Box Drive Taking Up Too Much Disk Space
Workaround available Windows, macOS Updated October 21, 2026
Quick answer
Box Drive stores a local cache plus every folder marked offline. The cache should stay under 50% of free space or 25 GB, but users report it growing much larger. Set folders back to online-only and log out of Box Drive to clear the cache.
Most likely fix: Switch offline folders back to online-only.
Symptoms
Your disk fills up even though files are 'in the cloud', Box Drive reports 'Download Failed: Insufficient Free Disk Space', or uploads fail with 'There is not enough space on Box'.
Why it happens
- Folders marked available offline are fully downloaded and don't count toward the cache cap
- Recently opened files stay in the cache
- Uploads first copy the file into the local Drive cache
- The cache cap not being enforced in some cases
How to fix it
Try these in order — the most common fix is first.
1. Switch offline folders back to online-only
- Right-click the offline folder in Finder or File Explorer
- Choose 'Make Available Online Only' or 'Free up space', depending on your version
2. Log out of Box Drive to clear the cache
- Make sure all uploads have finished first
- Click the Box icon > Gear > Log out
- Logging out clears cached files and offline folders; mark needed folders offline again after you sign back in
3. Make room before large uploads
- Box Drive copies each upload into its local cache, so keep at least the file's size free
- Upload very large files through box.com in a browser instead
4. Ask IT to adjust cache limits
- Admins can change Box Drive cache limits through settings described in Box's technical information for Box Drive administrators
- The cache location itself can't be moved
This guide also covers
- box drive taking up space
- box drive cache
- box drive clear cache
- box drive insufficient free disk space
- box drive using storage
Still not working?
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