A fast, safe CLI tool to recursively find and delete build artifacts and caches across multiple programming ecosystems. Reclaim hundreds of gigabytes of disk space with a single command.
brew tap moinsen-dev/tap
brew install build-cleaner
cargo install build-cleaner
git clone https://github.com/moinsen-dev/build_cleaner
cd build_cleaner
cargo build --release
# Binary is at target/release/build-cleaner
git clone https://github.com/moinsen-dev/build_cleaner
cd build_cleaner
# Install to ~/bin (no sudo required)
make install-local
# Or install to /usr/local/bin (requires sudo)
make install
# See all available targets
make help
Reclaim disk space in 3 commands:
# 1. Preview everything that can be cleaned in your projects folder (safe — nothing is deleted)
build-cleaner --dry-run ~/projects
# 2. Also include user-level caches (AI models, npm/cargo/pip caches, IDE caches)
build-cleaner --dry-run --user-caches ~/projects
# 3. When ready, delete everything (prompts for confirmation)
build-cleaner ~/projects
Other common workflows:
# Clean only stale Node.js and Rust projects (not touched in 30+ days)
build-cleaner --lang node --lang rust --min-age 30 ~/projects
# Generate a shell script to review before running
build-cleaner --script cleanup.sh ~/projects && cat cleanup.sh
# Open the web dashboard for a visual overview
build-cleaner --serve ~/projects
# Scan current directory for build artifacts
build-cleaner
# Scan a specific directory
build-cleaner /path/to/projects
# Preview what would be deleted (dry-run)
build-cleaner --dry-run
# Skip confirmation prompts
build-cleaner --yes
# Scan projects AND user caches (AI models, package managers, IDEs)
build-cleaner --user-caches
# Only scan user caches, skip project build artifacts
build-cleaner --cache-only
# Filter by cache category
build-cleaner --cache-only --cache-category ai-ml
build-cleaner --cache-only --cache-category package
build-cleaner --cache-only --cache-category ai-ml --cache-category ide
# Generate a shell script instead of deleting directly
build-cleaner --script cleanup.sh
# Review and edit the script, then run it
chmod +x cleanup.sh
./cleanup.sh
# Launch web dashboard (auto-opens browser)
build-cleaner --serve
# Use a custom port
build-cleaner --serve --port 3000
# Don't auto-open browser
build-cleaner --serve --no-open
The web UI provides:
# Only scan Node.js and Rust projects
build-cleaner --lang node --lang rust
# Only projects not modified in 30+ days
build-cleaner --min-age 30
# Only artifacts larger than 100MB
build-cleaner --min-size 100MB
# Interactive selection mode
build-cleaner --interactive
# Verbose output
build-cleaner --verbose
| Ecosystem | Config File | Artifacts Cleaned |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js | package.json |
node_modules/ |
| Rust | Cargo.toml |
target/ |
| Python | setup.py, pyproject.toml, requirements.txt |
__pycache__/, .venv/, venv/, .tox/, *.egg-info/ |
| Flutter | pubspec.yaml |
build/, .dart_tool/ |
| Java (Maven) | pom.xml |
target/ |
| Java (Gradle) | build.gradle, build.gradle.kts |
build/, .gradle/ |
| C/C++ | CMakeLists.txt, Makefile |
build/, cmake-build-*/ |
| .NET | *.csproj, *.fsproj |
bin/, obj/ |
| Go | go.mod |
(uses go clean -cache) |
| Category | Icon | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| AI/ML | --cache-category ai-ml |
Hugging Face models, Ollama, PyTorch hub, LM Studio |
| Package Managers | --cache-category package |
npm, Yarn, pnpm, Cargo, Gradle, Maven, pip, CocoaPods, RubyGems |
| Development | --cache-category dev |
Xcode DerivedData, Device Support, Archives |
| IDE | --cache-category ide |
JetBrains cache, VSCode cache, VSCode Server |
| Container | --cache-category container |
Docker (uses docker system prune -a) |
Real output from build-cleaner --dry-run ~/projects on a typical development machine:
$ build-cleaner --dry-run ~/projects
🔍 Preview of cleanable artifacts: (dry-run mode - nothing will be deleted)
1. 🦀 my-api (Rust) → target (44.9 GB)
2. 🦀 my-cli (Rust) → target (4.1 GB)
3. 🦋 my-app (Flutter) → build, .dart_tool, Pods (3.8 GB)
4. 📦 frontend (Node.js) → node_modules, .next (3.1 GB)
5. 🐍 ml (Python) → .pytest_cache, .venv, __pycache__ (2.4 GB)
6. 📦 no_thanks (Node.js) → node_modules (2.2 GB)
7. 📦 dashboard (Node.js) → node_modules, .next (1.9 GB)
8. 🦋 example (Flutter) → build, .dart_tool (1.5 GB)
9. 📦 question-forge (Node.js) → node_modules, .next (1.5 GB)
10. 🦋 mobile-app (Flutter) → build, .dart_tool, Pods (1.5 GB)
...
120. 🦋 tiny_package (Flutter) → .dart_tool (37 B)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
📊 Summary
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• 120 projects with 350 artifact directories
📂 By ecosystem:
🦀 9 Rust 102.0 GB
📦 60 Node.js 64.8 GB
🦋 30 Flutter 31.0 GB
🐍 20 Python 16.7 GB
☕ 1 Gradle 133.6 MB
🏆 Largest projects:
🥇 1. 🦀 my-api 44.9 GB
🥈 2. 🦀 my-cli 4.1 GB
🥉 3. 🦋 my-app 3.8 GB
4. 🦀 local_secrets_orchestrator 3.6 GB
5. 📦 frontend 3.1 GB
6. 🐍 ml 2.4 GB
→ Top 6 = 62.9 GB (29% of total)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
💾 Total space to reclaim: 214.6 GB
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
| Flag | Short | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
[DIRECTORY] |
— | . |
Directory to scan for projects |
--dry-run |
-n |
off | Preview what would be deleted without deleting |
--yes |
-y |
off | Skip confirmation prompts |
--interactive |
-i |
off | Interactively choose which projects to clean |
--include <PATTERN> |
— | — | Additional directory patterns to clean (repeatable) |
--exclude <PATTERN> |
— | — | Directory patterns to skip (repeatable) |
--lang <TYPE> |
-p |
all | Filter by ecosystem: node, rust, python, flutter, java-maven, java-gradle, cpp, dot-net, go (repeatable) |
--min-age <DAYS> |
— | — | Only include artifacts not modified in the last N days |
--min-size <SIZE> |
— | — | Only include artifacts above this size (e.g. 100MB, 1GB) |
--verbose |
-v |
off | Enable verbose output |
--user-caches |
-u |
off | Also scan user-level caches (AI models, package managers, IDEs) |
--cache-only |
— | off | Only scan user caches, skip project build artifacts |
--cache-category <CAT> |
— | all | Filter cache categories: ai-ml, package, dev, ide, container (repeatable) |
--script <PATH> |
— | — | Generate a shell script instead of deleting directly |
--serve |
— | off | Launch the web UI dashboard |
--port <PORT> |
— | 8080 |
Port for the web UI server |
--no-open |
— | off | Do not auto-open the browser when starting the web UI |
--help |
-h |
— | Print help |
--version |
-V |
— | Print version |
Usage: build-cleaner [OPTIONS] [DIRECTORY]
Arguments:
[DIRECTORY] Directory to scan for projects [default: .]
Options:
-n, --dry-run Preview mode - show what would be deleted
-y, --yes Skip confirmation prompts
-i, --interactive Interactive selection mode
--include <PATTERN> Additional directory patterns to clean
--exclude <PATTERN> Directory patterns to skip
-p, --lang <TYPE> Filter by project type (node, rust, python, flutter, java-maven, java-gradle, cpp, dot-net, go)
--min-age <DAYS> Only projects not modified in N days
--min-size <SIZE> Only artifacts above this size (e.g., "100MB", "1GB")
-v, --verbose Enable verbose output
-u, --user-caches Also scan user-level caches
--cache-only Only scan user caches, skip projects
--cache-category <CATEGORY> Filter cache categories (ai-ml, package, dev, ide, container)
--script <PATH> Generate shell script instead of deleting
--serve Launch web UI dashboard
--port <PORT> Port for web UI server [default: 8080]
--no-open Don't auto-open browser when starting web UI
-h, --help Print help
-V, --version Print version
package.json, Cargo.toml)node_modules/, target/)Dry-run by default awareness: The tool shows a clear summary before any deletion
Confirmation prompts: Unless --yes is specified, you must confirm before deletion
Script generation: Use --script to generate a reviewable script instead of direct deletion
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.