| name | free-disk-space |
| description | Reclaim disk space on macOS by auditing and clearing build artifacts, package-manager caches, stale git worktrees, and offloading large media to an external drive. Use whenever the user complains about low storage, a full disk, "out of space" errors, or asks to clean up, offload, or free up their machine — even if they don't name specific folders. |
Free Disk Space (macOS)
Audit the disk, clear what's safely regenerable, and confirm before touching anything that isn't.
Ground rules
- Use
trash (if the CLI is available) instead of rm -rf. Accumulate in Trash; ask the user to empty it once at the end.
- Prefer a tool's own cleanup command over deleting its directories (
go clean -cache, brew cleanup --prune=all, pnpm store prune, npm cache clean --force, cargo clean).
- Measure with
df -h /System/Volumes/Data (not plain df /).
- Do not clear GUI app data.
~/Library/Caches/<App> and ~/Library/Application Support/<App> often hold logins, cookies, and history. Leave them alone unless the user names a specific app and accepts the risk. Prefer build cleanup, package-manager prune, stale worktrees, and external-drive offload instead.
Workflow
1. Assess
df -h /System/Volumes/Data; ls /Volumes. Note free space and whether an external drive is mounted.
2. Survey
Targeted du -sh ... | sort -hr — not a full scan of ~. Usual big ones:
- Build artifacts:
target/ (every worktree too), node_modules/, Xcode DerivedData
- Package-manager caches: go-build, Homebrew, pnpm/npm/pip stores — clean via CLI
- Large media: CapCut, Screen Studio, Movies, Downloads
- Report app caches / Application Support sizes only; don't auto-delete them
3. Clear safe tier without asking
Build artifacts and package-manager / language-tool caches only. Everything else (app data, media, model weights, toolchains): summarize sizes and ask, or propose offload.
4. Audit git worktrees
For each worktree: dirty? unique/unpushed commits? Clean + fully merged/pushed → git worktree remove and git branch -d (never -D). Keep and report anything dirty or ahead.
5. Offload keepers
rsync -a → verify sizes → trash original → symlink old path. Symlink individual folders, not whole special dirs like ~/Movies. Warn the app needs the drive mounted.
6. Wrap up
What freed immediately, what's in Trash, what you left alone. Ask user to empty Trash and re-check df.
