How can I empty the always-filled Trash on my Mac?

I recently reorganised my iCloud Drive files and folders on an unstable internet connection.


After decluttering many files and folders, I found out there are two folders that keep reappearing in my Trash folder. They both have the iCloud download icon next to them. No matter how many times I delete them, they come back.


So far I have:

  • Sign in to iCloud web, empty the Trash from iCloud Drive.
  • Used a command in Terminal to empty the trash.
  • Sign out of and in my Apple Account on Mac.
  • Changed my internet DNS to resolve potential issues.


And none of them have worked.

I'm frustrated.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.4

Posted on Apr 6, 2025 4:05 PM

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Apr 8, 2025 8:08 AM in response to neemasa

neemasa wrote:

I resolved the issue: Just had to log in to iCloud Drive on the web, go to the Trash directory, and click on recover for each folder. It fixed the issue.

[Edited by Moderator]



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How can I empty the always-filled Trash on my Mac?

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