aka the scratch disk. The scratch disk contains all history states for all open documents, plus some overhead. Each history state potentially adds the full uncompressed file size. In addition, some advanced functions lik smart objects and the new AI-based functions use the system pagefile for temporary storage.

A very effective way to reduce the size of the scratch file is to reduce history states.

[salvatorep31016834]

Hi, you're right. Without references it's impossible to understand the problem. The free space on the system SSD at the start of the session was 217 GB. After two or three hours of working on Photoshop, at best, it dropped to 40-50 GB. At worst, the system crashes. Photoshop settings are essentially the default ones.

[salvatorep31016834]

Up until a week ago, the problem didn't exist; it occurred suddenly and without having changed anything in the settings. I assume some files got corrupted somewhere

[D Fosse]

The free space on the system SSD at the start of the session was 217 GB. After two or three hours of working on Photoshop, at best, it dropped to 40-50 GB. 

By @salvatorep31016834

That could be perfectly normal if you're working with large files, have several open at the same time, and, crucially, have a high number of history states.

The scratch file contains all history states of all open documents. Every history state can potentially add the full uncompressed file size. For serious work, I usually advise at least 500 GB free space for the scratch disk, preferably more.

A very effective way to reduce the scratch file size is to reduce history states.

When you close a file, that scratch space (and physical memory/RAM) is recycled and reused. It is not freed / returned to the operating system until you close the application.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @salvatorep31016834,

Thanks for confirming the steps you’ve already tried and for providing the disk space numbers. Based on your description, it looks like Photoshop isn’t properly releasing scratch disk space during the session, which explains the gradual drop until you restart.

A couple of things to help narrow this down:
 • Please update to Photoshop 26.10, released this month, if you haven’t already.
 • In Preferences > Performance, temporarily disable Use Graphics Processor and check if behavior changes.
 • What is your scratch disk currently set to?
 • Could you let us know where your working files are stored (internal SSD/ external or network Drive)?
 • Does Photoshop have Full Disk Access enabled under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access on macOS?
 • Could you also copy & paste your System Info (Help > System Info) here? This will give the team more insight into your setup.

Having your system info and scratch disk details will help us check your configuration.

Best,
Anshul Saini

[salvatorep31016834]

Hi, I'll try to answer all your questions in the same order.
My version of Photoshop is already updated to 26.10.
I tried enabling and disabling "Use graphics processor"  and running a batch file processing script of 400 files. With the graphics processor enabled, the initial free space was 211 GB, and the final free space was 167 GB. I repeated the same batch with the graphics processor disabled. The result: initial space was still 211 GB, and final space was 210 GB.
Regarding the scratch disk setting, I've attached a screenshot.
The working files are stored on an external SSD.
Yes, Photoshop has full disk access enabled.
Finally, I've attached a screenshot with the machine configuration.
I'll conclude by saying that I've been working with this configuration for about 3 years without any problems until a few weeks ago, and that no changes have been made to the work system or configuration.

[D Fosse]

With the graphics processor enabled, the initial free space was 211 GB, and the final free space was 167 GB. I repeated the same batch with the graphics processor disabled. The result: initial space was still 211 GB, and final space was 210 GB.

By @salvatorep31016834

I'm beginning to suspect that there might be a bug somewhere, but it's hard to tell if it's Photoshop or the operating system. We see variations of this quite often.

By the sound of it, this is the system pagefile, not the Photoshop scratch disk. Here's my reasoning:

What I've noticed over some time, on several different machines and GPUs, is that the GPU tends to use whatever memory is available. I've noticed that GPU memory usage tends to go to 80 or 90% of whatever amount is available, and then level out. It never goes to max, but just below. Which is not a problem with discrete GPUs that have their own onboard VRAM.

But it appears to be an issue on systems with integrated GPUs - which, crucially, don't have their own memory, but use shared system memory. Then the GPU seems to just keep claiming memory from the system. An operating system is designed so that if memory runs out, it goes to virtual memory on disk, aka the system pagefile. In other words, the GPU memory usage doesn't stop when it should. And that could be a bug.

Sorry, not a solution to your problem. But I have a strong sense there's a pattern here.

[Mike26815210hnb7]

Felt the need to chime in, or at least commiserate.  I've been observing the same disk space consumption effect lately with Photoshop 26.10.0.  Whether it's Beta or Standard, as you begin to edit a video file the available disk space rapidly consumed.  I'm running a Mac M2 Max w/64GB of RAM, on Sequoia 15.6.1.  Note: the effect was transparent thru a recent OS update.  My scratch drive is the primary 2TB with about 66GB free (yeah yeah, don't judge).  I run PS with only 15 History steps, 4 cache levels, and use the graphics processor.   Did some testing with a simple H.264 video file of 128MB, 1080x1920 - nothing complicated.  Without editing anything, just playing the 44sec video as loaded, I can watch free disk space gradually drop from 66 to ~7GB where PS locks up, declaring Scratch Drive out of space.  Oddly enough the audio keeps playing till EOF.  Upon closing the App, there is instantly 66GB available once again.  Same result on repeat, with or without restart/reboot.  However, If I drop to 10 history steps and just 2 levels of cache, PS will play the entire video, ending up with ~28GB disk left.    

[D Fosse]

Yeah. It's obviously GPU memory (shared system memory) going to the system pagefile, and the GPU memory consumption not being checked/limited when it has free access to the system memory pool. Meanwhile, the scratch disk takes its own disk space. IOW, a conflict.

I think engineering should take a look at this. We see quite a few cases of this.

And all that said, you really are dangerously low on disk space. You're soon looking at much bigger problems than Photoshop. I can fill up 66 GB in a half hour.

[Mike26815210hnb7]

Agreed - Adobe Eng needs to investigate.  But I've long since given up trying to get their attention on issues.  The usual response is like:  "Thank you for the feedback...Adobe engineering is currently working on other major program updates which should encompass your concerns".   Like my former employer, IT never had time for you because they are too busy working on the next big thing.   It is interesting that PS barely eats 3GB of physical memory on launch, regardless of file type/size.  It's not hard to incorporate a system check to use more available RAM first.  Roger on the storage warning - still debating cloud vs. RAID solutions.   

[D Fosse]

Roger on the storage warning  

By @Mike26815210hnb7

I'm not primarily talking about storage. I'm talking about temporary working data, deposited on disk by the operating system and all your applications to keep the system operational and running. Most of this is removed when the system shuts down, but not all. The user account tends to grow and fill up over time, unless you clean it out. 

Generally, you should never allow a system drive to fill up beyond 60 or 70 %.