Mac Cleaner

Safely analyze and reclaim disk space on macOS. Designed for everyday Mac users — no technical knowledge required.

When to use

• - "My Mac says System Data is taking too much space"
• "How do I free up disk space?"
• "Why is my disk full?"
• "Clean up my Mac storage"
• "What's taking up space on my Mac?"

What this skill covers

Category	Safe to Clean	Notes
User Caches	✅ Yes	App temporary files
iOS Simulators

✅ Yes | Unused simulator devices | | Xcode Derived Data | ✅ Yes | Build artifacts (rebuildable) | | Browser Caches | ✅ Yes | Chrome, Safari, Firefox | | System Logs | ✅ Old only | 7+ days old, requires sudo | | Trash | ✅ Yes | Empty trash | | iOS Backups | ⚠️ Review | Check if backups are needed | | Parallels VMs | ⚠️ Review | Only if Windows not needed | | Time Machine Snapshots | ⚠️ Review | Can delete old snapshots |

NEVER delete

• - /System folder contents
• INLINECODE1 or kernel extensions
• INLINECODE2 (system databases)
• Active iOS backups you need
• Parallels VMs you use

Quick start

Analyze (safe, read-only)

CODEBLOCK0

Shows disk usage and identifies large items without making changes.

Clean (with confirmation)

CODEBLOCK1

Performs safe cleanup after user confirmation.

What gets cleaned

1. 1. User Caches (~/Library/Caches/*)

- App temporary files, thumbnails, downloaded content - Safe: apps rebuild these automatically

1. 2. Xcode Derived Data (~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/*)

- Build artifacts and intermediate files - Safe: rebuilds on next compile

1. 3. iOS Simulators (unavailable devices only)

- Old iOS simulator images - Safe: easily re-downloaded via Xcode

1. 4. Browser Caches

- Chrome, Safari, Firefox cache files - Safe: websites reload, login sessions preserved

1. 5. Old System Logs (7+ days)

- Requires sudo password - Preserves recent logs for debugging

1. 6. Trash

- Empties .Trash folder - Safe: user already chose to delete these

Manual cleanup for large items

If the script identifies large items you want to handle manually:

iOS Device Backbacks (~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup)

CODEBLOCK2

Or use Finder → Locations → [Your iPhone] → Manage Backups

Time Machine Local Snapshots

CODEBLOCK3

Parallels VMs

Open Parallels Desktop:

• - Right-click VM → Reclaim Disk Space (safest)
• Or Delete if you don't need Windows

WeChat / Large Apps

Clear from within the app:

• - WeChat: Settings → General → Storage → Manage
• Telegram: Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Usage
• Slack: Help → Troubleshooting → Clear Cache

Large folders to review manually

Path	What it is	Safe to delete?
INLINECODE6	Downloaded files	Review first
INLINECODE7

Videos | Review first | | ~/Parallels | Windows VMs | Only if not using | | ~/Library/Containers/com.tencent.xinWeChat | WeChat data | Clear from WeChat app | | ~/Library/Application Support | App data | Review per app |

Expected results

Typical cleanup results for an everyday Mac user:

• - Light user: 2-5 GB freed
• Developer: 20-50 GB freed (Xcode, simulators)
• Heavy messaging apps: 50-100 GB freed (WeChat, Telegram)
• With VMs: 50-200 GB freed (if deleting Parallels)

Troubleshooting

"Operation not permitted" errors

Grant Terminal Full Disk Access:

1. 1. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access
2. Add Terminal (or iTerm)
3. Restart terminal

Cleanup didn't free much space

Run the analyze mode again:
CODEBLOCK4

Look for:

• - iOS device backups (often 50-200GB)
• Parallels VMs (20-100GB each)
• WeChat/Telegram data (can be 100GB+)
• Time Machine snapshots (can accumulate)

These require manual review before deletion.

References

• - Apple's storage documentation: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/check-storage-space-mchlc03eb677/mac
• Safe macOS cleanup practices: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202083