How much space for bootcamp?

While Microsoft states the minimum required space for the current release of Windows 10 is 32 GB, Apple states, when using the Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10, the requirement is 64 GB. Of course, you do not have to use the Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10, but the additional space requirement may be partially due to the space needed to install the Window Support Software provided by Apple. Also, starting with the 2015 model Macs, the Boot Camp Assistant uses the internal drive to temporarily store the installation files from the Windows 10 ISO and a copy of the Windows Support Software. This allows installation of Windows 10 without the aid of a flash drive, but also increases the amount of space needed to install Windows 10. After Windows 10 is installed, this temporary space is returned to macOS and cannot be reallocated to Windows.

Windows 10 minimum hard disk space required is 32GB. You need to start there, add up whatever your games/apps are going to require and allocate that much to the Bootcamp partition.

You get this information by looking up the minimum system requirements for each thing you want to install and adding them up. As a suggestion, most will give two values - the minimum and the recommended. Always go with the recommended amount.

The key is to research! I wrote this as more of a “tutorial” of sorts to show future readers how to obtain this info because the next release of Windows, macOS and whatever additional software will change the specifics. Here’s some links to get you started:

• Bootcamp System Requirements
• Windows 10 System requirements

Once I have everything accounted for based on the suggested values, I usually add 10% (like a contractor) as cushion. It better to “have and not need than need and not have.”