Delete Gmail Archive from Apple Mail but keep available online

i use apple’s mail application. it’s really great for getting me to stay on top of my email in a way i never could when i used web-based gmail.

but apple mail synced with my gmail means all of my gmail archive is downloaded onto my hard drive and has taken up all the space on my computer. if i delete the archived mail or remove attachments (a common suggestion to this problem online), it affects my actual gmail archive. i don’t want to delete messages or remove the attachments from the real message on the gmail cloud; i just want the attachments removed or messages removed from the archive on my computer.

i want to be able to user gmail from my mail application but i don’t want any of the archive to be stored on my local machine — just keep it up in the cloud where i can access it if i want.

is this possible???