clean-my-mac

Clean My Mac — macOS System Cleanup Skill

Replicates the core functionality of CleanMyMac X entirely via terminal commands. Safe, transparent, and configurable.

Quick Reference

Command	What it does
/clean-my-mac	Full system cleanup (safe defaults)
/clean-my-mac scan	Dry-run scan — shows what can be cleaned and sizes, cleans nothing
/clean-my-mac full	Aggressive cleanup including optional areas
/clean-my-mac caches	Clear user & system caches only
/clean-my-mac logs	Clear user & system logs only
/clean-my-mac xcode	Clear Xcode derived data, archives, device support
/clean-my-mac dev	Clear all dev tool caches (npm, pip, brew, yarn, cocoapods, gradle)
/clean-my-mac mail	Clear mail attachment downloads
/clean-my-mac trash	Empty all trash bins (user + external drives)
/clean-my-mac ios	Remove old iOS backups and software updates
/clean-my-mac maintenance	Run macOS periodic scripts, flush DNS, purge RAM
/clean-my-mac large-files	Find large files (>100MB) sorted by size
/clean-my-mac old-files	Find files not accessed in 6+ months over 50MB

Execution Flow

Default (/clean-my-mac with no args)

1. Pre-scan: Show current disk usage and space available
2. Scan all categories: Measure size of each cleanable area
3. Display summary table: Show each category, size, and whether it will be cleaned
4. Ask for confirmation before cleaning (unless user said "just do it" or similar)
5. Clean safe categories (see Safe vs Optional below)
6. Post-scan: Show new disk usage and total space freed
7. Report: Summary of what was cleaned

Scan Mode (/clean-my-mac scan)

Run all size checks but clean nothing. Display a full report of reclaimable space.

Full Mode (/clean-my-mac full)

Clean everything including optional/aggressive categories. Still ask before deleting iOS backups.

Cleanup Categories

Safe (cleaned by default)

These are always safe to clean — they will be regenerated as needed by macOS and apps.

1. User Caches

rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/*

2. System Caches (user-accessible)

rm -rf /Library/Caches/*

3. User Logs

rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/*

4. System Logs

sudo rm -rf /Library/Logs/*
sudo rm -rf /var/log/*.log /var/log/*.gz

5. DNS Cache

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

6. Crash Reports & Diagnostics

rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/*
rm -rf /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/*
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/CrashReporter/*

7. Saved Application State

rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/*

8. User Trash

rm -rf ~/.Trash/*

9. External Drive Trashes

sudo rm -rf /Volumes/*/.Trashes/* 2>/dev/null

10. Package Manager Caches

# npm
npm cache clean --force 2>/dev/null

# yarn
yarn cache clean 2>/dev/null

# pip
pip3 cache purge 2>/dev/null

# Homebrew (removes old versions and download cache)
brew cleanup --prune=all -s 2>/dev/null

# CocoaPods
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/CocoaPods 2>/dev/null

# Gradle
rm -rf ~/.gradle/caches/* 2>/dev/null

# Maven
rm -rf ~/.m2/repository 2>/dev/null  # Only in full mode — can be slow to re-download

11. Xcode Junk (if Xcode is installed)

rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/*
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/*
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS\ DeviceSupport/*
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Caches/*

12. macOS Maintenance Scripts

sudo periodic daily weekly monthly

13. Purge Inactive Memory

sudo purge

Optional (cleaned only in full mode or specific subcommand)

These contain user data that may or may not be wanted. Always confirm before deleting.

14. Mail Attachment Downloads

# Show size first, ask before cleaning
rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail\ Downloads/*

15. Old iOS Backups

# List backups with dates first, let user choose
ls -lht ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/
# Then remove selected or all:
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/*

16. iOS Software Updates (.ipsw files)

rm -rf ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone\ Software\ Updates/*
rm -rf ~/Library/iTunes/iPad\ Software\ Updates/*

17. Docker Cleanup (if Docker is installed)

docker system prune -a --volumes  # DESTRUCTIVE — always confirm

18. Maven Local Repository

rm -rf ~/.m2/repository  # Slow to redownload — only in full mode

Large & Old Files Scanner

Large Files (>100MB)

find ~ -type f -size +100M -not -path "*/Library/*" -not -path "*/.Trash/*" \
  -not -path "*/node_modules/*" -not -path "*/.git/*" \
  -exec ls -lhS {} + 2>/dev/null | head -30

Old Files (not accessed in 6+ months, >50MB)

find ~ -type f -size +50M -atime +180 -not -path "*/Library/*" \
  -not -path "*/.Trash/*" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" \
  -not -path "*/.git/*" \
  -exec ls -lhS {} + 2>/dev/null | head -30

Display results in a table and let user choose which to delete.

Output Format

Pre-cleanup scan table

Category                    Size        Status
─────────────────────────────────────────────────
User Caches                 5.2 GB      Will clean
System Caches               340 MB      Will clean
User Logs                   875 MB      Will clean
System Logs                 120 MB      Will clean
Saved Application State     52 KB       Will clean
Xcode DerivedData           2.1 GB      Will clean
Xcode Archives              890 MB      Will clean
npm Cache                   412 MB      Will clean
Homebrew Cache              230 MB      Will clean
pip Cache                   85 MB       Will clean
Crash Reports               12 MB       Will clean
Trash                       1.6 GB      Will clean
Mail Downloads              340 MB      Skipped (use 'full' mode)
iOS Backups                 8.2 GB      Skipped (use 'ios' subcommand)
Docker                      4.5 GB      Skipped (use 'full' mode)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total reclaimable:          ~12.1 GB (safe) / ~25.1 GB (full)

Post-cleanup summary

Cleanup complete!
  Before: 35 GB free
  After:  47 GB free
  Freed:  ~12 GB

Cleaned:
  - User & system caches
  - User & system logs
  - Xcode build data
  - Package manager caches
  - Crash reports & diagnostics
  - Trash emptied
  - DNS cache flushed
  - Memory purged
  - Maintenance scripts executed

Safety Rules

1. Never delete ~/Downloads, ~/Documents, ~/Desktop, or any user document folder contents
2. Never delete application binaries or .app bundles
3. Never strip language files or universal binary architectures (risk of breaking apps)
4. Always show sizes before cleaning
5. Always confirm before deleting iOS backups, Docker data, or mail attachments
6. Suppress errors gracefully — some paths won't exist on every system, that's fine
7. All rm commands should use 2>/dev/null to suppress "no such file" noise
8. Never run rm -rf / or any variation — all paths must be fully qualified
9. Report honestly — if something couldn't be cleaned (permissions, not found), say so

Compatibility

• macOS 12 Monterey and later
• Works on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs
• Does not require CleanMyMac X or any third-party software
• Some operations require sudo (system logs, maintenance scripts, purge)