Contact
Questions, problems or ideas? Write to jorgeealdunate@gmail.com. It helps to include your macOS version and the Clearstack version (shown in About).
Getting started
- Open Clearstack and click Get started.
- Click Choose Home Folder… The Open panel starts in your home folder (the one with your name on it); click Allow Access. Clearstack needs this because developer tools keep their caches in your home folder, and the App Sandbox only lets Clearstack look there after you choose it.
- Clearstack scans and shows what it found. Review the list, or move everything marked Safe to Clean to the Trash.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe? Can I get my files back?
Cleaned items are moved to the Trash, so you can put anything back from the Trash in Finder. Clearstack never empties the Trash. It only offers known, rebuildable locations such as build folders and package caches, and each item is marked Safe to Clean or Check First with an explanation. Removing a cache usually means the tool rebuilds or re-downloads it the next time you use it.
Why does Clearstack ask for my home folder?
Clearstack runs in Apple's App Sandbox, which blocks apps from reading your folders until you choose them. Developer caches live in places like ~/Library/Developer, ~/.npm or ~/.gradle, so Clearstack asks for your home folder once. It only reads there, and it only moves to the Trash what you choose.
I picked the wrong folder. How do I fix it?
Open About and use the home folder access row to choose again, or click Replay onboarding.
Why isn't a project's node_modules (or target, venv…) listed?
Projects you've used recently are left alone. In Settings → Cleaning, Projects count as stale after sets how long a project must sit unused before its build folders are offered. Clearstack looks for projects in your home folder and common folders such as Developer, Projects, Code, Documents and repos.
How do I stop Clearstack from touching a folder?
Go to Settings → Cleaning → Excluded folders and add it.
How does automatic cleaning work?
Turn on Clean automatically in Settings → Cleaning and choose weekly, monthly, every 3 months or a custom interval. Only items marked Safe are moved to the Trash. Settings → History shows what was moved.
Some items say a macOS permission is needed, or show a command to copy
A few things, like some simulator data, can't be removed from inside the App Sandbox. When that happens Clearstack shows the exact Terminal command so you can run it yourself if you want to.
Can I use Clearstack from the menu bar or Shortcuts?
Yes. Turn on Keep Clearstack in the menu bar in Settings to see how much you can free and to clean Safe items in one click. The Shortcuts app has two actions: Scan for Junk and Clean Safe Junk.
The freed space doesn't match what Finder shows
macOS frees space when the Trash is emptied, and APFS can share data between copies of a file, so the number in Finder or System Settings may differ from Clearstack's estimate.
Does Clearstack collect my data?
No. Everything happens on your Mac. See the privacy policy.
Open-source credits
Clearstack is based on purge-app by Jithin Sabu, used under the MIT License. The full license text is in the app under About → Acknowledgements.