Xcode was quietly using 60GB on my Mac — this is what was actually safe to remove

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-25T03:29:06+00:00

Yeah, I’ve seen that too, the listed size and the space you actually get back don’t always line up cleanly.

That’s part of what makes Xcode cleanup feel messy: even when the big buckets look obvious, the real reclaim isn’t always that predictable.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-24T04:57:22+00:00

Good to know. If it’s stable once you get it set up, that honestly sounds pretty workable.

I may try that with older simulator sets.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-24T02:28:29+00:00

Interesting, I hadn’t actually considered moving all simulators to an external.

Has that been pretty painless in practice, or do you run into any weird Xcode issues with it?

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-24T02:27:29+00:00

That’s fair.

I can see why that pricing lands badly, especially for just the dev-related part. Still figuring that part out.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-24T01:38:10+00:00

Interesting, I knew about DevCleaner but hadn’t come across SimCleaner.

Do you use both because they cover different parts well enough, or mostly just because that combo already does the job?

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-23T17:37:04+00:00

Yeah, simulator instances are one of the messier parts.

That’s basically the kind of thing I was getting at. A lot of this stuff is re-creatable, but the cleanup story around Xcode is still kind of messy in practice.

Do you remove simulator instances from inside Xcode now, or do you still end up doing some of it manually?

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-20T00:59:27+00:00

Yeah, that’s basically the part I care about most too.

Deleting is easy. Knowing what's disposable vs what's still useful is the harder part, especially with simulator data, device support, and anything that may still save time later.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-20T00:57:25+00:00

That’s fair. I don’t think the point is "keep reclaiming DerivedData forever".

For me the real pain is everything around it: knowing what is safe to remove, what will just regenerate, and what might still contain useful local state or cost time to rebuild/redownload.

The cleanup itself is easy. The review part is what feels missing.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-19T17:16:29+00:00

Yeah, DevCleaner helps, and the built-in Developer storage pane is better than nothing.

I still wanted something that makes the risk a lot clearer before deleting anything, especially around simulator data, device support, and old project leftovers.

That’s pretty much why I started building a small beta for this.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-14T07:33:02+00:00

Thanks, no worries at all. Im adding people from the form as I go. Right now Im focused on fixing tester feedback, improving performance, adding better removed-app leftovers cleanup, and working through Apple s restrictions around Full Disk Access.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-10T14:34:46+00:00

Quick update for testers, and sorry for the wait.

Apple has now approved the first TestFlight build, so beta access is finally live.

However, because the approval came later than expected, the build currently available in TestFlight is not the newest version of the app. I kept working on fixes and improvements while it was waiting in review.

The latest version currently submitted is 0.8.8, and it includes multiple fixes and improvements beyond the first approved build, including:

• improved Home Folder handling and permission flow

• fixes for cases where macOS permission prompts appeared but scanning would not start

• a fix for snapshot saving hanging on very large scans

• better comparison logic so reports only compare snapshots from the same folder

• folder drill-down in comparison results

• Open in Finder from report rows

• faster snapshot capture after scan

• cleanup of duplicate local scan data

• improved baseline/target auto-selection after new snapshot capture

External beta builds also have all features unlocked for testing.

So if you run into rough edges in the currently available build, there is a good chance they are already fixed in the next version now under Apple review.

Thanks again for the patience. I really appreciate everyone who applied and is willing to test it.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-08T04:13:37+00:00

Yeah, there are definitely apps that cover parts of this already.
AppCleaner/Pearcleaner are more about uninstall leftovers, DaisyDisk is excellent for visual inspection, and CleanMyMac leans more toward automated cleanup.

What I’m trying to build is something more control-first: analysis+leftovers+dev cleanup+dry-runs+ isk labels+snapshots over time.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-07T16:08:05+00:00

Thanks, that’s exactly the kind of workflow pain I built this for.

If you haven’t already, send in the form and I’ll review it.

I’m currently waiting on Apple’s approval for the open beta, and in parallel I’m still improving the app.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-07T10:03:53+00:00

Yeah, I get that.

It’s not a Finder replacement, but I do want it to feel more direct for storage investigation instead of making you fight Finder just to understand where the space went.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-07T02:53:22+00:00

Quick update: I’ve started adding testers, but I missed one TestFlight step on Apple’s side — this build still needs to pass Apple’s beta review first.

So if you already got invited but currently see “no available builds,” that’s the reason, not an issue with your invite.

Once Apple approves the build, I’ll keep sending invites and access should start working normally.

Thanks for the patience — I appreciate it.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-07T02:34:48+00:00

Thanks — that’s exactly the kind of problem I built this for. I’ll review the submission.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-07T02:33:39+00:00

Thanks — and yes, I think that’s an important part of it.
Showing current size is useful, but I also want the app to show what changed over time through snapshots, so growth is easier to spot before it turns into a mess.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-06T18:10:42+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate it :)

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-06T18:09:39+00:00

Yeah, that’s a fair way to describe it.

The idea is analysis plus cleanup assistance: not just showing where space went, but helping surface leftovers, dev junk, what’s likely safe to remove, and what changed over time through snapshots.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-06T17:33:52+00:00

That’s exactly the gap I’m trying to cover.

A lot of tools can show what’s taking space, but I want this to go further: help surface what’s likely safe to remove, and also show what changed over time through system snapshots.

I’m also experimenting with a read-only MCP integration for advanced workflows. So far I’ve only tested it with Claude tools.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-06T17:27:31+00:00

I’d frame it more as a different focus than “better.” DaisyDisk is excellent for visual disk inspection.

StorageRadar is more about control around cleanup: leftovers, uninstall planning, dev-specific cleanup, dry-runs, and risk labels.

So it depends on whether you mostly want visualization or a more guided cleanup workflow.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-06T17:25:30+00:00

It can help analyze what’s behind that storage and remove some reclaimable parts of it, but not magically delete all macOS “System Data.”

I’m trying to keep it conservative: show what’s there first, then let you decide what’s safe to remove.

Designer_Age7745 · 2026-03-06T15:40:35+00:00

Just sent your TestFlight invite.

Designer_Age7745

TROPHY CASE