r/MacOS — [ Removed by moderator ] by u/bysiberremoved
Earliest promotion found; removed by moderator, then the stealth-PSA 1rhz7cq went up 15 minutes later - the removal precedes the framing change
ClearDisk
Quiet · Website · Source repository
MIT free macOS menu-bar app (SwiftUI, ~1,500 lines, 590 KB) dedicated to developer caches: 79 known paths (Xcode DerivedData with per-project breakdown, simulators, CocoaPods, SPM, Homebrew, npm/yarn/pnpm/bun, pip/conda, Docker, Gradle/Maven, Cargo, Go, JetBrains, plus AI-tool caches - Claude, Ollama, HuggingFace, Cursor, Windsurf) with per-cache risk levels and explanations, a project-artifact scanner across 23 project types, Trash-first deletes, disk monitor, and a storage-fill forecast. Developer ID signed, notarized, Sparkle EdDSA updates, zero telemetry, brew cask via own tap. Quiet since September 2026.
- Platforms
- Interface
- Tech stack
- Pure Swift + SwiftUI, zero external dependencies, ~1,500 lines (readme, launch posts); macOS 14+ Apple Silicon
- Features
- Dev-junk cleaning
- Its primary focus
- Development
- Unknown · leadership unknown
- License
- MITMIT (repo, launch posts)
- Price
- FreeFree and open source
- Launched
- repo_created_at
- Repo created
- GitHub stars
- 747 (as of 2026-10-31)
- First release
- Last seen alive
Checks
Mechanical checks derived from the fields above. Each row is one fact; "not yet checked" means exactly that, not a failure. There is no composite score; read them together.
| Track record | 248 days ago |
|---|---|
| Source published | Yes |
| Release signing | Notarized |
| Security contact | Not yet checked |
| Reproducible builds | Not yet checked |
| Telemetry | None |
| Runs elevated | Not yet checked |
| Auto-update channel | Signed |
| Recent activity | Last seen 54 days ago |
- Developer ID signed and notarized releases; updates via Sparkle EdDSA feed; brew cask via own tap (description, launch posts)
Relations
- peer wave dustloft, macos-sysdata
Same-lane macOS dev-cache cleaners launched within months of each other; cleardisk predates both (Feb 2026).
- peer wave DevCleaner (devcleaner.app)
ClearDisk's readme and posts claim DevCleaner 'only cleans Xcode'; DevCleaner's author dawedev replied in-thread to correct it ('it covers a lot more').
- inspired by DaisyDisk / CleanMyMac (positioning)
Readme positioning: 'DaisyDisk ($10) - shows what's big, but doesn't know what's safe to delete ... CleanMyMac ($40/yr) - bloated, expensive, trust issues ... SquirrelDisk - dead (3 years, no updates).'
Research notes
- Launch playbook is stealth-PSA: the biggest posts are framed as helpful cache-checking tips with ClearDisk slipped into a list of established tools ('i built this one') - the app never headlines the post.
- Astroturfed comment section: the r/swift launch thread has two near-identical bot praise comments ('ok this is actually really clean ... no deps + only ~1500 lines ... lowkey might install this and forget about it until my disk is screaming') posted minutes apart; readers called it out ('What in the AI slop is this comment section??').
- Numbers drift between waves: 120 GB of caches and '~18 GB' DerivedData on Mar 1 became '180GB' and '78 GB' (then '94 GB' in a same-day Xcode post) on Mar 18 - the story grows each telling.
- Craft is real despite the marketing: signed + notarized releases, Sparkle EdDSA update feed, zero telemetry, ~1,500-line dependency-free codebase, per-project DerivedData breakdown nobody else does.
- Release numbering starts at v1.5.0 the day after repo creation - earlier history lived elsewhere or versions were inflated.
- First release Mar 1, last push Sep 10 (v2.3.2) - active for six months then quiet.
Announcements
4 recorded (1 since removed)
r/MacOS — if you develop on a mac, check your build caches — they might be eating 40+ GB silently by u/bysiber
Kept as the flagship example of the stealth-PSA playbook in flags: framed as a tips post, ClearDisk appears third under 'tools that help' with '(i built this one)'
i recently looked into why my macbook was running low on space even after clearing the obvious stuff. turns out developer build caches accumulate massively over time and macOS never cleans them up. — Problem statement
hope this helps someone. i was genuinely shocked at how much space was being wasted. — Engagement hook
r/SideProject — My 256GB MacBook had 47GB free. Developer caches were eating 180GB. by u/bysiber
Canonical entry; fullest product pitch of the launch (wave 2, 2026-03-18)
Ran out of disk space last month for like the fifth time. Finally decided to actually figure out where it was all going instead of just deleting random stuff. — Problem statement
I looked for tools and found DaisyDisk ($10) which shows file sizes but doesn't know what's safe to delete, DevCleaner which only handles Xcode, and CleanMyMac ($40/year) which... yeah. — Problem statement
The whole thing is ~1,500 lines of Swift, 590 KB, no external dependencies, no network access, no telemetry. MIT licensed. — Virtue
Files go to Trash (not permanent delete) so you can recover if needed. — Trust signal
Happy to answer questions or take feature requests. — Engagement hook
r/swift — Built a native SwiftUI menu bar app for cleaning developer caches - no dependencies, ~1500 lines by u/bysiber
Kept as the archived source of the astroturfed comment section described in flags. Wave-2 post
The whole thing is pure Swift + SwiftUI with zero external dependencies. Around 1,500 lines total. — Tech bingo
Would love feedback on the SwiftUI architecture or if there are cache paths I'm missing. — Engagement hook
Sources
| URL | Role | Status | Checked | Archive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bysiber.github.io/cleardisk | homepage | 200 | ||
| github.com/bysiber/cleardisk | repo | 200 |
Established alternatives
Related tools
Wrong, stale, or missing something? Flag this listing: corrections reach the site operator, not ClearDisk's developer. Last reviewed .