How much space does Xcode take? (Measured, 2026)

Part of our guide to why System Data is so large on Mac · Measured with Xcode 26.5 on macOS 26 · Updated September 2026

Short answer: Xcode 26.5 itself is 5.1 GB, and one iOS simulator runtime adds 8.5 GB, so a fresh install takes about 13.6 GB before you build anything. After a few months of real work, DerivedData, extra runtimes, device support files and archives commonly take Xcode's total to 30–100 GB.

Where the space goes

Part	Where	Size	Safe to delete?
Xcode app	`/Applications/Xcode.app`	5.1 GB (measured)	Only by uninstalling Xcode
Each simulator runtime	`xcrun simctl runtime list`	8.5 GB per iOS version (measured)	Yes, re-download in Xcode › Settings › Components
DerivedData	`~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData`	0.1–5 GB per project; 10–50 GB in total is common	Yes, rebuilt on the next build
Device support	`~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport`	Several GB per iOS version you've connected	Yes, recreated when you connect that device again
Simulators (devices)	`~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices`	Grows with apps and data you install in them	Unavailable ones, yes: `xcrun simctl delete unavailable`
Archives	`~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives`	Size of each build you archived	Keep the ones for versions you still support (they hold your dSYMs)
SwiftUI previews	`~/Library/Developer/Xcode/UserData/Previews`	Often several GB	Yes, recreated when you open a preview

Measure your own Xcode footprint

du -sh /Applications/Xcode.app
xcrun simctl runtime list
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/*
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/*

xcrun simctl runtime list shows each runtime with its size. The du lines break down everything Xcode keeps in your Library, which macOS counts as "System Data" in Storage settings.

How much free space do you need to install or update Xcode?

Plan for well over the app's 5.1 GB: the download is expanded into a full copy, and during an update the old and new versions exist side by side. Leaving 30–40 GB free before an update avoids most "not enough space" failures. Downloading a new simulator runtime needs roughly 8 GB more on top.

Get the space back

Delete runtimes for iOS versions you no longer test on: delete old simulator runtimes.
Clear DerivedData for projects you're not working on: clear DerivedData and simulators.
Remove device support for iOS versions you no longer own: is iOS DeviceSupport safe to delete?
Delete unavailable simulators: xcrun simctl delete unavailable.

See all of it in one list. Storage Cleaner groups Xcode's DerivedData by project with when you last built it, lists every runtime and device support folder, and cleans them to the Trash with Undo.

Try Storage Cleaner free

Frequently asked

Why does Xcode take so much space? The app itself is only 5 GB; most of the growth is build output (DerivedData), simulator runtimes (about 8 GB each) and device support files that accumulate silently.

Is 256 GB enough for Xcode? It works for one or two projects if you keep runtimes and DerivedData under control. See is 256 GB enough for programming on a Mac?

Does deleting Xcode's caches break anything? No for DerivedData, previews and unavailable simulators: they're rebuilt. The next build is slower. Keep archives for app versions you still need to symbolicate crashes for.