OnyX Preferences If this task results in a startup disk in good working order then OnyX will display its available functions: maintenance, cleaning, automation, utilities, parameters, info and log. The main features of the app, which are recommended for regular use, are the maintenance and cleaning functions, while the automation functionality is the combination of these two. Cleaning Choosing between either the ‘automation pane’ or the maintenance and cleaning panes will depend on how much time you are willing to spend on Mac optimization. You can remove cache files from System folders using either the System pane of the cleaning toolbar or the automation pane. Still, there is a slight difference between the two cleaning options: while the automation tool will perform all the cleaning and maintenance tasks in a single workflow and therefore only require a single Mac restart once the tasks are finished, choosing maintenance and cleaning actions separately will need multiple restarts throughout the process. When you hit the “Execute” button, OnyX scans your computer and performs the tasks you have commanded. Don’t expect too many visuals, however: unlike its paid competitors such as MacBooster or CleanMyMac, OnyX won’t display findings such as the number of cookies or browsing history items it has identified while scanning your Mac.
Neither will you know how much space the app will reclaim by deleting the system, user, font and application caches. That’s information the developer didn’t consider important with any of the app releases. Paid Mac optimization apps, on the other hand, focus heavily on visuals and such data. OnyX Secure Erasing During our testing a completely automated maintenance and cleaning task took a little more than seven minutes to finish on a MacBook Pro (late 2016) with 250GB of flash storage. Of course this will differ by computer since it depends on a number of factors, including system configuration, disk storage, stored data and more. If you decide to spend more time on maintenance and cleaning, choosing tasks individually will require more of your time. Also, some of the tasks – such as cleaning the system, user and font caches and log files – will require a restart each time.
That’s something you should keep in mind. Utilities Along with cleaning and maintenance tasks, OnyX includes several other powerful features, such as utilities, parameters, and info. Under the utilities toolbar users will find various useful functions, ranging from gaining access to all of the Unix manual pages to changing the visibility status of a disk, folder or file.
Onyx is a Mac utility that provides a simple approach to perform numerous routine Mac support errands, and in addition get to concealed elements of OS X and macOS. When you initially run Onyx, it will need to confirm the structure of your Mac’s startup plate. If there is something not quite right with the Mac in a certain area, like fonts, Onyx and other utilities can sometimes have tools that can help, like.
The ‘packages’ task in Utilities will also look for a receipt file (.BOM) of an installed package (.PKG), and contains a list of all installed items stored in a system folder. The parameters toolbar will enable you to personalize your working environment and toggle on or off certain hidden system functions and Apple applications. For example, with the Parameters toolbar it is possible to change the screenshot file type from its default of PNG to JPEG or change the save path for screenshots from the default location – your desktop – by clicking on the “Select” button, picking a desired folder and confirming it with the “Choose” button.
OnyX Purge Memory Function A very powerful feature of the software is the info toolbar, which includes tools such as ‘protection’. In this pane you’ll see a list of malware recognized by XProtect, the macOS protection system.
You’ll also be able to show and delete the list of all downloaded items tested by XProtect. In our testing, XProtect recognized 77 malware items, according to the malware definitions. Pricing OnyX is freeware, meaning that you can download the application and use it for as long as you wish without paying a cent. If you like the application, you’re also allowed to distribute it, providing the software is not modified. Although the app is free, the developer accepts donations where you decide the amount.
That compares to the $40 that OnyX’s competitors MacPaw and IObit charge for a single Mac license. The developer pushes out updates regularly on its dedicated website Titanium-Software.fr.
Customer Service Since OnyX is a free app and is mainly developed by a single person with the help of others from around the world, it doesn’t have a dedicated customer service. Still, if you encounter a problem or anomaly, a misspelling or bad translation, or you have any suggestions for OnyX enhancements then you are free to contact the developer via email. It is recommended that you back up your Mac when using OnyX for the first time, just in case anything goes wrong. However, we should note that we have been using OnyX for many years now and have had no issues with the software.
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OnyX Help File OnyX also includes a help file that offers a detailed description of every action and task the application performs, unlike some of its competitors like MacBooster. So, if you don’t understand a command you are about to execute, just click on the question mark in the bottom-right of the app window and a help page will open to answer your question regarding OnyX’s command.
Bottom Line Although macOS has built-in maintenance and cleaning scripts, a third-party application can be helpful in an effort to reclaim disk space occupied by cache files. What highly advanced macOS users familiar with Terminal can achieve by typing in complex command lines, OnyX – a reliable and free third-party Mac optimization application – does with a clean and easy-to-understand user interface. OnyX doesn’t deliver much detailed and visually organized information about the free space you are going to regain, but it still does a good job of reclaiming ‘lost space’. Functionalities offered by paid third-party competitors, such as freeing up memory, are also included in the app, although they are a bit hidden.
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If you are looking for a reliable Mac optimization app to try risk free, OnyX is the one to start with. OnyX has been available for free since it was first released in 2003. Main Features System Cleanup Cleanup Customization Trash Cleanup Browser Cleanup Photo Cleanup Language Removal Cache Cleanup Mail Cleanup iTunes Cleanup Log Cleanup Utilities Uninstaller Shredder Startup Optimizer Memory Optimization Privacy Protection Reindex Spotlight Mail Optimization Duplicate File Removal Pricing Price Free Free Trial Free Version Money Back Guarantee n/a Payment Methods Visa n/a PayPal n/a MasterCard n/a American Express n/a Wire Transfer n/a Discover n/a Amazon Payments n/a Customer Support 24/7 Email Live Chat On Call Remote Desktop Community Twitter Facebook.
When it comes to Mac optimization, choosing the right software can be a hard decision, especially if you don’t want to fill your computer with tons of apps. So there are several factors you should consider before you even download an app, particularly whether it is user friendly or not and how much it will cost you. Ask yourself: will I understand what it does when it performs a task? Can I automate tasks? What kind of features does it pack, and which ones will I need to use the most? These are all questions we answer in our reviews of CleanMyMac, a paid and much favored Mac optimization solution, and the free software OnyX that has a long-standing reputation in the field. In this comparison you’ll get more insights into how the qualities of the two compare to each other.
Customer Support OnyX CleanMyMac X 24/7 n/a Email Live Chat On Call Remote Desktop Community Twitter Facebook OnyX Designed by Titanium Software, is free Mac maintenance and optimization software that has been around since OS X Jaguar in 2002, and so it has had a ‘few’ years of experience in this area. OnyX has a nice, clean user interface that provides you with details of what you are about to do using this third-party software. Some tasks – such as repairing disk permissions and clearing out various different cache files – can be done manually, but with OnyX there are specific scripts listed under different menu items, including maintenance, clearing, automation, utilities, parameters, info and log. Select any of these and you’ll find additional information about the task you are going to perform. OnyX requires your input before selecting each task but, unlike some of its rival (and paid) apps, it doesn’t give the user the option to go through the files it is going to delete after you hit the “Execute” button.
Automation Option After launching OnyX, the app will prompt you to verify the startup drive and it will do so every time you relaunch it. And if you are performing a thorough cleaning – recommended from time to time to keep your Mac clean and to optimize its performance – then you’ll need to restart your computer a couple times, such as after emptying the system, user and font caches. You can stop the prompt by selecting “Don’t check” in Preferences Advanced. If you don’t want to perform every task manually then OnyX has an automation option, which will perform a handful of maintenance, rebuilding and cleaning actions you can select by checking the boxes.
CleanMyMac One of the most appealing features of, the paid Mac optimization software developed by Ukraine-based MacPaw, is its pleasant user interface that focuses on visually guiding the user through the task with nicely designed elements that shorten the learning curve. But the software is not short on useful features, either, such as Smart Cleanup, which has CleanMyMac scour your computer’s most hidden spots for ‘trash’ such as caches and system, photo, mail and iTunes junk files. Those last three are especially useful to empty since they build up over time. In our testing, using CleanMyMac helped us to reclaim 18GB of storage space, of which mail attachments accounted for 5GB. Maintenance Options The feature that will locate large and old files can help you to remove them, but only once you’ve selected them for deletion. This is an advantage that CleanMyMac has over OnyX: you can review the files you are about to erase and deselect any you want to keep.
As for system maintenance tasks, CleanMyMac includes a set of scripts to optimize your disk’s performance, resolve various app errors and more. CleanMyMac is available as a free download, but you will need to purchase a license – at $39.95 – to unlock all the features the app incorporates. Conclusion Both OnyX and CleanMyMac offer powerful features that you will need in order to reclaim that ‘lost’ space and optimize your hard drive or flash drive. It is up to you to decide whether the extra features that CleanMyMac offers, such as reviewing the files before deletion and the removal of unwanted photos, mail attachments, and large and old files is worth the $39.95 price tag. On the other hand, OnyX includes the basic maintenance and Mac optimization scripts you need to get your computer rolling again for free.