Overview
.NET projects generate significant build outputs across multiple directories. Multi-project solutions multiply this, with each project having its own bin and obj folders for each build configuration.
What Cluttered Cleans
| Artifact | Description | Typical Size |
|---|---|---|
bin/ | Compiled assemblies and dependencies | 50MB - 500MB |
obj/ | Intermediate build files | 50MB - 300MB |
.vs/ | Visual Studio settings and cache | 10MB - 200MB |
TestResults/ | Test output and coverage | 10MB - 100MB |
packages/ | Legacy NuGet packages | 100MB - 1GB |
Why .NET Builds Get Large
.NET projects accumulate space from:
- Build configurations: Debug and Release each have separate outputs
- Multi-targeting: netstandard, net6.0, net8.0 multiply outputs
- Self-contained deployments: Include entire runtime
- Solution size: Large solutions have many bin/obj directories
Safety Considerations
Cluttered protects your .NET projects by:
- Detecting running dotnet processes
- Checking for active Visual Studio sessions
- Identifying recently built configurations
- Preserving published outputs
Framework Support
| Framework | Detection | Clean Support |
|---|---|---|
| .NET Core/5+ | *.csproj with SDK | Full |
| .NET Framework | *.csproj legacy | Full |
| .NET MAUI | .maui workload | Full |
| Blazor | Blazor SDK | Full |
Build Commands Comparison
| Action | dotnet CLI | Cluttered |
|---|---|---|
| Clean project | dotnet clean | Visual selection |
| Clean solution | dotnet clean sln | One-click |
| Deep clean | Manual | All at once |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will cleaning break my project?
No. Run dotnet build to rebuild. Your source code and project files remain intact.
What about the global NuGet cache?
The ~/.nuget/packages cache is shared. Cluttered Pro can analyze and clean unused packages.
Does it clean Visual Studio caches?
Project-level .vs directories can be cleaned. Global VS caches require explicit opt-in.