MacOS Flusher: get your disk space back

Features

One window shows what takes the space, what is safe to delete and what the disk looks like afterwards.

Every stack in one list

npm, pip, Go, Cargo, Gradle, Xcode, Docker, Homebrew, JetBrains, VS Code and many more, grouped by ecosystem.

Measure first, delete second

Every cache is measured before anything is removed. The disk bar shows how full the disk is now and after the flush.

See what fills the disk

Charts break the disk down by location and by target group. The Docker disk image has its own row.

Safe defaults

Caches that are slow to rebuild or hold your data start unselected. Named Docker volumes and projects are never touched.

Each tool cleans itself

Where a tool has a cleanup command, the app runs it. go clean, npm cache clean and docker prune do the deleting.

Native and private

Written in SwiftUI. The app makes no network requests, has no account and collects nothing.

How it works

Three steps. Nothing is deleted until you confirm the last one.

01

Scan

The app measures every cache as soon as it opens. The overview shows how the disk is split between your data, caches and free space.

Overview with the disk donut, four tiles and the disk bar

02

Choose

Tick the caches you want to delete. The charts show where the space is and how much of it you have selected.

Select or clear a whole group at once
The disk bar shows the change before you make it
Hover a bar to see the exact sizes

Charts of disk usage by location and caches by category

03

Flush

Press Flush selected and confirm. The app works through the caches one by one and measures each again, so the list shows what is really left. Every step is logged, failures with the message from the tool.

What it cleans

90 targets in 18 groups, with the exact folder or command for each. Open a group to see every folder that is emptied and every command that is run.

Everyone

Web browsers3 targetsChrome, Brave, Edge

Chrome cache~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome
Brave cache~/Library/Caches/BraveSoftware
Edge cache~/Library/Caches/Microsoft Edge

Music and video1 targetSpotify

Spotify cache~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client

System3 targetsApp updater leftovers, user logs, Trash

App updater leftovers~/Library/Caches/*.ShipIt
User logs~/Library/LogsOff by default, deleted for good
Trash~/.TrashOff by default, deleted for good

Chat, mail and office

Chat and meetings1 targetSlack

Slack cache~/Library/Application Support/Slack/Cache~/Library/Application Support/Slack/Service Worker/CacheStorage

AI models

Downloaded models3 targetsHugging Face, PyTorch, Ollama

Hugging Face hub~/.cache/huggingfaceOff by default, slow to get back
PyTorch hub~/.cache/torchOff by default, slow to get back
Ollama models~/.ollama/modelsOff by default, slow to get back

Developers

JavaScript / TypeScript10 targetsnpm, Yarn, pnpm, Bun, Deno, Corepack, nvm, node-gyp, Electron, Turborepo

npm cache$ npm cache clean --force
Yarn cache~/Library/Caches/Yarn~/.yarn/cache~/.yarn/berry/cache
pnpm store~/Library/pnpm/store~/Library/Caches/pnpm~/.pnpm-store
Bun install cache~/.bun/install/cache
Deno cache~/Library/Caches/deno
Corepack cache~/.cache/node/corepack
nvm download cache~/.nvm/.cache
node-gyp headers~/Library/Caches/node-gyp~/.node-gyp
Electron downloads~/Library/Caches/electron~/.electron~/Library/Caches/electron-builder
Turborepo cache~/Library/Caches/turborepo~/.turbo

Python8 targetspip, uv, Poetry, Pipenv, pipx, Conda, Ruff, pre-commit

pip cache~/Library/Caches/pip
uv cache~/.cache/uv
Poetry cache~/Library/Caches/pypoetry
Pipenv cache~/Library/Caches/pipenv
pipx cache~/.local/pipx/.cache
Conda package cache~/miniconda3/pkgs~/anaconda3/pkgs~/miniforge3/pkgs~/.conda/pkgs
Ruff cache~/Library/Caches/ruff~/.cache/ruff
pre-commit environments~/.cache/pre-commit

Go3 targetsBuild cache, module cache, gopls, goimports, golangci-lint, staticcheck

Go build cache$ go clean -cache
Go module cache$ go clean -modcacheOff by default, slow to get back
Go tools (gopls, goimports, golangci-lint, staticcheck)~/Library/Caches/gopls~/Library/Caches/goimports~/Library/Caches/golangci-lint~/Library/Caches/staticcheck

Rust3 targetsCargo registry and git, rustup downloads, sccache

Cargo registry & git~/.cargo/registry/cache~/.cargo/registry/src~/.cargo/git
rustup downloads~/.rustup/downloads~/.rustup/tmp
sccache~/Library/Caches/Mozilla.sccache~/.cache/sccache

JVM (Java, Kotlin, Scala, Clojure, Android)6 targetsGradle, Maven, Coursier, sbt, Ivy, Kotlin, Android, Bazel

Gradle caches~/.gradle/caches~/.gradle/daemon
Maven repository~/.m2/repositoryOff by default, slow to get back
Coursier / sbt cache~/Library/Caches/Coursier~/.cache/coursier~/.sbt/boot~/.ivy2/cache
Kotlin daemon & konan~/.kotlin~/.konan/cache
Android build cache~/.android/cache~/.android/build-cache
Bazel cache~/.cache/bazel/private/var/tmp/_bazel_*Off by default, slow to get back

.NET2 targetsNuGet packages and HTTP cache

NuGet packages~/.nuget/packagesOff by default, slow to get back
NuGet HTTP cache~/.local/share/NuGet/http-cache~/.nuget/v3-cache

Swift / Objective-C6 targetsXcode DerivedData, DeviceSupport, Simulator, Swift PM, CocoaPods, Carthage

Xcode DerivedData~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData
Xcode iOS DeviceSupport~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupportOff by default, slow to get back
iOS Simulator caches~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Caches
Swift PM cache~/Library/Caches/org.swift.swiftpm
CocoaPods cache~/Library/Caches/CocoaPods
Carthage cache~/Library/Caches/carthage~/Library/Caches/org.carthage.CarthageKit

Ruby / PHP / Perl / Lua4 targetsRubyGems, Bundler, Composer, CPAN, LuaRocks

RubyGems & Bundler cache~/.gem/specs~/.gem/ruby/*/cache~/.bundle/cache
Composer cache~/.composer/cache~/Library/Caches/composer~/.cache/composer
CPAN build & sources~/.cpan/build~/.cpan/sources~/.cpanm/work
LuaRocks cache~/.cache/luarocks

Elixir / Erlang / Haskell / OCaml5 targetsHex, rebar3, Cabal, Stack, opam

Hex package cache~/.hex~/.cache/hex
rebar3 cache~/.cache/rebar3
Cabal packages~/.cabal/packages~/.cache/cabal
Stack indices~/.stack/indices~/.stack/pantryOff by default, slow to get back
opam download cache~/.opam/download-cache

C / C++3 targetsccache, Conan, vcpkg

ccache~/Library/Caches/ccache~/.ccache~/.cache/ccache
Conan packages~/.conan2/p~/.conan/data
vcpkg cache~/.cache/vcpkg~/Library/Caches/vcpkg

Dart, Zig, Nim, Julia, R, Crystal, D7 targetspub, Zig, Nim, Julia, R, Crystal, dub

Dart / Flutter pub cache~/.pub-cacheOff by default, slow to get back
Zig cache~/.cache/zig
Nim cache~/.cache/nim~/.nimble/pkgcache
Julia compiled cache~/.julia/compiled~/.julia/logs
R cache~/Library/Caches/org.R-project.R~/.cache/R
Crystal cache~/.cache/crystal
D dub packages~/.dub/packages

Containers & VMs9 targetsDocker, Podman, minikube, Vagrant, Lima, Colima

Docker build cache$ docker builder prune -af
Docker dangling images$ docker image prune -f
Docker unused images (all)$ docker image prune -afOff by default, slow to get back
Docker anonymous unused volumes$ docker volume prune -f
Docker stopped containers$ docker container prune -fOff by default, deleted for good
Podman unused data$ podman system prune -afOff by default, deleted for good
minikube cache~/.minikube/cacheOff by default, slow to get back
Vagrant boxes~/.vagrant.d/boxesOff by default, slow to get back
Lima / Colima cache~/Library/Caches/limaOff by default, slow to get back

IDEs & dev tools13 targetsHomebrew, JetBrains, VS Code, Cursor, Playwright, Cypress, Puppeteer, Terraform, Pulumi, Helm, AWS CLI, Claude Code, Codex

Homebrew downloads$ brew cleanup --prune=all -s
JetBrains caches~/Library/Caches/JetBrains
VS Code caches~/Library/Application Support/Code/Cache~/Library/Application Support/Code/CachedData~/Library/Application Support/Code/CachedExtensionVSIXs
Cursor caches~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/Cache~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/CachedData
Playwright browsers~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright
Cypress binaries~/Library/Caches/Cypress
Puppeteer & Chrome DevTools browsers~/.cache/puppeteer~/.cache/chrome-devtools-mcp
Terraform plugin cache~/.terraform.d/plugin-cache
Pulumi plugins~/.pulumi/pluginsOff by default, slow to get back
Helm cache~/Library/Caches/helm
AWS CLI cache~/Library/Caches/aws
Claude Code scratchpads/private/tmp/claude-*Off by default, deleted for good
Codex caches~/Library/Caches/com.openai.codex~/.cache/codex-runtimes

Folders

Everything inside the folder is deleted. The folder itself stays. Entries with * delete every match.

Commands

The app runs the tool's own cleanup command and deletes nothing itself.

Never deleted

Named Docker volumes, images a container uses, and your projects with their build folders.

Install

macOS 13 or newer. One download for Apple Silicon and Intel.

Recommended

Download the app

Open the disk image and drag MacOS Flusher into Applications.

Download latest

Latest release

Terminal

One command

Downloads the latest release, checks it and copies it into Applications.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bircex/macos-flusher/main/install.sh | bash

Developers

Build from source

A Swift package with no dependencies. Needs the Xcode Command Line Tools.

git clone https://github.com/bircex/macos-flusher.git
cd macos-flusher
make install

First launch: allow the app to open

This applies only to a copy downloaded with a browser. The app is signed locally but not notarized by Apple, so macOS blocks the first launch and says the app could not be verified. The one command install skips this step.

macOS 15 Sequoia and newer

Open the app once and close the message.
Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security.
Scroll down to Security and click Open Anyway.
Confirm with your password or Touch ID.

macOS 13 Ventura and macOS 14 Sonoma

In Applications, hold Control and click MacOS Flusher.
Choose Open, then click Open in the dialog.

From Terminal, on any version

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/MacOS Flusher.app"

Verify a download

Every release ships a SHA256SUMS file. The command prints MacOS-Flusher.dmg: OK when the file is intact.

cd ~/Downloads
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/bircex/macos-flusher/releases/latest/download/SHA256SUMS
grep MacOS-Flusher.dmg SHA256SUMS | shasum -a 256 -c -

Update and uninstall

The app does not update itself. Install the new version the same way you installed the first one. The version is shown under MacOS Flusher, About MacOS Flusher in the menu bar.

To uninstall, quit the app and delete it from Applications. The app keeps no data of its own. macOS stores the window position in ~/Library/Preferences/com.bircex.MacOSFlusher.plist, which you can delete as well.

Privacy

Everything stays on your Mac. No network requests, no account, no analytics. The source code is public, so every statement here can be checked.

What the app reads

The size of each cache folder
What Docker reports as reclaimable
The size of your home folders, Applications and system folders
Total and free disk space

What the app changes

It deletes only what you select, after you confirm
It installs no helper, login item or background service
It never asks for an administrator password
It does not ask for Full Disk Access

macOS asks for access to	Used for	If you decline
Desktop folder	Size of Desktop	Counted under Everything else
Documents folder	Size of Documents	Counted under Everything else
Downloads folder	Size of Downloads	Counted under Everything else
Data from other apps	Size of app data in your Library	Counted under Everything else

FAQ

Start with the activity log. Every failed step is listed there.

macOS says the app could not be verified

The app is not notarized by Apple, and macOS blocks copies downloaded with a browser. Follow the first launch steps under Install, or install with the one line command, which skips the prompt.

A Docker cache fails with "Cannot connect to the Docker daemon"

Docker is installed but not running. Start Docker Desktop, wait until it is ready and press Scan.

A Docker cache fails with "read-only file system"

This happens after the Mac ran out of disk space while Docker was running. Docker's virtual disk switches to read-only to protect itself and stays that way, even after space is free again.

Free some space first by flushing the caches that are not from Docker.
Quit Docker Desktop and start it again.
Press Scan, then flush the Docker caches.

Databases and other containers that were writing when the disk filled up may have lost their last writes. Check them after Docker restarts.

A tool is shown as "not installed"

The app looks in /opt/homebrew/bin, /usr/local/bin, /usr/bin, /bin, ~/go/bin and ~/.cargo/bin, followed by the PATH of your login shell.

If a tool lives somewhere else, add that folder to PATH in ~/.zprofile, then quit and reopen the app.

The disk analysis stays at "Analyzing"

macOS is waiting for an answer to a folder access prompt. The prompt can be hidden behind other windows. Answer it and the analysis continues.

"Everything else" is very large

That row holds the used space the app could not attribute to a folder:

Folders you did not allow the app to read
Folders only the system can read, such as Mail and Messages data
macOS recovery and startup volumes, and swap space
Local snapshots that macOS keeps for a while after files are deleted

Sizes differ from Finder

The app measures the space files occupy on disk. Finder often shows the size of the file contents. The two differ for sparse files such as the Docker disk image, for iCloud files that are not downloaded and for files that share storage after a copy.

Less space was freed than I selected

A cache failed. Look for ERROR lines in the log.
A tool rebuilt part of its cache while the flush ran.
macOS keeps deleted files in local snapshots for a while.
Docker Desktop returns freed space to macOS with a delay. Restarting it usually helps.

A cache came back after the flush

That is expected. Caches are rebuilt the next time you install packages or build a project. Flush again when you need the space.

How are versions numbered?

Versions follow the calendar: year, month and the number of the release within that month. 2026.9.0 is the first release in September 2026 and 2026.9.3 is the fourth.

A new version is published automatically when a change to the app is merged. Each release has a disk image, a ZIP archive and a checksum file.

How do I add a target that is missing?

Adding a target is one line in Sources/MacOSFlusher/Targets.swift. Open a pull request on the project page, or open an issue with the folder or the cleanup command.