Xcode taking up too much space? What to delete

Xcode is one of the hungriest apps on a Mac. The app is only the start: every build, archive, connected device and simulator leaves data behind, and it is common for Xcode to use tens of gigabytes. Here is what each part is, which parts are safe to delete, and how to delete them.

Where the space goes

Most of it is under ~/Library/Developer. To see the sizes, run:

du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/* ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/* 2>/dev/null | sort -h

1. DerivedData: safe to delete

Build products and indexes in ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData. Xcode recreates them on the next build. See how to delete DerivedData.

2. Archives: keep the ones you need

Every Product → Archive is saved in ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives. Open Window → Organizer to see them by app and date, and delete old ones there. Keep the archives, or their dSYM files, for versions people still use, so you can symbolicate their crash reports.

3. Device support files: safe to delete

Each time you connect a device running a new OS version, Xcode copies its debugging symbols to folders such as ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport, often several gigabytes per version. Delete the folders for OS versions you no longer test on. Xcode recreates a folder the next time it needs it.

4. Simulators: delete the ones you don't use

• Remove simulators whose runtime is no longer installed:

  xcrun simctl delete unavailable

• Delete individual simulators in Window → Devices and Simulators.
• Remove whole simulator runtimes you don't need, often several gigabytes each, in Xcode → Settings → Platforms (called Components in newer versions), or list and delete them with xcrun simctl runtime list and xcrun simctl runtime delete.

5. Caches: safe to delete

Xcode's own cache in ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.dt.Xcode and simulator caches in ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Caches are rebuilt as needed. Quit Xcode and the Simulator before deleting them.

6. Old copies of Xcode

If you keep older versions of Xcode side by side, such as Xcode-15.app, each one takes several gigabytes in Applications. Remove the versions you no longer build with.

Don't forget package caches

CocoaPods, Swift Package Manager, npm and Homebrew keep their own caches. See how to clear npm, Yarn, pnpm, Bun and Homebrew caches.

Clean up Xcode with Roomy

Roomy's Developer cleanup finds DerivedData, device support files, SwiftUI preview builds, the Xcode cache, simulator caches and archives in one scan. DerivedData and caches are rated Safe, device support files Review, and archives Caution, so archives are never selected for you. Its Optimize screen can also delete unavailable simulators in one click.

Frequently asked questions