Mac Storage Cleanup Command Generator
Tired of guessing cryptic terminal commands? Select whatβs taking space on your Mac, and instantly generate safe, battle-tested shell commands with dry-run support.
Developer Bloat & Build Artifacts
Creative Pro Caches & Scratch Disks
macOS System Data & Snapshots
# Generating your custom cleanup commands...
Terminal commands like rm -rf permanently erase files immediately without moving them to the macOS Trash. Review each path carefully before pasting.
Want 100% Reversible Safety?
Don't want to risk running terminal scripts?
Dusty for Mac inspects all these folders with local Gemini AI, explains what each cache does in plain English, and moves everything to the macOS Trash first. Zero risk, 1-click execution.
Understanding Mac Storage Bloat: What Really Consumes Your SSD?
Most generic cleaner utilities search for tiny browser cookie files and system logs that total less than 500MB. Meanwhile, developers and creative professionals lose 50GB to 150GB of disk space to modern frameworks, virtual machines, and scratch media caches.
1. The node_modules Paradox
Every active modern web project can accumulate 800MB to 1.5GB of nested packages. Ten abandoned projects can secretly consume 15GB+ without appearing in standard Finder storage calculations.
Read node_modules Guide →2. APFS Local Snapshots
When Time Machine is enabled, macOS automatically saves hourly delta snapshots on your boot SSD. If you delete a 40GB file, macOS often retains its blocks until you manually run tmutil.
3. Adobe & Logic Bloat
Premiere Pro conform audio files and GarageBand sound loops persist forever unless intentionally purged. A single video project can generate 40GB of background render previews.
Compare Cleaners →help_outline Frequently Asked Questions (Terminal Cleanup)
Is it safe to delete node_modules via Terminal?
Yes, deleting node_modules is 100% rebuildable as long as your project contains a package.json file. Running npm install, pnpm install, or yarn regenerates all dependencies in seconds.
What happens if I delete APFS Time Machine local snapshots?
Deleting local snapshots via tmutil deletelocalsnapshots simply removes hourly restore points stored on your internal drive. It immediately releases locked storage space and does not affect your external Time Machine backup drive.
Why use Dusty instead of manual Terminal scripts?
Terminal commands use permanent deletion (rm -rf). If you typo a directory or delete an unpushed project, your work is gone forever. Dusty moves items to the macOS Trash, locks down protected database paths, and uses Gemini AI to verify the exact purpose of every file beforehand.