Storage CleanerIs iOS DeviceSupport safe to delete?
If you've developed on real iPhones for a while, ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport can quietly hold 20–50 GB. Short answer: yes, it's safe to delete folders for iOS versions you no longer run on a connected device. Here's why, and what to keep.
What's in the folder
When you connect a device to Xcode, it copies that iOS version's debug symbols to your Mac so it can symbolicate crashes and debug quickly. It creates one folder per device model and iOS build, for example iPhone15,2 18.3.1 (22D72), and each is typically 3–6 GB. Xcode never removes old ones, so every iOS update you tested on adds another.
The same thing happens for other platforms, in sibling folders: watchOS DeviceSupport, tvOS DeviceSupport and visionOS DeviceSupport.
See what's using the space
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/*DeviceSupport/* | sort -hrWhat's safe to delete
- Safe: folders for iOS versions none of your test devices run any more.
- Keep: the folder matching the iOS version on the device you debug with today. If you delete it, nothing breaks; Xcode just copies the symbols again the next time you connect, which can take several minutes.
# Delete one old version (quote the path: the names contain spaces)
rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport/iPhone15,2 17.5.1 (21F90)"Or open the folder in Finder with open ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/ and move old folders to the Trash, which lets you restore them if you change your mind.
What happens after deleting
Your apps, projects and signing are unaffected. The next time you connect a device on a deleted iOS version, Xcode shows it preparing the device and re-copies the symbols. Crash logs from that version won't symbolicate until it has.
Rather see it all at once? Storage Cleaner scans for every DeviceSupport folder by iOS version along with every other developer and AI hoard, shows when you last used each item, and cleans to the Trash with Undo. Scanning is free.
Try Storage Cleaner freeFrequently asked
Is this the same as simulator runtimes? No. DeviceSupport is for physical devices; simulators use runtimes, managed separately. See how to delete old simulator runtimes.
Why is it counted as System Data? It lives in your Library folder, which macOS's Storage panel files under System Data rather than Developer. More in why System Data is so large.