Macbook thinks its storage is FULL due to iCloud

[Grumply]

I've got a real headscratcher here.

My Macbook Pro 16" thinks it has no storage space free, but that appears to be because it's counting iCloud data that IS NOT STORED LOCALLY on the Macbook's actual harddrive.

I've used the "remove download" feature to get rid of every unneeded iCloud-stored file, from my internal drive. But for some reason, the computer is still insisting that iCloud is taking up over 400GB of data on the local drive.

Has anyone encountered this before? And tips on getting it resolved?

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Turn on intelligent iCloud drive storage.

 

[Wando64]

Yes, I had the same in Catalina where in “About this Mac” “Storage” would show more data used than the capacity of the drive.
Since I moved to Monterey it has fixed itself and it now shows the data correctly.

In any case, I would bet that if you click “get info” on the Macintosh HD, you would see the correct information.
Obviously the data is not actually used, so ultimately this is a reporting bug (or feature).