Boost Your macOS Performance with These 15 Free Cleaning Apps
Let's face it: your trusty Mac can get a bit sluggish over time. It's like your digital workspace gradually accumulates clutter – unnecessary files, forgotten apps, and digital dust bunnies that slow everything down. Just as you'd tidy up your physical desk for peak productivity, your Mac deserves some TLC too.
Think about it: those pesky cache files, system junk, and app leftovers aren't just taking up space – they're potentially holding your Mac back from its full potential. Without a bit of regular digital decluttering, you might find yourself staring at the spinning beach ball more often, wondering where all your storage went, or feeling like your once-zippy Mac has lost its mojo.
Free Alternatives to Commercial macOS Cleaner Apps
That's where a good Mac cleaning routine comes in, and it doesn't have to be a chore! While CleanMyMac might be a popular option, there's a whole world of alternatives out there to explore. From hidden gems like CCleaner for Mac to powerful tools like DaisyDisk, these apps are like having a digital Marie Kondo for your computer.
These nifty helpers do more than just free up space (though that's a big perk). They can breathe new life into your Mac, potentially boosting your productivity and making your digital life smoother. Imagine faster boot times, snappier app launches, and that satisfying feeling of a well-organized system. It's not just about cleaning – it's about optimizing your digital workspace for peak performance.
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So, whether you're a creative professional juggling large files, a student with a hard drive full of research, or just someone who wants their Mac to run like new, exploring these cleaning tools could be a game-changer. With just a few clicks, you can declutter your digital life, potentially saving time and boosting your efficiency. After all, a tidy Mac is a happy Mac – and a happy Mac leads to a more productive you!
Best macOS Cleaner Apps
1- AppleJack
AppleJack is a powerful command-line tool for macOS that helps users troubleshoot and maintain their Macs, particularly when the system won't start normally. This utility operates in Single User Mode, allowing for essential repairs without requiring a full OS boot.
It's especially valuable for performing maintenance tasks when the graphical interface is inaccessible, making it an indispensable resource for addressing boot-related issues and conducting system repairs.
Features of AppleJack
- Repair Disk Permissions: AppleJack allows users to repair disk permissions easily, which can resolve issues related to file access permissions and application behavior.
- Repair Disks: It can run
fsck(file system consistency check), repairing file system errors that may prevent the system from booting correctly. - Clean Cache Files: Users can clean both user and system cache files, which may improve system performance or resolve conflicts caused by corrupted caches.
- Remove Corrupt Preference Files: If certain applications or system features aren't functioning correctly, corrupt preference files may be to blame. AppleJack helps remove them, allowing macOS to generate fresh ones.
- System Logs: The tool can clean up system log files, freeing up space and possibly improving performance.
2- Pearcleaner
Pearcleaner is a free and open-source lightweight utility designed for macOS users running PearOS, a now-discontinued macOS-inspired Linux distribution. This tool is built to help manage and clean up unnecessary files, freeing up disk space and improving system performance.
Pearcleaner’s primary focus is on automating maintenance tasks that can enhance the overall stability and speed of your system.
Features
- Signed/notarized
- Swift/SwiftUI
- Small app size
- Leftover file search for finding remaining files from previously uninstalled applications, almost instant search (~1 second)
- Sentinel monitor helper that can be enabled to watch Trash folder for deleted apps to cleanup after the fact(Extremely small (210KB) and uses ~2mb of ram to run in the background and file watch)
- Mini mode which can be enabled from Settings
- Menubar icon option
- One-Shot Mode
- Can drop apps to uninstall directly on the Pearcleaner Dock icon or the app window
- Optional Finder Extension which allows you to uninstall an app directly from Finder by
right click > Pearcleaner Uninstall - Theme System available with custom color selector
- Differentiate between regular, Safari web-apps and mobile apps with badges like web and iOS
- Has clean uninstall menu option for the Pearcleaner app itself if you want to stop using it and get rid of all files and launch items
- New feature alert on app startup
- Condition builder to easily include or exclude files from searches when file names don't match the app name/bundle id very well
- Export app file list search results
- Optional Homebrew cleanup
- Include extra directories to search for apps in
- Exclude files/folders from the leftover file search
- Custom auto-updater that pulls latest release notes and binaries from GitHub Releases (Pearcleaner should run from
/Applicationsfolder to avoid permission issues)
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3- App Eraser - macOS App Removal Tool
App Eraser helps remove unwanted macOS applications and any related files that they leave behind.
Hazem Abbas
4- mac-cleanup (Shell Script)
This is a free and open-source shell script that enables you to clean macOS apps from temporary files and cache folder that is generated by the system and other apps.
Note that, the script is deprecated by the primary developers but it still works.
What does this script clean?
- Empty the Trash on All Mounted Volumes and the Main HDD
- Clear System Log Files
- Clear Adobe Cache Files
- Cleanup iOS Applications
- Remove iOS Device Backups
- Cleanup Xcode Derived Data and Archives
- Reset iOS simulators
- Cleanup Homebrew Cache
- Cleanup Any Old Versions of Gems
- Cleanup Dangling Docker Images
- Purge Inactive Memory
- Cleanup pip cache
- Cleanup Pyenv-VirtualEnv Cache
- Cleanup npm Cache
- Cleanup Yarn Cache
- Cleanup Docker Images and Stopped Containers
- Cleanup CocoaPods Cache Files
- Cleanup composer cache
- Cleanup Dropbox cache
- Remove PhpStorm logs
- Remove Minecraft logs and cache
- Remove Steam logs and cache
- Remove Lunar Client logs and cache
- Remove Microsoft Teams logs and cache
- Remove Wget logs and hosts
- Removes Cacher logs
- Deletes Android caches
- Clears Gradle caches
- Deletes Kite logs
- Clears Go module cache
- Clears Poetry cache
Install using Homebrew
brew tap fwartner/tap
brew install fwartner/tap/mac-cleanup5- mac-cleanup-py
mac-cleanup-py is a powerful cleanup script for macOS.
This project is a rewrite of the original mac-cleanup-sh rewritten in Python.
Install using Homebrew
brew tap mac-cleanup/mac-cleanup-py
brew install mac-cleanup-pyInstall using Python
pip3 install mac-cleanupUse
$ mac-cleanup -h
usage: mac-cleanup [-h] [-n] [-u] [-c] [-p]
A Mac Cleanup Utility in Python
3.0.4
https://github.com/mac-cleanup/mac-cleanup-py
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-n, --dry-run Dry run without deleting stuff
-u, --update Update HomeBrew on cleanup
-c, --configure Configure default and custom modules
-p, --custom-path Specify path for custom modules
6- GrandPerspective
GrandPerspective is a free macOS application that visually represents your file system's disk usage. This tool aids in disk management by allowing users to easily identify space-consuming files and folders through its graphical interface.
Features
- Disk usage visualisation by way of tree maps
- Convenient navigation of views
- Preview files using Quick Look
- Reveal files and folders in the Finder
- Delete files and folders from the view
- Quick search of files by name
- Filter files and folders
- Support for hard-linked files and folders
- Support for iCloud files
- Save results of disk scanning operations
- Export scan results as text or as image
- Configurable user preferences
- Snappy and responsive GUI
- Small memory and disk footprint
- Extensive help documentation
ecstabis7- Clean-Me
Clean-Me is a free and open-source macOS system analyser and cleaner app.
Kevin-De-Koninck8- Mac Cache Cleaner
This is a free and open-source Mac Cache Cleaner that enables developers to clean their XCode derived data, Google Chrome Cache files, Homebrew temp files and missing packages and Yarn and NPM temporary caches.
kaunteya9- mac-cleaner
This is a simple free macOS CLI utility base on Spotlight search to completely remove apps & software.
bsorrentino10- mac-cleanup (Shell Script)
This is a free and open-source cleanup script for OSX.
It does the following cleanup tasks:
- Empty the Trash on all mounted volumes and the main HDD
- Clear System Log Files
- Clear Adobe Cache Files
- Cleanup iOS Applications
- Remove iOS Device Backups
- Cleanup XCode Derived Data and Archives
- Cleanup Homebrew Cache
- Cleanup any old versions of gems
- Cleanup dangling docker images
- Purge inactive memory
11- BleachBit
BleachBit is a free and open-source app that enables users on Windows, Linux and macOS to clean temporary and cache files with ease.
However, Unlike Windows and Linux versions, BleachBit only runs in command-line mode on macOS.
12- Clean Your Mac - Shell Script
This is a free and open-source shell script to clean macOS from unwanted files.
beingfranklin13- MacOS Maid
A simple yet effective script to clean macOS from temporary files.
What does it clean?
- Prompt For Password If Not Root
- Deletes Saved Wireless Networks
- Installs Needed System Updates
- Empties The Trash
- Deletes All System Logs
- Deletes The QuickLook files
- Updates And Cleans Homebrew
- Cleans Ruby
- Removes All Docker Containers
- Purges Memory
- Removes known_hosts file.
- Securely Wipe Free-space
jgamblin14- Cleaner for Xcode
This is a native app that allows users to clean macOS from XCode temporary and cache files.
waylybaye15- Cleaner for Xcode (SwiftUI version)
This app helps you to make your Xcode faster by removing unwanted and deprecated files. You can run cleaner weekly or monthly to keep your developer folder health and to save more disk space.
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