# What Is the sleepimage File on Mac and Can You Delete It

> sleepimage holds a copy of memory so a Mac can recover from power loss during sleep. Why deleting it gives back no lasting space, and what keeping it gone costs.

Published: 2026-11-08 | Updated: 2026-11-09

`sleepimage` is the file at `/private/var/vm/sleepimage` where macOS keeps a copy of memory for sleep. Its job is to let the Mac restore your open work if power is lost while it sleeps. You can delete it with `sudo`, but with hibernation still on, macOS writes it again when the Mac next sleeps, so deleting it gives back no lasting space. Keeping it gone takes a power setting, and that setting removes the protection the file exists for.

## What the file does

`man pmset` describes three values for `hibernatemode`:

| `hibernatemode` | What sleep does | If power is lost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `0` | Memory stays powered, no copy on disk | Your session is lost |
| `3` | Memory stays powered and a copy goes to disk, the manual's default for portables | The Mac restores from the copy |
| `25` | A copy goes to disk and memory loses power: slower sleep and wake, better battery | The Mac always restores from the copy |

`standby` matters too. With it on, macOS moves a Mac that has slept for a while into hibernation, which also writes the image. That is why a desktop on `hibernatemode 0` can still have the file.

Check your own settings and the file like this:

```bash
pmset -g | grep -E 'hibernate|standby|autopoweroff'
ls -lh /private/var/vm
```

The output names the path as `hibernatefile`. A folder listing can show `/var/vm`, which is the same place as `/private/var/vm`.

## How big it gets

It is not always the size of your memory. The Apple silicon Mac this page was checked on has 48 GB of memory and a `sleepimage` of 2.0 GB, with `hibernatemode 3`. On your Mac the figure depends on the model and on what was in memory, so measure it rather than assume:

```bash
du -h /private/var/vm/sleepimage
```

That file has nothing to do with swap, even though the two have long been mentioned together. On a recent Mac, swap files live on a separate volume; [how swap works on a Mac](https://mole.fit/blog/mac-swap-memory-explained) covers them. Storage settings usually count `sleepimage` inside **System Data**, so it can be part of a [large System Data figure](https://mole.fit/blog/what-is-system-data-on-mac), though rarely the main part.

## Should you delete it

For most people, no. A few gigabytes come back only until the next sleep, and the file is doing its job. If you really need that space on a small disk, the only lasting way is to turn off every setting that writes the image. The manual says hibernation images stop completely only when `hibernatemode`, `standby` and `autopoweroff` are all `0`:

```bash
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0
sudo pmset -a standby 0
sudo pmset -a autopoweroff 0
sudo rm /private/var/vm/sleepimage
```

If `pmset -g` does not list `autopoweroff`, skip that line. The cost is that a battery running flat during sleep, or a desktop losing power, ends your session with no way back, so unsaved work is gone. To return to normal on a laptop, set `hibernatemode` back to `3` and `standby` back to `1`, then let the Mac sleep once:

```bash
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3
sudo pmset -a standby 1
```

## What not to do

- Do not delete the file again and again. It costs you the same writes, and the space comes back to the file at the next sleep.
- Do not point `hibernatefile` at an external disk. The manual says it may only point to a file on the root volume.
- Do not replace the file with a locked empty one, an old trick from forums. It fights a system setting and hides the real state from you.
- Do not disable these settings on a laptop that often runs out of battery. That is the exact case the file protects you from.

## Where Mole fits

[Mole](https://mole.fit/) has no Clean row for `sleepimage`: it is a live system file, and deleting it frees nothing for long. **Analyze** skips macOS system areas including `/private`, so `/private/var/vm` and `sleepimage` do not appear there and cannot be moved to the Trash from Mole. Mole does not change `hibernatemode` either. The only `pmset` setting it touches is `disablesleep`, which Keep Screen On uses to stay awake through a lid close. If your disk is full, the real candidates are usually elsewhere, and [what to do when the startup disk is full](https://mole.fit/blog/mac-startup-disk-full) is a better place to start.

## FAQ

### Can I delete sleepimage on Mac?

You can with `sudo rm`, but macOS writes it again at the next sleep while hibernation is on. To keep it gone, set `hibernatemode`, `standby` and `autopoweroff` to `0`, and accept that power loss during sleep ends your session.

### Why is sleepimage so large?

It holds a copy of memory for sleep, so it depends on your model and what was in memory. Check it with `du -h /private/var/vm/sleepimage`, since a figure from another Mac tells you little.

### Is sleepimage the same as swap?

No. Swap holds memory pages while the Mac is awake and running short of memory. `sleepimage` exists for restoring after power loss during sleep.

### What happens if I set hibernatemode to 0?

Sleep and wake may feel a little quicker and no image is written by that mode, but if power is lost while the Mac sleeps, your open work is not restored. On a Mac with `standby` on, an image can still be written until you turn that off too.

### Does sleepimage matter on a Mac with a small disk?

It can, because a few gigabytes count more on a 256 GB disk. Even so, look at developer caches, iPhone backups and app data first, since those give back far more without changing how sleep works.

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