MacOS Cleaner

Fast, transparent, and native macOS system cleaner and app uninstaller.
Built with Swift 6 and SwiftUI. Moves files to Trash by default — never silently destroys your data.

 

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Screenshots

📷 View all screenshots

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Key Modules

🔍 Smart Cleanup

Scans 54 categories across 1,770 rule definitions for 251 apps and 66 developer toolchains using parallel actor-based disk traversal:

• Caches & Containers — Browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Arc), messengers, system/WebKit caches, and dynamic Electron discovery.
• Developer Workspaces — Xcode DerivedData & Simulators, Android SDK/Studio, JetBrains, VS Code, Cursor, Docker, and build artifacts (Rust target, Go pkg, Python .venv, Node node_modules, Flutter/Dart).
• System Maintenance — APFS purgeable space, Time Machine local snapshots, Mail downloads, crash reports, QuickLook thumbnails, and DNS cache flushing.
• Leftovers & Junk — Orphaned remnants, .DS_Store, __MACOSX, broken symlinks, old DMGs/PKGs, large archives, and unused apps.
• Local AI Models — Detects cache/model directories from Ollama, Hugging Face, LM Studio, Jan, MLX, PyTorch, and Whisper.

🗑️ App Uninstaller

Complete application removal with deep residual detection:

• 30 Evidence Types — Correlates Bundle ID, Team ID, Spotlight metadata, Launch Services, and filesystem heuristics to find associated preferences, helpers, and caches.
• Privileged Uninstallation — Removes root-owned apps from /Applications with a single administrative authorization prompt.
• Transparency ("Why this file?") — Explains the exact forensic evidence behind every suggested residue file.
• Rollback Snapshots — Stores pre-removal states to verify complete uninstallation and assist recovery.

🧬 Duplicate File Finder

Fast, zero-dependency duplicate scanner using a 3-stage validation pipeline:

1. File size grouping
2. 4 KB header checksum
3. Full SHA-256 hash comparison with smart original selection

📁 Disk Space Analyzer

Visual directory explorer with breakdown by file types (Videos, Audio, Photos, Documents, Archives). Reveals items in Finder or moves them directly to Trash.

⚙️ Process Manager & Startup Services

• Process Manager — Live CPU, Memory, and Thread monitoring. One-click termination and force-quit with automatic protection for critical system daemons (kernel_task, launchd, WindowServer).
• Startup Services — Manages user and system LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons with vendor filtering, permission escalation, and safety locks.

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Native macOS Integrations

• 🧠 Apple Intelligence (macOS 26+) — On-device explanations powered by FoundationModels. Operates completely offline to explain what specific caches, files, or processes do before you remove them.
• 🎙️ Siri & App Intents — Native Shortcuts support. Automate cleanup routines, check available disk space, or clean developer caches via voice or scheduled workflows.
• ✨ Liquid Glass Interface — Designed specifically for macOS 27 with native materials, activity rings, and full keyboard navigation (⌘,, ⌘C, ⌘F, ⌘R).
• 🌍 10 Languages — Fully localized (English, Deutsch, 日本語, Français, 简体中文, Italiano, Português-BR, Español, Русский, Українська).

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Privacy & Safety Architecture

• 100% Offline & Private — No telemetry, analytics, tracking, or remote logging.
• Trash First — Files are moved to Trash via macOS trashItem(at:) rather than permanently destroyed.
• Fail-Closed System Boundaries — Strict path filters protect /System, /Library, /usr, /bin, ~/.ssh, and SIP locations.
• Symlink Protection — Resolves and re-verifies destination paths before any file operation to prevent directory traversal or loop traps.
• Safe Network Footprint — Only reaches the network for optional, user-initiated update checks against GitHub Releases API.

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Language: Swift 6 (Strict concurrency, actors, structured TaskGroup)
• UI: SwiftUI (@Observable, NavigationSplitView, Charts, Liquid Glass)
• Frameworks: AppIntents, FoundationModels, CryptoKit, OSLog
• Build System: XcodeGen (declarative project.yml, zero .pbxproj merge conflicts)

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🔨 Build from Source

Prerequisites: macOS 26.0+, Xcode 18+, XcodeGen

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/AlexTkDev/MacOSCleaner.git
cd MacOSCleaner/MacOSCleaner

# Generate Xcode project
xcodegen

# Open project
open MacOSCleaner.xcodeproj

Press ⌘R to build and run, or ⌘U to execute tests.

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💡 Troubleshooting

App reported damaged / Gatekeeper warning:

sudo xattr -r -c /Applications/MacOSCleaner.app

Note: This command removes extended security attributes (such as the Gatekeeper quarantine flag) set by macOS for unsigned or locally built applications. It is completely safe: it does not alter system files, grant persistent permissions, or modify the app's contents.

Viewing Application Logs: Filter logs in Console.app using subsystem input.MacOSCleaner.

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💬 Community & Feedback

• 💬 Discussions & Feature Requests: GitHub Discussions
• 🐛 Issue Tracker: GitHub Issues
• 📖 Documentation: MacOSCleaner Wiki

Note: Contributions are subject to the project's Contributor License Agreement (CLA).

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⭐️ Support & Star

Building a native, privacy-first cleaner takes continuous maintenance and testing. If MacOS Cleaner helped you reclaim disk space, giving it a ⭐️ star on GitHub helps more Mac users discover a transparent, open-source alternative:

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👨‍💻 Author

Aleksandr (AlexTkDev)

Academic or research reference: CITATION.cff

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License

Dual-licensed under:

• GNU GPLv3 + Commons Clause v1.0 (Non-Commercial) for open-source use, personal study, and community distribution. Commercial resale or re-licensing is prohibited.
• Commercial License for enterprise or proprietary distribution. Contact the author for licensing inquiries.

Trademark Notice: The license does not grant permission to use the project name ("MacOSCleaner"), logos, or branding in derivative works.