Sample deliverable
What a SafeDisk cleanup audit looks like.
This anonymized sample shows the style of report delivered from a read-only scan: estimated reclaimable space, risk labels, cleanup order, and what not to delete.
Estimated reclaimable
87.9 GB
Safe now
28.8 GB
Review first
65.5 GB
Summary
- Default deletion policy: move to Trash first, then empty Trash after 24-48 hours.
- File contents are not inspected; the audit uses paths, sizes, and tool categories.
- Anything marked Medium or Review should be checked against active projects before removal.
Biggest Storage Sources
| Category | Source | Size | Risk | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads | ~/Downloads | 42.0 GB | Low/Medium | Sort by size/date and move old installers, archives, videos, and duplicate downloads to Trash. |
| Xcode DerivedData | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData | 22.0 GB | Low | Safe to remove after closing Xcode; Xcode will regenerate this build cache. |
| iOS Simulators | ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator | 19.0 GB | Medium | Remove unused simulator devices/runtimes from Xcode settings or with simctl after review. |
| User Caches | ~/Library/Caches | 14.0 GB | Low/Medium | Review large app cache folders; move selected old caches to Trash rather than deleting the whole folder blindly. |
| Docker Images | docker system df | 12.2 GB | Medium | Review active containers before pruning unused images/cache/volumes. |
| Xcode Archives | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives | 8.5 GB | Medium | Review old app archives before removing; keep anything needed for symbolication or releases. |
| Homebrew Cache | ~/Library/Caches/Homebrew | 6.8 GB | Low | Run brew cleanup -n first, then brew cleanup if the preview looks reasonable. |
| node_modules | ~/dev/old-react-app/node_modules | 5.2 GB | Low/Medium | Remove only if the project is inactive or dependencies can be reinstalled with npm, pnpm, or yarn. |
Recommended Cleanup Order
- Close Xcode, Docker-dependent apps, and active terminals.
- Remove Low-risk items first, especially regenerable caches.
- Review Medium-risk items like simulators, archives, Docker volumes, and large Downloads files.
- Move files to Trash rather than permanently deleting them.
- Work normally for 24-48 hours before emptying Trash.
Useful Read-Only Checks
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator
docker system df
brew cleanup -nWant this for your Mac?
Start with the read-only scan. If it shows a real cleanup opportunity, use the $29 pilot audit or $49 standard audit to get the full cleanup order.