This guide will walk you through a simple process to fix a problem on macOS where a background service called idleassetsd can download large video files that take up a lot of disk space. This script will permanently stop that service and safely remove any downloaded files.
- Permanently stops the
idleassetsdbackground service so it can't download files again. - Deletes any large video files that the service has already downloaded.
- Confirms that the files are gone.
- Shows a summary of your disk space at the end so you can see how much space was freed up.
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Save the Script: Copy all of the code from the document in the editor and paste it into a new file. You can name the file something like
disable-idleassetsd.sh. -
Open Terminal: Open the Terminal application on your Mac. You can find it by searching for "Terminal" with Spotlight (
Command + Space). -
Go to the Right Folder: In the Terminal, type
cdfollowed by a space and the path to the folder where you saved the file. For example, if you saved the file to your desktop, you would type:cd ~/Desktop. -
Give it Permission to Run: Type the following command and press
Enter. This tells your computer that this file is a script that can be run.chmod +x disable-idleassetsd.sh -
Run the Script: Type the final command below and press
Enter. The script needs administrator privileges to work, so you will be prompted to enter your password.sudo ./disable-idleassetsd.sh
- The script will provide a step-by-step summary of what it is doing.
- It will ask for your confirmation before deleting the files.
- At the very end, it will tell you that the process is complete and display a summary of your disk space.