A free tool called RemoveMacAI turns off Apple Intelligence on macOS 27 Golden Gate and deletes the models it leaves on your drive. It is built for Mac owners who want the storage back, and the gain is biggest on 256GB models.
The developer explained the tool in a post on Reddit’s r/MacOS, and the code is open source on GitHub under an MIT license. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 27 Golden Gate.
The problem it targets is easy to see in System Settings. Apple lists up to 14GB for Apple Intelligence on newer Macs, yet some owners have measured 20GB to 30GB after updating. macOS 27 Golden Gate no longer has a single switch for Apple Intelligence, and turning individual features off leaves the models on disk.
RemoveMacAI Deletes the Models and Blocks the Re-download
The tool installs a configuration profile, and macOS makes you approve it in System Settings. The profile applies Apple’s own restriction keys for Apple Intelligence and forces the settings that have no key. The models are then removed through Apple’s asset service, so System Integrity Protection stays on and nothing under /System is edited directly.
To stop macOS from fetching the models again, the profile redirects each download to a closed local port. The README puts the storage recovered at about 12GB. It also says the tool makes no network requests and collects no data.
You can run it with a one-line Terminal command or install it through Homebrew. It shows the current state and asks for confirmation before it changes anything. These are the commands it supports.
removemacai statuslists each feature and the size of the models on diskremovemacai off --dry-runpreviews the changes without applying themremovemacai off --keepfollowed by feature names leaves those features onremovemacai revertundoes every change
The changes survive macOS updates, because the profile and its download block stay in place. Dictation keeps working, since it is a separate setting and its speech models are not removed. Anyone who wants more room without third-party tools can start with our Mac storage cleanup guide for macOS 27 Golden Gate.
Turning Apple Intelligence Off Takes Siri, Writing Tools and Genmoji With It
Removing the models switches off every feature that depends on them. The README lists these as turned off:
- Siri, including Hey Siri and the menu bar icon
- Writing Tools, Genmoji and Image Playground
- The ChatGPT extension
- Summaries in Mail, Messages, Safari, Notes and notifications
- Mail smart replies and inline text predictions
- Spatial Photos and Photos Clean Up
- Xcode predictive code completion
Apps that rely on Apple’s on-device models also stop working, including anything built on the Foundation Models framework and the Use Model action in Shortcuts. Visual Intelligence and natural-language editing in Calendar go as well. Owners who are unsure what their Mac supports can check the MacBooks that support Apple Intelligence before deciding.
The trade-off hurts most on machines that cannot be upgraded later, such as the entry Mac mini M6 with soldered 256GB storage. Running removemacai revert restores the earlier settings, and macOS downloads the models again the next time a feature needs them.
