Xcode Is Eating Your Disk: DerivedData, Archives and Simulators
Xcode's disk usage concentrates in DerivedData (~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData), simulator runtimes and devices (~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator), device support, and archives. DerivedData and simulator caches are rebuildable and safe to delete. Archives are not — they're your shipped builds and dSYMs.
The map
| Path | What it is | Safe to delete? |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData | Build intermediates, indexes | Yes — rebuilt |
~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices | Simulator devices & their data | Yes — recreated |
~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Caches | Downloaded runtimes cache | Yes |
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport | Symbols per device/OS | Yes — re-created on connect |
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives | Shipped builds + dSYMs | Review — needed for crash symbolication |
DerivedData: the biggest, easiest win
DerivedData holds per-project build output and indexes. It regrows every time you build, and deleting it is the classic fix for “Xcode is being weird”. On an active machine it's routinely 10–60 GB.
You can nuke it from Terminal:
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/*
The cost: your next build is a clean build, and indexing runs again. That's it.
Simulators
Every simulator device keeps its own disk image and installed apps. Old runtimes pile up across Xcode upgrades. xcrun simctl delete unavailable removes devices whose runtimes are gone — a safe first pass.
Archives are different
Doing it with a safety net
MacCleaner classifies these for you: DerivedData, simulators and device support come up as safe to remove and pre-selected; Archives are flagged needs review and never auto-selected. You can preview every item, then choose Trash or permanent.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to delete DerivedData?
Yes. It's build output and indexes; Xcode regenerates it. Your next build is just slower.
How much space does Xcode use?
On an active development Mac, 20–100 GB is normal once DerivedData, simulators and device support are counted.
Should I delete Xcode Archives?
Only ones you no longer need. They hold the dSYMs required to symbolicate crashes from shipped builds.
See where your space actually went
MacCleaner scans read-only, shows you every file before anything is touched, and lets you choose Trash or permanent. Free for up to 500 MB of cleanup a day.
Download for Mac