One Scan, Two Drives: Finding Every Dead Project Folder Across Your Mac and PC
If you write code on a Mac laptop and a Windows desktop, you are losing more than 100GB of storage on each machine to dead developer caches. Developer tools are engineered for build speed, not disk efficiency. Xcode hoards DerivedData, Docker maintains bloated virtual disks, npm creates endless node_modules, and Visual Studio litters obj/ folders across your hard drive. Cleaning them manually requires learning dozens of terminal commands and hunting through obscure hidden directories.
What's Actually Going On
Developer caches are intentionally designed to be temporary, yet almost none of them have automated self-cleaning mechanisms.
Xcode DerivedData accumulates gigabytes of index files for projects you have not opened in two years.
Docker Desktop, Android Studio, and Node.js exist on both operating systems, quietly duplicating identical cache bloat across both platforms.
The Cross-Platform Developer Cleanup Checklist
1. Xcode DerivedData (macOS: 20GB+)
Path: ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData. Contains intermediate build products, symbol maps, and indexing data. Safe to delete whenever Xcode misbehaves or projects become stale.
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/*2. Docker Virtual Disk (Mac & Windows: 40GB+)
Compact the virtual disk image on Windows (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Docker\wsl\data\ext4.vhdx) or trim Docker.raw on macOS to recover reclaimed host SSD sectors.
3. Stale node_modules Trees (Mac & Windows: 30GB+)
Locate and delete unreferenced node_modules in projects that have not seen a Git commit in over 90 days. All packages will regenerate automatically upon running npm install.
4. Android Studio AVD & Gradle Caches (Mac & Windows: 25GB+)
Remove old emulator images and clear ~/.gradle/caches to recover gigabytes of downloaded build wrappers.
We got tired of doing this manually — that's exactly why we built Orbit.
Orbit Dev Junk Scanner detects every single one of these developer caches in a single automated scan.One More Thing
Always verify that you do not have uncommitted Git work in dirty repositories before triggering batch dependency cleanups.
While node_modules and DerivedData are 100% disposable, uncommitted code files or local .env configuration files must always be preserved.
The Verdict
Use Manual Method if: Use custom bash and PowerShell shell scripts if you love maintaining your own terminal automation across both operating systems.
Use Orbit if: Use Orbit if you want a single, safe, unified dashboard that identifies and purges developer bloat across all your machines.
Finding these files too slow?
Orbit visualizes your entire drive — Mac and Windows both — so you see exactly where space is going before you delete anything.
Continue Reading
Deleting images and containers doesn't shrink Docker's virtual disk on Windows any more than it does on Mac. Here is the WSL2 .vhdx problem and the real fix.
Read guide →node_modules Isn't Just a Mac ProblemEvery abandoned project on Windows has the same dead dependency folder as on Mac. Here is how to find every single one across your whole drive at once.
Read guide →Android Studio and Gradle Caches Are Eating 100GB on Windows TooAVD emulator images and Gradle caches pile up on Windows exactly like they do on Mac. Here is where they hide in AppData and how to reclaim the space.
Read guide →