Purge

Purge is a free and open-source programme for the Mac that helps you to free up some storage space by locating unnecessary files, leftover files from apps, and all other kinds of clutter; it shows you the items that are using up space and then allows you to choose what to delete.

Features

• Junk cleanup: Locate and delete app caches, logs, temporary files, and outdated installers.
• Developer cleanup: Remove the Xcode build data, the unused simulators, the package-manager caches, the stale project files, and the orphaned Git worktrees.
• Large file finder: This tool allows you to identify the files that are using the most storage on your Mac.
• Duplicate finder: A tool that detects files which are duplicates and therefore using up unnecessary disk space.
• App leftovers: This refers to the files that remain after you have uninstalled an app.
• For scheduled cleaning: Automatically delete those items that have been marked as safe to clean.
• Cleanup history: Record the results of previous scans and cleanups.

Safe cleaning

The programme divides the files into two categories, 'Safe to Clean' and 'Check First', so that you can better understand which files you are deleting.

The majority of files are sent to the Trash rather than being permanently deleted so that they can be restored if necessary. However, some system items, such as simulator runtimes and Time Machine snapshots, cannot be recovered from the Trash.

Purge is especially useful to developers who regularly build up build files and caches, but it can also be of benefit to anyone who is running low on Mac storage.