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Version: Monterey 12.6
So I've been having this problem since 3 months where system data takes up more than 79 GB, and it has been really annoying, especially due to the fact I have a 251 GB Mac.
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.6
The user can start by the good advise from previous poster, though the System Cache files will be recreated as the system requires.
Manage Storage
Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac
Or Force a Reindex via Terminal Command “ sudo tmutil -E / “ without Quotation Marks
What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?
Free up storage space on your Mac
How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac
Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Notation - If the user is using a cloning software like Carbon Copy Cloner - suggest tweaking the Safety Net Feature in this software. It may be making additional Snap Shots that are not being Cloned to the Eternal Drive. If this should be the case, these Snap Shot could be using additional space on the drive
The final word from Apple on Managing the " Other/ System Data “ Category
Other / System Data: Contains files that don’t fall into the categories listed here. This category primarily includes files and data used by the system, such as log files, caches, VM files, and other runtime system resources. Also included are temporary files, fonts, app support files, and plug-ins. You can't manage the contents of this category. The contents are managed by macOS, and the category varies in size depending on the current state of your Mac.
Please try booting into Safe Mode and then restarting normally. That ‘should’ clear cache. It takes a while.
How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support
System Data takes up too much storage on Mac OS
