Can't empty Trash on Mac because a file is in use? How to fix it

Why the Trash will not empty#

When you choose Empty Trash, Finder deletes each file in it for good. macOS refuses to delete a file that a running process still has open, and shows a message like:

The operation can't be completed because the item "report.pdf" is in use.

The other common messages are about locked items and about permissions. Each has a different fix, so read the message first.

Fix 1: quit the app that is using the file#

Think about where the file came from. A video you deleted while it was still open in QuickTime, a document still open in Preview, or a disk image that is still mounted are the usual cases. Quit that app with ⌘ Q (closing the window is not always enough) and empty the Trash again.

For a mounted disk image or drive, eject it first: click the ⏏ button next to it in the Finder sidebar.

Fix 2: find the process holding the file#

If you do not know which app it is, Terminal can tell you:

lsof | grep "/.Trash/"

The first column is the name of the process, the second its process ID. Quit that app normally, or select it in Activity Monitor and click Stop.

A detail we ran into on our test Mac: macOS 26 protects the Trash folder, so ls ~/.Trash and lsof +D ~/.Trash return "Operation not permitted" or nothing at all unless Terminal has Full Disk Access. The lsof | grep version above still works without it, because it lists files that processes have open rather than reading the folder. If it prints nothing, no running process is holding a file in the Trash.

Fix 3: unlock locked items#

If the message says the item is locked:

1. Open the Trash from the Dock.
2. Select the item and press ⌘ I to open Get Info.
3. Untick Locked under General.
4. Empty the Trash.

If Get Info will not let you change it, check Sharing & Permissions at the bottom of the same window. You need Read & Write access; click the lock, enter your password, and change your own permission.

Fix 4: delete just that file immediately#

You can skip the Trash for one stubborn file. Open the Trash, select the file, then hold ⌥ and choose File › Delete Immediately, or press ⌥ ⌘ ⌫. Confirm, and the file is gone for good. This still fails if the file is in use, so do Fix 1 or 2 first.

Fix 5: restart, then empty the Trash first#

A restart closes every app and background process. After you log in, empty the Trash before opening anything else. If it still fails, start up in safe mode, which loads only what macOS needs, and empty the Trash there. Apple explains how in Start up your Mac in safe mode.

Trash on an external drive#

Files deleted from an external drive stay on that drive, in a hidden folder, until you empty the Trash with the drive connected. If emptying fails:

• The drive may be read-only. Drives formatted as NTFS (common on Windows) are read-only on a Mac by default. Check the format in Disk Utility.
• The drive may have errors. Select it in Disk Utility and click First Aid.
• Eject and reconnect it, then empty the Trash with the drive plugged in.

Copying files to or from such drives can also fail with "error code 36"; see Mac error code 36.

Avoid sudo rm -rf on the Trash. It works, but it skips every check, and one typo in the path can delete the wrong folder. The fixes above are enough in almost every case.

Did the space come back?#

Emptying the Trash frees space right away. If your disk is still full afterwards, the space is elsewhere; start with our storage checklist or see what makes System Data so large.