QT installation fails with "Not enough disk space to store temporary files"

[rocketjosh]

Hello,

I'm trying to get started with developing a QT application for the first time on macOS. The Online Installer and the Maintenance Tool are both refusing to let me install the QT library, giving the message:

"Not enough disk space to store temporary files and the installation. 11.85 GB are available, while the minimum required is 35.81 GB."

This is not correct - I have 187GB free:

Does anyone know how to get around this issue? Is there a way to at least suppress the check for free disk space, since it's so badly off? If not, can you recommend the next best way to install QT on macOS so I can get started?

Thanks,

- Josh

[jsulm]

@rocketjosh said in QT installation fails with "Not enough disk space to store temporary files":

35.81 GB.

What did you select to install?!
This is way to much for a typical Qt installation.

[rocketjosh]

Only one new box was ticked. The space calculations being done by the installer don't make any sense.

[jsulm]

@rocketjosh This is indeed strange. Do you use latest online installer? Do you use a custom partition layout (like a partition for temp folder)?

[rocketjosh]

Yes, the online installer was downloaded from the QT website in the last 24 hours.

I have not intervened in the partition layout - it's just the APFS layout my Mac has done by default. Despite this I think you're onto something. The APFS Data volume shows a distinction between "Available" space and "Free" space, so I suspect the QT installer is only seeing the "Free" space figure.

I'm not an expert on this aspect of modern macOS, but I suspect if you changed the installer to respect the "Available" space and started writing to disk, the system will probably start purging to free up the required space as you go.

For now I'll try forcibly making iCloud some files go off-line to artificially increase the "Free" space figure and see if that lets me install, then I'll report back.

[rocketjosh]

That fixed it. I used brctl evict to make a large folder of iCloud files go offline, then the QT installer decided it was ok to install this time.

[MSP123]

Same problem: it says I need 35.81GB and only 21.34GB are available. BUT, I have 334.42GB available!

Discussion of "available" vs "free". From what I take from the discussion, QT Maintenance Tool is incorrectly checking "free" instead of "available" space: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255341336?sortBy=rank

[MSP123]

The "dd" (line 3.) from soniksaint did the trick.