Guides: free up space on a developer's Mac

Step-by-step guides for the folders that fill developer Macs: local AI models, Xcode, node_modules, package caches and Docker. Every command is tested on current macOS and Xcode, and every size is measured.

Start here

• Why is System Data so large on a developer's Mac?Every developer culprit, with paths, typical sizes and what's safe.
• Mac developer storage statistics 2026Measured sizes of models, Xcode, npm, Python and Docker, with sources.
• Is 256 GB enough for programming on a Mac?What fits, what doesn't, by kind of development.
• Mac cleaner for developers: what to look forSafety labels, last-used dates, Undo and pricing.

Local AI models

• Ollama model sizes in GBDownload size of every popular Ollama model, from the registry.
• How much disk space do local LLMs need on a Mac?Model sizes, duplicates across tools and how much to leave free.
• How to delete Ollama models on MacList, remove and understand shared layers.
• Move Ollama models to an external driveOLLAMA_MODELS, step by step.
• Where LM Studio stores models on MacFind, move and delete LM Studio models.
• Hugging Face cache on MacWhere MLX and transformers models live and how to clear them.

Xcode and Apple development

• How much space does Xcode take?Measured: the app, simulator runtimes, DerivedData and more.
• Clear Xcode DerivedData and simulatorsWhat each folder is and the commands to clear it.
• Delete old iOS simulator runtimesxcrun simctl runtime, safely.
• Is iOS DeviceSupport safe to delete?What it holds and when it comes back.
• What's safe to delete in ~/Library/DeveloperFolder by folder.

Is it safe to delete…?

• Is it safe to delete ~/Library/Caches on Mac?Yes, with two exceptions. What rebuilds and what to keep.
• Is it safe to delete Application Support on Mac?No, not as a whole. Which folders you can remove.
• Is it safe to delete ~/Library/Containers?No. What's inside and how to clean up after uninstalled apps.
• Is it safe to delete ~/Library/Logs?Yes. What logs and crash reports are for, and how to clear them.
• Is it safe to delete CoreSimulator Devices?Only through simctl. Delete unavailable and unused simulators safely.

JavaScript, Python and Docker

• Delete node_modules everywhereFind every node_modules folder and remove the ones you don't need.
• Clear npm, pip, Homebrew and other cachesCommands for every package manager.
• Shrink Docker.raw on MacWhy it grows and how to get the space back.