DisklyWhat Diskly will never delete
Diskly explains. You decide. That only works if everything it offers is safe to remove, so here are the lines it draws: what it will never touch, every place it measures, what it suggests there, and what rebuilds it afterwards.
The hard lines
These are never offered, never collected, and refused at the last moment even if something else asks for them.
- macOS itself. Anything under /System, and your Mac's main folders: the disk itself, Users, Applications, Library, private, Volumes, and your home folder.
- Library settings and app data. Preferences, Application Support and the rest of your Library are explained, never suggested. The only things Diskly offers inside your Library are the known rebuildable places in the table below. When you choose to uninstall an app, the Uninstaller lists that app's own files in your Library, checks each one, and starts them unticked.
- Apple's own containers. Mail, Messages, Safari, Photos and the other com.apple containers stay as they are, and so do macOS's own caches. The one folder Diskly offers in there is Mail Downloads: copies of attachments you've already opened, while the originals stay in your email.
- iPhone backups and Contacts data. Backups are measured and explained, with a pointer to Finder, where you manage them. Contacts data lives in your Library and is never offered.
- Anything an administrator installed. An app that needs a password to remove isn't taken apart piece by piece, which would leave it broken. Diskly says so and points you to Finder.
- Mount points and the Mac's standard folders. A disk or volume mounted inside a folder is never deleted as if it were a folder. Desktop, Documents, Downloads and the other folders macOS gave you are explained and opened, never removed as a whole.
- Anything whose path changed between the check and the delete. If an item has become a link to somewhere else since you chose it, it's skipped, and you're told why.
Where Diskly looks, and what it suggests there
These are the 34 places Diskly measures for its System Data breakdown. For each one, this is what Diskly offers to delete and what happens afterwards. "Nothing" means the place is measured and explained so you know what it is, with a pointer to the app or command that manages it properly.
| Place | Where | What Diskly suggests | What rebuilds it |
|---|---|---|---|
| App caches | ~/Library/Caches |
Each app's own cache folder, one suggestion per app, when it's over 20 MB. Folders that belong to macOS (com.apple and a few others) are skipped. | The app, the next time it needs them. |
| Xcode build data | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData |
The whole folder. | Xcode, on the next build. |
| Xcode device support | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport |
The whole folder. | Xcode copies the files from your iPhone or iPad again when needed. |
| Xcode archives | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is, with a note to keep the archives for versions people still use, since they're needed to read crash reports. Manage in Xcode. | Not rebuilt. They're your builds. |
| Simulators | ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in Xcode → Window → Devices and Simulators, or remove the ones for old iOS versions with xcrun simctl delete unavailable. |
Xcode creates a simulator again when you add one. |
| iOS Simulator runtimes | /System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_iOSSimulatorRuntime |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in Xcode → Settings → Components, or list them with xcrun simctl runtime list. |
Xcode downloads a runtime again if you need it. |
| iPhone and iPad backups | ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/BackupNeeds Full Disk Access |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in Finder → your device → Manage Backups. | Not rebuilt. A backup is yours to keep or remove. |
| iPhone software updates | ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates or iPad Software Updates |
The whole folder. | Downloaded again if an iPhone or iPad needs the update. |
| Mail attachments | ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail DownloadsNeeds Full Disk Access |
The whole folder: copies of attachments you've opened in Mail. | The originals stay in your email. Mail saves a copy again when you open one. |
| Docker | ~/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker/DataNeeds Full Disk Access |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in Docker Desktop, or run docker system prune, which removes stopped containers and unused images. |
Docker downloads an image again when you use it. |
| npm cache | ~/.npm/_cacache |
The whole folder. | npm, when a project needs the packages. |
| Gradle cache | ~/.gradle/caches |
The whole folder. | Gradle, on the next build. |
| Hugging Face models | ~/.cache/huggingface |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is, with a note to look first. Manage with huggingface-cli delete-cache. |
Downloaded again when a tool needs the model, which can take a long time. |
| Ollama models | ~/.ollama/models |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. List them with ollama list, then remove one with ollama rm <name>. |
Downloaded again if you pull the model. |
| LM Studio models | ~/.lmstudio/models or ~/.cache/lm-studio/models |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in LM Studio → My Models. | Downloaded again from LM Studio. |
| Messages attachments | ~/Library/Messages/AttachmentsNeeds Full Disk Access |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in Messages → Settings → General → Keep messages, or System Settings → General → Storage → Messages. | Not rebuilt. These are your photos, videos and files. |
| GarageBand sound library | /Library/Application Support/GarageBand |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in GarageBand → Sound Library → Reclaim Space. | GarageBand downloads the sounds again later. |
| Logic sound library | /Library/Application Support/Logic |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in Logic Pro → Sound Library → Reclaim Space. | Logic Pro downloads the sounds again. |
| Android emulators | ~/.android/avd |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in Android Studio → Device Manager. | Android Studio creates an emulator again when you add one. |
| Conda environments | ~/miniconda3, ~/anaconda3, ~/miniforge3 or ~/.conda |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. conda clean --all clears cached packages; remove an unused environment with conda env remove -n <name>. |
conda downloads packages again when an environment needs them. |
| Python versions (pyenv) | ~/.pyenv/versions |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. List them with pyenv versions, then pyenv uninstall <version>. |
pyenv installs a version again on request. |
| Homebrew packages | /opt/homebrew/Cellar or /usr/local/Cellar |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. brew cleanup removes old versions and downloads. |
Homebrew installs a package again on request. |
| Virtual machines | ~/Parallels, ~/Virtual Machines.localized or UTM's documents folder |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in the app that runs them (Parallels, UTM, VMware). | Not rebuilt. Each one is a whole computer. |
| Apps' private data | ~/Library/ContainersNeeds Full Disk Access |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Each sandboxed app manages its own, and Apple's own containers are never offered. | Not rebuilt. It's the apps' documents, caches and downloads. |
| Per-user caches | /var/folders/…/C (a hidden folder macOS picks for your account) |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. macOS and command-line tools keep caches here, including the compiler's module cache, and macOS clears what it can when you restart. | Rebuilt as needed by macOS and the tools that use them. |
| App support files | ~/Library/Application Support |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is, with its biggest folders listed in its details. Manage in each app's own settings; uninstalling an app with Diskly offers its folder here. | Not rebuilt. It's each app's settings, databases and downloaded content. |
| Group containers | ~/Library/Group ContainersNeeds Full Disk Access |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is, with a note to look first. Each app manages the data it shares with its own extensions and widgets. | Not rebuilt. It's the apps' own data. |
| App logs | ~/Library/Logs |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is, with a note to look first. Some apps let their logs grow for years. | Apps write new logs as they run. |
| Adobe shared files | /Library/Application Support/Adobe |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Manage in Creative Cloud → Preferences → Apps → Uninstall, or with Adobe's Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool. | Creative Cloud installs them again with an Adobe app. |
| Command Line Tools | /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Homebrew and many developer tools need them, so they're best left alone unless you don't build software. sudo rm -rf /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools removes them. |
xcode-select --install brings them back. |
| System logs | /private/var/db/diagnostics |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. macOS trims old logs itself; Console shows them. | macOS keeps a rolling window of logs as it runs. |
| System log text | /private/var/db/uuidtext |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. It belongs with the logging store above; macOS trims it itself, and Console shows it. | macOS, as part of its logging. |
| Pending macOS updates | /Library/Updates |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Installing the updates, or letting macOS finish, clears it. Manage in System Settings → General → Software Update. | Downloaded again if macOS needs the update. |
| Trash | ~/.TrashNeeds Full Disk Access |
Nothing. Shown so you know what it is. Open it in Finder, check nothing there is needed, then choose Empty Trash. | Not rebuilt. Emptying the Trash is final. |
Outside these places, Diskly suggests only two more things, both in your regular folders: an installer whose app is already installed in the same or a newer version, and an archive that has already been unpacked into a folder next to it. Everything else is explained, and the decision is yours.
If you do delete something
Checked again, right before. Every item is looked at once more the moment it's deleted, whatever confirmed it. If its app is open, or it's no longer where it was, it's skipped. If it has become a link, a mounted disk or one of your Mac's main folders, it's refused. Either way, Diskly tells you.
The Undo window. Each delete waits 8 seconds before it happens (you can change this in Settings), and you can take it back with one click or Command Z. A delete either completes or doesn't start, so nothing is left half done, even if Diskly quits.
Recently Deleted. Items skip the Trash so the space is freed straight away, and Recently Deleted keeps a record of what was removed, from where, and how much space it freed.
Something here doesn't match what you see in the app? Email hello@diskly.net.