mole-analyze

name	mole-analyze
description	Use Mole to explore macOS disk usage with an interactive TUI or JSON output. Run this skill whenever the user mentions analyzing disk space, finding large files, exploring disk usage, checking storage, or using `mo analyze`. Covers overview mode, directory scanning, file navigation, large file detection, deleting files, JSON output, and custom path analysis.

Mole Analyze Skill

Author: Anton Gulin · Tool: opencode-skill-creator · GitHub: @antongulin · Registry: skills.sh

Use this skill when you need to help a user explore disk usage on macOS using Mole's analyze command.

Overview

mo analyze provides an interactive disk usage analyzer (built with Bubble Tea) that lets users navigate directories, find large files, and delete files directly. It also supports JSON output for scripting.

Command Reference

Basic Usage

mo analyze                          # Overview mode: scan Home, Library, Applications, System
mo analyze /path/to/dir             # Analyze a specific directory
mo analyze --json                   # Output analysis as JSON (no TUI)
mo analyze /Volumes/Backup          # Analyze an external drive
mo analyze --json /path             # JSON output for specific path
mo analyze --help                   # Show help

Flags

Flag	Description
--json	Output analysis as JSON instead of TUI
--help	Show help

Environment Variable

MO_ANALYZE_PATH=/custom/path mo analyze  # Set analysis path via env var

Interactive TUI Controls

When running mo analyze without --json, a full-screen TUI opens with these controls:

Key	Action
↑/↓ or j/k	Navigate entries (skips zero-size entries)
Enter or → or l/L	Enter selected directory
Esc or ← or h/H	Go back to parent directory
q or Q or Ctrl+C	Quit
r or R	Refresh/rescan current directory
t or T	Toggle large files view
Space	Toggle multi-select for batch operations
Delete or Backspace	Delete selected file(s)/dir(s) (confirms first)
o or O	Open selected file in Finder/application
f or F	Reveal selected file in Finder
p or P	Quick Look preview selected file

Multi-Select Workflow

1. Navigate to items, press Space to select each
2. Status bar shows item count and total size
3. Press Delete to remove all selected items
4. Confirm by pressing Enter

Overview Mode Entries

When run without a path argument, mo analyze enters overview mode showing:

1. Home — User home directory
2. User Library — ~/Library (renamed for clarity)
3. Applications — /Applications
4. System Library — /Library
5. Hidden Insights — System locations that silently accumulate disk usage (e.g., ~/Library/Group Containers/, Time Machine snapshots, Mail downloads, etc.)

Each is scanned asynchronously with a progress indicator.

JSON Output

When --json is passed or stdout is piped, mo analyze --json /path outputs structured JSON:

{
  "path": "/Users/username",
  "total_size": 123456789,
  "total_files": 54321,
  "entries": [
    {
      "name": "Library",
      "path": "/Users/username/Library",
      "size": 50000000,
      "is_dir": true,
      "last_access": "2026-05-10T14:30:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "large_files": [
    {
      "name": "big-file.dmg",
      "path": "/Users/username/Downloads/big-file.dmg",
      "size": 4294967296
    }
  ]

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Interactive Disk Exploration (Recommended)

mo analyze

Opens a full-screen TUI showing overview of key system directories. Navigate using keyboard controls to drill into folders, find large files, and optionally delete them.

Pattern 2: Analyze a Specific Directory

mo analyze ~/Downloads

Scans the specified directory and opens the TUI with results.

Pattern 3: JSON Output for Scripting

mo analyze --json /path/to/dir

Useful for programmatic analysis or piping to other tools.

Pattern 4: Check External Drive

mo analyze /Volumes/ExternalDrive

Analyze space usage on an external volume.

Pattern 5: Find and Remove Large Files

In the TUI:

1. Navigate to a directory
2. Press t to toggle large files view
3. Use Space to select multiple files
4. Press Delete and confirm to move to Trash

Performance Notes

• Scans are cached on disk for fast re-entry
• Large directories use parallel scanning with controlled concurrency
• Progress indicators show files scanned and bytes scanned
• Overview mode scans paths asynchronously to stay responsive

Safety Guidance

• Deleted files go to Trash (recoverable) — no --permanent flag exists here
• The delete confirmation requires pressing Enter after the prompt
• Multi-select allows batch deletion — warn about total size before confirming
• The r key refreshes the current directory (useful after deletions)
• Cache is invalidated after deletions to reflect accurate state

Exit Codes

• 0: Normal exit (quit or finished)
• 1: Path resolution error

Related Commands

• mo status — Check overall system health and disk free space
• mo clean — Clean up caches and temporary files (complementary)
• mo uninstall — Remove unused applications