Mac Sai
Also known as: Mac Clean, MacClean, mac-sai
Active · Source repository
Open-source macOS cleaner, optimizer, and malware scanner in Swift 6/SwiftUI; positioned as a free CleanMyMac alternative. ~22 modules: Smart Scan, system junk (16+ categories), large/old files, duplicate finder, disk space visualizer, app uninstaller with deleted-app leftovers, resource-hog monitor with force-quit, startup/login-item management, maintenance scripts, privacy cleanup, saved Wi-Fi management, app permissions overview, browser extensions manager, third-party app updater, secure file shredder, universal-binary thinning, menu-bar widget, and a curated adware/bundleware malware scan. Trash-first deletion, protected-paths blocklist, symlink/TOCTOU guards, 1000+ tests. Apple-notarized, in the official Homebrew cask. Renamed from Mac Clean.
- Platforms
- Interface
- Tech stack
- Swift 6, SwiftUI (repo language: Swift; 'native Swift and SwiftUI, not Electron')
- Features
- Dev-junk cleaning
- One of its features
- Development
- Lead developer + community · original author still leads
Original author iliyami (GitHub since 2016, real-name profile Iliya Mirzaei) created and still leads; community contributes PRs (top external contributor Borisserz, 43 commits) and votes on a public roadmap.
- License
- BSD
Open Source (BSD-3-Clause) per CSV; BSD-3-Clause LICENSE in repo
- Price
- Free
Free, no subscription, no IAP, no nag screens; optional buymeacoffee.com/iliyami tip link
- Launched
- May 27, 2026
repo_created_at
- Repo created
- May 27, 2026
- First release
- May 30, 2026
- Last seen alive
- Oct 31, 2026
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 | 157 days ago |
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| Source published | Yes |
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| Release signing | Notarized |
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| Security contact | Yes |
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| Reproducible builds | Not yet checked |
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| Telemetry | None |
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| Runs elevated | Only when needed |
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| Auto-update channel | None |
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| Recent activity | Seen today |
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- Release CI codesigns, notarizes, and staples the DMG (.github/workflows/release.yml, scripts/build-dmg.sh --notarize); the launch-era 'not paying Apple $99' stance had flipped to Developer ID notarization by September
- Also distributed through the official Homebrew cask (brew install --cask mac-sai, verified 2026-10-31)
- SECURITY.md routes reports through GitHub private vulnerability reporting with a 72-hour response commitment; it also documents the app's complete outbound-call surface
- No telemetry SDKs in Package.swift or Sources/ (grep, verified 2026-10-31). The only outbound calls per SECURITY.md: the manual update check, third-party apps' update feeds, and the opt-in MalwareBazaar hash download
- Deletion runs at user privilege; maintenance commands use the standard macOS administrator prompt (SECURITY.md)
- No self-updater: 'Check for updates' is manual-only (never at launch) and links to the GitHub release page; updates install via the Homebrew cask or the notarized DMG
Relations
- inspired by CleanMyMac
I took the handful of tools I actually use (from CleanMyMac, OnyX, Pearcleaner and others) and put them in one native app.
Research notes
- Renamed mid-flight: launched May 30 2026 as 'Mac Clean' (github.com/iliyami/MacClean, brew tap iliyami/macclean), renamed to Mac Sai before the September post ('a few of you might remember it as Mac Clean; same project, I just renamed it').
- History pruning: GitHub release objects before v1.16.0 were deleted; tags still reach back to v1.0.0.
- Notarization flip-flop: May 30 launch says 'Not Apple notarized, I wasn't paying Apple $99/year for a free OSS project'; by September the app is Apple-notarized and in the official Homebrew cask.
- Adoption outlier for the catalog: 2,042 stars, 126 forks - an order of magnitude above the wave's norm.
- Very rapid release cadence: '30-something releases in the last week' per the June post; 53 tags total.
Announcements
3 recorded
Sep 22, 2026 r/macapps — [OS] Mac Sai: a free and open source Mac cleaner and optimizer, no telemetry, no subscription by u/iliyami
Canonical entry from the project CSV; gallery post. The 'proper write-up' after passing 1.6k stars.
Quick disclosure so this is above board: I'm the creator and main maintainer, It's free and open source, no catch, and I'll be upfront about the weak spots too. — Intro cliche
Like a lot of you I've used CleanMyMac. Good app. I just didn't love paying a yearly subscription for something I reach for a few times a year. — Problem statement
Plenty of "cleaners" are snake oil or actively harmful. So this one is deliberately boring about safety — Problem statement
it moves files to the Trash instead of hard-deleting, it refuses to touch SIP-protected and system paths, and you review and confirm everything before anything is removed. — Trust signal
No telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting, no ads, no account, no third-party SDKs of any kind. Grep the repo, you won't find any. Mac Sai has no server. There is nowhere for it to phone home to. — Trust signal
native Swift and SwiftUI, not Electron — Tech bingo
Roast the code, it's all right there. — Engagement hook
if you feel like buying me a coffee, I would genuinely love that. It's the runtime dependency this whole thing secretly builds on, and every cup roughly compiles into a few more commits — Engagement hook
May 30, 2026 r/MacOS — Built a free, open-source CleanMyMac alternative because I was tired of the subscription by u/iliyami
Earliest author promotion found, 3 days after repo creation, under the original name Mac Clean.
CleanMyMac wanted $40 to renew. I cancelled, then realized I actually used the thing. So I spent three weekends writing my own. — Problem statement
Swift 6, BSD-3 licensed, zero telemetry, no subscription, no nag screens. — Virtue
Not Apple notarized, I wasn't paying Apple $99/year for a free OSS project. It's a v1, so honest feedback welcome. — Trust signal
Jun 5, 2026 r/macapps — [OS] Found 40GB of junk I couldn't see, so I built (and open sourced) the cleaner that found it by u/iliyami
Kept for the honest malware-scan scope in the author's own words; still under the name Mac Clean.
didn't want to pay another 40 bucks subscription — Problem statement
and that's how Mac Clean was born a while ago! — Intro cliche
there's a malware scan, but it's a curated list of known adware/bundleware families plus a few launch-agent heuristics. It catches common junk, it is not an antivirus, and I won't pretend it is. — Trust signal
Any suggestion, feedbacks and PR are more than welcome — Engagement hook
Sources
Wrong, stale, or missing something? Flag this listing: corrections reach the site operator, not Mac Sai's developer.