Moving files to iCloud - amended question

I just moved a folder with 5 GB from my MBP to my iCloud. Strangely this happened in a jiffy. A recalculation of the capacity used (with WhatSize) showed that the new capacity had increased by 5GB. Did it actually move? Uploads usually take some time.

As Joe Kissell mentioned in his “Take Control of iCloud” this is a rather complex subject. So complex actually that I am feeling lost.

Example: This folder “/Users/hartmut/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs” on my MBP contains 62,8 GB of data. I’d like to delete them. Can I do this?
My understanding is that I can use iCloud any way I want, e.g. as storage for little used files. (I have the 2TB tier)

Might be that moving it to iCloud just puts it in the mirrored iCloud folder on your computer and it syncs to Apple’s servers at whatever rate your internet connection allows. So…it appears to move relatively instantly on your computer and syncs more slowly.

There seems to be some confusion about what iCloud Drive is. It is a synchronization service, similar to Dropbox. If you move a file to iCloud Drive, you are putting it in a special folder on your Mac that is synchronized with your other devices, and with Apple’s servers. If you change the file on any device, the change is propagated to all your devices. If you delete a file on any device, it is deleted everywhere.

It does not mean you have moved it off your computer to reside only on Apple’s servers.

The Mobile Documents folder hidden in the Library is the actual folder underlying iCloud Drive. Again, if you delete anything there, you are deleting it everywhere.

iCloud Drive does have an “Optimize Storage” option that will sometimes temporarily offload files if space is needed. I have never used it and don’t know much about how it works.

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Thanks for all the input. It sort of amounts to “Use it but don’t touch it!” :thinking: