FAQ

What does MacOSCleaner do?

Scans the system for caches, logs, and other removable content, lets you review everything before deleting, and provides an uninstaller, duplicate file finder, disk space analyzer, process manager, and startup services manager.

Is it safe?

Everything is reviewed manually. Files are moved to Trash first (recoverable), critical system paths are blocked, and risky categories are pre-unselected. See Privacy and Safety.

Does it need Full Disk Access?

Yes. Full Disk Access is required to scan system cache directories. The app requests it on first launch. Without it, scanning is limited to user-accessible paths, and guidance is shown if access is later revoked.

Does it collect data?

No telemetry. The only network access is the update check against GitHub Releases. Apple Intelligence explanations run on-device. See Privacy and Safety.

Which macOS versions are supported?

macOS 26.0 or later, Apple Silicon only.

Why 26.0+? What about older Macs?

The app relies on Swift 6 concurrency features and, for AI explanations, the FoundationModels framework, which requires macOS 26.0. Older macOS versions are not supported.

Does it require Apple Intelligence / on-device models?

No. AI explanations are optional and can be disabled in Settings. All other features work without it.

Can I use Siri or Shortcuts to run cleanup?

Yes. See Siri & Automation for commands, and enable or disable each command in Settings → Automation.

Can I undo a cleanup?

Files are moved to Trash, so they can be restored from Trash. If "Empty Trash During Cleanup" or "Empty Trash Immediately" is enabled, files are permanently deleted and cannot be restored.

What's the difference between Safe, Moderate, Dangerous, and Protected categories?

• Safe — temporary data
• Moderate — may affect app startup speed
• Dangerous — may reset preferences or require re-login
• Protected — system-protected, cannot be deleted

How does the duplicate finder decide which file to keep?

By default the "Keep Oldest" strategy keeps the file with the oldest modification date. You can switch to Keep Newest, select all, or override the selection per file. Only files with identical SHA-256 hashes are considered duplicates.

What are orphaned residuals?

When an app is deleted, it often leaves behind preferences, caches, and support files. The orphan scanner finds these remnants, scores them by evidence (bundle ID, plist, containers, file patterns), and assigns a confidence tier. Only items scoring "Very Likely" are shown in results.

What are project build artifacts?

Build output directories (e.g., Xcode DerivedData project folders, Swift Package Manager .build, CocoaPods Pods/) that accumulate over time. The cleanup category is opt-in and age-based: artifacts older than a configurable threshold (default 60 days) are eligible for removal. Configure the age in Settings → Cleanup.

Can I use Touch ID for sudo?

The Settings → General panel detects whether Touch ID for sudo is available and enabled, and provides the command to set it up. You run it in Terminal yourself — macOS 26 SIP blocks apps from writing /private/etc/pam.d/sudo_local directly, even as root.

Why can't I delete some startup services?

System services (owned by macOS) are protected. Third-party services can be loaded or unloaded after confirmation.

What happens if I block/unblock a process?

Whitelisted processes can never be terminated. Blacklisted processes are marked for quick termination, optionally with auto-kill.

The app says "AI/LLM model stores" is not selected. Why?

Model weights downloaded by tools like Ollama or LM Studio are your personal data. The category is opt-in: it must be explicitly selected, and individual files confirmed, before anything is removed.

Where does the app get its data about apps?

From a bundled catalog (2,343 path definitions for 304 apps and 92 toolchains) plus live filesystem evidence. See Architecture.

Is the uninstaller complete for every app?

No. Some apps have known difficult-to-remove components. The uninstaller shows a difficulty rating (Critical/High/Medium/Low) per app so you can decide whether manual review is needed.

Can I translate the app?

The UI is localized into 14 languages: English, Русский, Українська, Deutsch, Français, Español, Italiano, 日本語, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 한국어, Polski, Português (Brasil), العربية. Pull requests adding or fixing translations are welcome. See Contributing.

Where do I see what was cleaned?

Every cleanup is recorded. Recent operations are shown on the Dashboard; press ⌘Y to open the full cleanup history with search and sorting.

How do I report a bug or suggest a feature?

Open an issue at github.com/AlexTkDev/MacOSCleaner/issues.

Is there a paid version?

No. The app is open source under the GPL-3.0 + Commons Clause license. See the LICENSE.