0xCodez/cleanly

Cleanly is a desktop disk-cleaning utility for Windows 10/11 and macOS that looks for reclaimable space and presents it before deleting anything. It is aimed at people who want to clear caches, temp files and downloads without a subscription, ads, or an aggressive "scareware" tone. The project is a TypeScript/Electron app combining a React interface with main-process scanners that do the actual file work (README).

What it does

The core workflow is a single scan: the app totals reclaimable space and cleans the portion it considers safe. Categories include temp files, browser caches across multiple profiles and browsers, app caches, crash reports, update leftovers, developer caches, Trash/Recycle Bin and old downloads. Each group carries a Safe, Review or Permanent label, so the user still decides what is cleared (feature list).

Alongside cleanup, Cleanly offers a space visualization of folders as bubbles, large-file and exact-duplicate discovery, startup-item toggling, and an installed-applications list that invokes the app's own uninstaller on Windows or sends it to Trash on macOS. A Protection screen merely checks that built-in security features (Defender/firewall or Gatekeeper, XProtect, SIP) are on; the README states it does not replace antivirus (README).

Safety model and its limits

The documented design distinguishes caches from user-created files: caches and temp files are permanently deleted because moving them to Trash would not free space, while large files, duplicates, old downloads and apps go to the system Trash and can be restored. The cleaner accepts only known categories, resolves every path to its full real form, and refuses drive roots, the home folder itself, Windows, Program Files, recycle-bin/system-volume folders, network paths, symlinks and junctions. Temp files touched in the last 24 hours and locked files are skipped and reported. Startup tweaks use the same setting as Task Manager, so they are reversible (safety section).

These are the author's stated rules; the README provides no independent test results or audit of the deletion logic.

Requirements and first-launch friction

Windows builds target Windows 10/11 x64 (installer or portable), and macOS builds are provided for both Apple Silicon and Intel (downloads). The builds are not signed with paid Microsoft or Apple certificates yet, so Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper will warn on first launch. On macOS the README instructs running a Terminal command to clear quarantine attributes — a step users should only take if they trust the source. The macOS build also requires running from Applications. Building from source needs Node.js 22 or newer; the macOS distribution build only runs on a Mac (build section). The repository does not declare a license, which matters if you intend to reuse or redistribute the code (repository).

The optional Assistant sends file names, paths and sizes — never file contents — to Claude or ChatGPT using the user's own API key. The app performs no analytics, and scanning is local (privacy section).