Xcode is pretty much cluttering up the Mac with all sorts of junk. Every iOS developer knows it. But there are a huge number of third-party applications that help clean up unnecessary garbage, old archives of apps and old operation systems (iOS, watchOS, tvOS).
But with the release of macOS Big Sur, this was no longer necessary. If you are a developer, just type “storage management” in Spotlight. Or:
🍎 > About This Mac > Storage > Manage > Developer
So then you will see all the junk that you now have on your Mac from Xcode. Pay attention to Caches, Build Data and Indexes, Project Archives.
You also can easily remove the previous iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. But don’t uninstall the most recent operating systems because you’ll need it to test your applications.
Before macOS Big Sur came out, I always used DevCleaner and Startup Disk Full Fixer. The first application allows you to clean up outdated operating systems, Derived Data, and Archives of development applications.
The second application clears partially Xcode cache and Derived Data altogether. At the same time, clearing the cache from many other applications. This app is really useful and totally free. This is not commercial because it’s a free app. I just really like it.
Take a look at the screenshot below. Derived Data is not visible after all cleansing through Storage Management. But still exists in DevCleaner and Startup Disk Full Fixer.
Therefore, personally, I keep Startup Disk Full Fixer which cleans up junk from many other applications (not only Xcode as you can see from the screenshot). But I uninstalled DevCleaner. This app served me faithfully. I even sent a donation to the developer last year. But the clock is ticking and technologies are moving.
