The Cleaning Process
Cluttered's cleaning process is designed to be safe and reversible. Here's how it works:
- Select projects to clean
- Review the cleanup preview
- Confirm the deletion
- Files move to Trash (not permanently deleted)
Selecting Projects
Individual Selection
Click on project cards to select them. Selected projects show a checkmark and are highlighted.
Bulk Selection
Use keyboard shortcuts for faster selection:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘A | Select all projects |
| ⌘⇧A | Deselect all |
| Click + Shift | Select range |
Smart Selection (Pro)
Pro users can use smart filters:
- Dormant projects: Inactive for 30+ days
- Large projects: Over 1GB reclaimable
- Specific ecosystem: Just Node.js, just Rust, etc.
Preview Before Cleaning
Before any deletion, Cluttered shows:
- Total space to be recovered
- Number of projects affected
- Warnings for active projects
- List of artifacts to be removed
Always review this screen. It's your last chance to exclude projects.
Trash-First Deletion
Cluttered never permanently deletes files immediately:
- Files are moved to your system Trash
- macOS keeps Trash for 30 days by default
- You can recover any file from Trash
- Empty Trash when you're confident
Why Trash?
This approach means:
- Mistakes are recoverable
- You have a 30-day safety window
- No special "undo" system needed
- Works with macOS conventions
What Gets Cleaned
Cluttered only removes regenerable artifacts:
| Cleaned | Never Touched |
|---|---|
| node_modules | package.json |
| target/ (Rust) | Cargo.toml |
| venv/ | requirements.txt |
| DerivedData | Source files |
| build/ | Configuration |
Your source code, configuration files, and lockfiles are always preserved.
Cleaning Specific Artifacts
By default, selecting a project cleans all its artifacts. To clean selectively:
- Click the project card to expand it
- Uncheck artifacts you want to keep
- Proceed with cleaning
This is useful when you want to clean node_modules but keep .next cache.
Post-Cleanup Recovery
If you need to restore:
From Trash
- Open Finder → Go → Go to Folder
- Enter
~/.Trash - Find your artifacts
- Drag back to original location
By Reinstalling
Most artifacts can be regenerated:
# Node.js
npm install
# Rust
cargo build
# Python
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Go
go mod download
Cleaning History
Cluttered keeps a log of all cleaning operations:
- When: Date and time of cleanup
- What: Projects and artifacts cleaned
- How much: Space recovered
- Status: Whether items are still in Trash
Access history from the History tab in the sidebar.
Automation (Pro)
Pro users can automate cleaning:
Scheduled Scans
Set Cluttered to scan automatically:
- Daily, weekly, or monthly
- At a specific time
- When disk space is low
Auto-Clean Rules
Configure rules like:
- "Clean projects inactive for 60+ days"
- "Clean when reclaimable space exceeds 10GB"
- "Notify but don't auto-clean active projects"
Best Practices
- Start with dormant projects: Red indicators mean 30+ days inactive
- Review before cleaning: Always check the preview
- Don't empty Trash immediately: Wait a few days
- Clean regularly: Weekly cleaning prevents large accumulations
- Trust the safety features: Cluttered warns you for a reason