Tidy MacUsually safe: the Trash, old .dmg and .pkg installers, caches of apps that are closed, Xcode DerivedData, old iOS device support files, and package-manager caches. Check first: iPhone backups, Downloads, Mail attachments and Time Machine local snapshots. Leave alone: the macOS system, Docker.raw (shrink it with Docker), app containers of apps you use, and anything in /System.
- Empty the Trash and delete installers you’ve already used (.dmg, .pkg, old “Install macOS” apps).
- Clear caches of closed apps in ~/Library/Caches.
- Developers: delete Xcode DerivedData and unused simulators with xcrun simctl delete unavailable.
- Remove iPhone backups you no longer need from Finder › Manage Backups.
- Review Downloads and large files before deleting.
- Leave /System, Docker.raw and app containers alone.
Usually safe to delete
| What | Where | Comes back? |
|---|---|---|
| Trash | Dock › Trash | No |
| Old installers | Downloads, /Applications (“Install macOS…”) | No |
| App caches (closed apps) | ~/Library/Caches | Yes, slowly |
| Xcode DerivedData | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData | Yes, on next build |
| Old iOS DeviceSupport | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport | Only for devices you connect |
| npm, pip, Homebrew caches | ~/.npm, ~/Library/Caches/pip, Homebrew’s cache | Yes, on next install |
More detail: App caches · DerivedData · Package caches
Check first
- iPhone and iPad backups: delete only ones you don’t need. Where they are
- Time Machine local snapshots: thin them with tmutil rather than deleting files. How
- Downloads and large files: sort by size and decide. Find large files
- Local AI models (Ollama, LM Studio): big, but re-downloading takes time. Models
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Leave alone
- /System and the macOS volume: sealed and read-only.
- Docker.raw: use docker system prune instead. Why
- Containers and Group Containers of apps you use: they hold the app’s data.
- Anything a cleaner can’t explain.
Let Tidy Mac sort it
Tidy Mac's Clean screen sorts every item in a similar way: Safe to clear (ticked for you), Worth a look (never ticked, you decide) and Kept (shown, never removed). What you clear goes to the Trash first, with Undo in History. $9.99 once for 2 Macs. See how