Overview

mac-cleanup-go is a terminal user interface (TUI) application designed specifically for cleaning up caches, logs, and temporary files on macOS. It provides a user-friendly way to identify and manage storage space by allowing users to preview files before deletion.

Key Features:

• Selective Cleaning: Identify and select items taking up space, allowing for manual deletion.
• Trash Management: Deleted items are typically sent to Trash, with options to permanently delete specific categories from there.
• Safety Measures: Risky categories are unselected by default, and further exclusions are automatically handled, ensuring that important files are not accidentally deleted.
• Detailed Guidance: Manual categories are available for user reference without automatic deletion, ensuring clarity on what each category includes.
• Focused Scope: Primarily targets caches, logs, temporary files, and selected app data without affecting system optimization or including uninstallers.

Usage Example

To utilize mac-cleanup-go, run the following commands to configure cleanup options and execute the cleanup:

mac-cleanup --select                   # Configure cleanup targets
mac-cleanup --clean --dry-run          # Preview cleanup report
mac-cleanup --clean                    # Execute cleanup

How It Operates

The application scans known cache, log, and temp paths across various applications and tools in parallel. It provides a preview of the items found, allowing users to exclude those they wish to keep. Targets are labeled according to their impact level:

• Safe: Auto-regenerated caches/logs.
• Moderate: Items that may require re-downloading or re-logging.
• Risky: User data that could potentially be deleted; items are excluded by default.
• Manual: Categories that do not allow automatic deletion, offering guidance instead.

Impact on Storage

mac-cleanup-go categorizes a wide variety of targets, ranging across systems, browsers, development tools, and applications. As of version 1.3.6, there are 107 total targets divided among different groups, with various methods for cleanup.

Alternatives

For users seeking different solutions, consider exploring:

• mac-cleanup-py for a Python-based cleanup script for macOS.
• Mole for deep cleaning and optimization features on Mac.

With its streamlined approach to system maintenance, mac-cleanup-go serves as an invaluable tool for managing disk space efficiently on macOS.