Developer caches
Developer caches
Cleaning the caches, build directories and package stores that fill a developer's Mac.
Cleaning the Go modules cache on Mac: go clean -modcache and beyond
What's stored in ~/go/pkg/mod, the difference between GOPATH and GOMODCACHE, and when go clean -modcache is actually worth running.
August 30, 2026·Read →
Cleaning up old Node versions from nvm and fnm on macOS
Why every Node version installed through nvm or fnm keeps its own complete copy of npm and global packages, and how to find and remove the ones you no longer need.
August 26, 2026·Read →
Deno and Bun caches on macOS: where they live and how to clear them
How ~/.deno and ~/.bun/install/cache work, what deno cache --reload and bun pm cache rm actually do, and how the two newer JavaScript runtimes compare to npm.
August 23, 2026·Read →
Cleaning up ~/.m2: Maven's local repository on Mac
Why SNAPSHOT versions accumulate forever in Maven's local repository, how mvn dependency:purge-local-repository works, and what's safe to delete by hand.
August 18, 2026·Read →
Cleaning the Gradle cache on Mac without breaking your next build
What lives in ~/.gradle/caches, why wrapper distributions pile up separately, and when --refresh-dependencies is the better fix than deleting the cache.
August 12, 2026·Read →
CocoaPods cache cleanup on Mac: pod cache clean --all explained
Where CocoaPods stores downloaded pod sources on macOS, what pod cache clean --all removes, and the difference between source specs and pre-built pods.
August 4, 2026·Read →
VS Code's workspaceStorage folder: what it holds and when to clear it
How VS Code's per-workspace state in Application Support/Code/User/workspaceStorage accumulates, what extensions store there, and how to safely trim it.
July 31, 2026·Read →
JetBrains IDE caches on macOS: what's safe to clear per product
Where IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains IDEs store index caches on macOS, why each product keeps its own copy, and how to invalidate them safely.
July 22, 2026·Read →
Cleaning up Xcode simulators: simctl commands that actually help
How to use xcrun simctl delete unavailable and erase all to reclaim space from iOS simulator disk images without breaking Xcode's device list.
July 19, 2026·Read →
Xcode iOS DeviceSupport: why it grows and what's safe to delete
How ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport accumulates one folder per device and iOS version, and how to safely clear out the ones you no longer need.
July 16, 2026·Read →
Cleaning up old Xcode archives without losing a dSYM you need
What's actually inside a .xcarchive, where Xcode Organizer stores them on macOS, and why you should keep dSYMs even after deleting the rest.
July 13, 2026·Read →
Xcode DerivedData explained: what it is and when to delete it
What actually lives in ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData, why it grows without bound, and why deleting it is safe but not always the fix people expect.
July 9, 2026·Read →
How to actually shrink Docker.raw on macOS (the disk size setting won't)
Why lowering Docker Desktop's disk image size doesn't shrink Docker.raw, what Reset to factory defaults really does, and how to back up volumes first.
July 3, 2026·Read →
Docker Desktop cleanup on Mac: images, volumes, and build cache
How docker system prune -a --volumes actually works, why Docker Desktop still reports high disk use afterward, and why Docker.raw doesn't shrink on its own.
June 29, 2026·Read →
Homebrew cleanup on macOS: brew cleanup, autoremove, and the cache
What brew cleanup and brew autoremove actually delete, where ~/Library/Caches/Homebrew fits in, and why --prune=all matters more than people think.
June 27, 2026·Read →
Understanding the Cargo cache on macOS: registry, git, and target
What lives in ~/.cargo/registry, ~/.cargo/git, and every project's target folder, how cargo clean differs from clearing the registry cache, and when cargo-cache helps.
June 23, 2026·Read →
Cleaning up Poetry virtualenvs on macOS before they pile up
Where Poetry stores its virtual environments and cache on macOS, how poetry env remove works, and why in-project venvs behave differently from Poetry's central store.
June 22, 2026·Read →
The uv cache on macOS: what it stores and when to clean it
How uv's cache differs from pip's on macOS, what lives in ~/Library/Caches/uv, and when uv cache clean is actually the right move.
June 18, 2026·Read →
pnpm store: what it is, and how to prune it safely on macOS
How the pnpm content-addressable store works on Mac, why disk usage looks huge but is shared across projects, and when pnpm store prune actually helps.
June 14, 2026·Read →
Cleaning up pip's cache on macOS without breaking your next install
Where pip stores wheels and source builds on macOS, the real difference between pip cache purge and pip cache remove, and how it coexists with uv, Poetry, and Pipenv.
June 13, 2026·Read →
How to clean the npm cache on Mac safely (and when you actually should)
Where npm stores its cache on macOS, what verify and clean --force really do, and when a corrupted cache is causing your install failures.
June 5, 2026·Read →
Cleaning up the Yarn cache on macOS: Classic and Berry explained
Where Yarn Classic and Yarn Berry store cached packages on macOS, what yarn cache clean actually removes, and why zero-installs repos should not be cleaned at all.
May 31, 2026·Read →