--- title: "Disk Housekeeper: free up disk space on your Mac · MacMelon" description: "Disk Housekeeper is a native macOS 26 disk cleaner: menu bar free space, Smart Clean for developer caches, Auto-Sort, Autopilot, and a preview before removal." url: "https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper" --- # Disk Housekeeper Make room for what matters. Clear clutter with confidence. [Get Disk Housekeeper](https://licenses.macmelon.com/checkout/disk-housekeeper-v1)[Download for Mac](https://downloads.macmelon.com/disk-housekeeper/stable/latest.dmg) $19 once macOS 26 - [Mac-first design](https://macmelon.com/privacy) - [Trash by default](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper) - [Private by design](https://macmelon.com/privacy) - [Support from the founders](https://macmelon.com/contact) What it does ## More space. Less second-guessing. A crowded Mac should not slow down your day. Disk Housekeeper brings clutter into view, helps you clear developer caches, and organizes files with rules you can review. Preview every clean and keep the option to restore files from the Trash. ## What it does ### Menu bar free space A readout in the menu bar so you can see free space without opening Storage settings. ### Smart Clean Developer caches such as npm, Gradle, Cargo, and Xcode DerivedData, and node\_modules, gathered for a clean you can inspect first. ### Auto-Sort Rules in plain English for sorting files. The preview shows what the rule matched before anything moves. ### Autopilot Watched-folder cleanup. The folder is one you choose, and a clean still previews. ### Preview, then Trash Every clean has a preview. Removals go to the Trash by default, so you can put a file back before you empty it. ### Alerts and history Low-space alerts when free space is tight, and a readable history of what the clean saved. ## A clean, in order 1. ### Read the menu bar The free-space readout is the number for this Mac. It is not a sample and not a promise about how much a clean will return. 2. ### Choose a clean or a sort Smart Clean is for developer caches and node\_modules. Auto-Sort is for plain-English filing rules. Autopilot is a folder you have decided to watch. 3. ### Read the preview Nothing is removed until you have seen the list. If a path is a project you still use, leave it. 4. ### Leave it in the Trash The default is the Trash, not a permanent delete. Empty the Trash only after you know you do not need the files. The savings history is there when you want to see what changed. ## What you can count on Useful tools, thoughtful controls, and a direct line to the people building them. ### On your Mac AccessWatch keeps your permission prompts, rules and history on the Mac. Disk Housekeeper previews disk changes. Sentinely measures memory on the Mac and asks before it changes anything. [Privacy](https://macmelon.com/privacy) ### Trash by default Disk Housekeeper always previews a clean. Removals go to the Trash by default, not to a permanent delete. Emptying the Trash is a separate step you take in Finder, after you know you still want the space. [Disk Housekeeper](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper) ### Refunds Need help with a purchase? Contact us with your app name and order reference. See our refund policy for how requests are handled. [Refund policy](https://macmelon.com/refund) ### Write to the founder Have a question or an idea? Reach Harish Ganapathi, co-founder of MacMelon, directly by email. [Contact](https://macmelon.com/contact) ### Native Mac software AccessWatch works on macOS 14 and later. Disk Housekeeper targets macOS 26. Sentinely requires macOS 26 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. Each app page states its own requirements. [The apps](https://macmelon.com/apps) Disk Housekeeper ## More space. Less second-guessing. Clear the clutter that builds up on your Mac, with a preview that keeps you in control. - See what is taking up space - Review files before every clean - Restore removals from the Trash Make it part of your day $19 ### Get Disk Housekeeper Your next step starts here. [Get Disk Housekeeper](https://licenses.macmelon.com/checkout/disk-housekeeper-v1) macOS 26 Secure checkout · [Refund policy](https://macmelon.com/refund) ## Release notes [Disk Housekeeper changelog](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper/changelog) · Version 1.0.0, released November 6, 2026 ## Questions Will Disk Housekeeper delete files immediately? No. It always previews before cleaning, and it sends removals to the Trash by default. Emptying the Trash is a separate step you take in Finder. Which caches can Smart Clean include? Developer caches such as npm, Gradle, Cargo, and Xcode DerivedData, and node\_modules. The preview lists the items for your Mac. Does it show a made-up amount of space saved? The savings history records what the app saved on your Mac. This website does not publish a sample total. Is Disk Housekeeper safe? It always previews before cleaning and sends removals to the Trash by default. A permanent delete is emptying the Trash yourself in Finder. Notarization by Apple is not claimed here until it is confirmed for the build you download. Is Disk Housekeeper free? Is there a free trial? There is no time-limited trial. Scanning, previews, the menu bar readout, Overview and low-space alerts are free, and so is your first 2 GB of cleaning. A license is $19 once for one Mac, with no subscription and no account. It unlocks cleaning past 2 GB, Autopilot and Auto-Sort. ## More about Disk Housekeeper [Version 1.0.0, released November 6, 2026 ### Disk Housekeeper changelog](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper/changelog) ## Related guides [### How to free up disk space on a Mac](https://macmelon.com/guides/how-to-free-up-disk-space-on-a-mac)[### How to clean developer files on macOS](https://macmelon.com/guides/how-to-clean-developer-files-on-macos) ## Related use cases [Start from the free-space readout, preview a Smart Clean, and leave removals in the Trash until you know the Mac still works. ### Free up space on a MacBook](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/free-up-space-on-a-macbook)[DerivedData is Xcode's build cache. Smart Clean can include it. Preview the path, then let it go to the Trash. ### Clear Xcode DerivedData](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/clear-xcode-deriveddata)[node\_modules can be reinstalled from the lockfile. Preview every copy, keep the Trash, and do not confuse it with the npm cache. ### Delete node\_modules safely](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/delete-node-modules-safely)[These caches exist so the next build does not re-download the world. Remove them only when you can afford the next download. ### Clean npm, Gradle, and Cargo caches](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/clean-developer-caches)[Describe the sort in ordinary language, then read the preview. Auto-Sort is filing. It is not the same as a delete. ### Sort Downloads with plain-English rules](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/sort-downloads-with-plain-english-rules)[Autopilot watches a folder you pick. It does not skip the preview, and it does not empty the Trash for you. ### Set up Autopilot for a watched folder](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/autopilot-watched-folder-cleanup)[The savings history is a record of cleans on your Mac. It is not a benchmark, and files still in the Trash are not free space yet. ### Read a savings history](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/read-a-savings-history) ## Related terms [Xcode's build cache: indexes, module caches, and intermediate products that the next build can recreate. ### DerivedData](https://macmelon.com/glossary/deriveddata)[The folder where a JavaScript project keeps its installed dependencies. ### node\_modules](https://macmelon.com/glossary/node-modules)[The Storage category macOS uses for files that do not fall into the named buckets. ### System Data](https://macmelon.com/glossary/system-data)[Space the system may reclaim, which is not always free for a new file right now. ### Purgeable space](https://macmelon.com/glossary/purgeable-space)[A point-in-time copy of an APFS volume, used by local Time Machine snapshots and some system updates. ### APFS snapshot](https://macmelon.com/glossary/apfs-snapshot)[Apple File System, the default format of modern Mac volumes. ### APFS](https://macmelon.com/glossary/apfs)[Apple's translucent, native design material introduced with the macOS 26 generation. ### Liquid Glass](https://macmelon.com/glossary/liquid-glass)[The system strip at the top of a Mac screen, where status items live. ### Menu bar](https://macmelon.com/glossary/menu-bar)[Files a developer tool keeps so the next build or install can skip a download or a compile. ### Developer cache](https://macmelon.com/glossary/developer-cache)[npm's on-disk store of package tarballs, reused by later installs. ### npm cache](https://macmelon.com/glossary/npm-cache)[Gradle's user-level store of dependencies and build outputs. ### Gradle cache](https://macmelon.com/glossary/gradle-cache)[Cargo's local copy of downloaded crates and related git checkouts. ### Cargo cache](https://macmelon.com/glossary/cargo-cache)[Apple's integrated development environment for building apps on Apple platforms. ### Xcode](https://macmelon.com/glossary/xcode)[The holding area macOS uses for files you have deleted but not yet erased. ### Trash](https://macmelon.com/glossary/trash)[A required look at the files a clean will touch, before anything is removed. ### Preview before cleaning](https://macmelon.com/glossary/preview-before-cleaning)[A folder you explicitly ask Autopilot to keep an eye on. ### Watched folder](https://macmelon.com/glossary/watched-folder)[Disk Housekeeper's sorter, driven by rules you write in plain English. ### Auto-Sort](https://macmelon.com/glossary/auto-sort)[Watched-folder cleanup in Disk Housekeeper, still behind a preview. In Sentinely, the memory fixes you have approved. ### Autopilot](https://macmelon.com/glossary/autopilot)[The Mac operating system release that MacMelon apps require, and the home of Liquid Glass on the Mac. ### macOS 26](https://macmelon.com/glossary/macos-26)[A notice that free space on the Mac is low, separate from actually cleaning. ### Low-space alert](https://macmelon.com/glossary/low-space-alert)[A readable record of the space Disk Housekeeper saved on your Mac. ### Savings history](https://macmelon.com/glossary/savings-history)[Disk Housekeeper's cleaner for developer caches and node\_modules, behind a preview. ### Smart Clean](https://macmelon.com/glossary/smart-clean)