# cleanup-cache

Cleans npm, Homebrew, Yarn, browser, and ML caches to free up drive space. Helps recover storage using three different cleaning modes.

- command · `type=command` · Claude Code · 416 installs
- Author: davila7
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/davila7/claude-code-templates/tree/HEAD/cli-tool/components/commands/utilities/cleanup-cache.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/commands/cleanup-cache

## What it does

The command removes cached files across common development tools using `df`, `du`, `rm`, and `find`. It checks available root drive space before running `npm cache clean --force` and `brew cleanup`, then removes the Yarn cache directory. Once finished, Claude Code prints the updated drive stats alongside the total space freed.

Passing `--aggressive` expands targets to include caches from desktop browsers, JetBrains IDEs, and `pnpm`, as well as ML files from PyTorch, Whisper, uv, and Hugging Face. The `--maximum` flag executes `docker system prune -af --volumes` to wipe unused containers and volumes, then lists the first 20 `node_modules` folders for manual review.

Cache targets rely directly on macOS directory conventions like `~/Library/Caches`. Running this command on standard Linux environments will harmlessly skip missing browser and Yarn paths.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **claude-code-templates**
```bash
npx claude-code-templates@latest --command utilities/cleanup-cache
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.claude/commands/cleanup-cache.md` — Call it with /cleanup-cache. For all projects use ~/.claude/commands/

### Codex

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.codex/prompts/cleanup-cache.md` — Call it with /prompts:cleanup-cache. Codex marks this format deprecated in favour of skills

### GitHub Copilot

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/prompts/cleanup-cache.prompt.md`

### Gemini CLI

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.gemini/commands/cleanup-cache.toml` — Gemini stores commands as TOML: the prompt text goes into the prompt field

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/davila7/claude-code-templates/tree/HEAD/cli-tool/components/commands/utilities/cleanup-cache.md

## When to use it
- Free disk space by clearing npm, Yarn, and Homebrew package manager caches
- Remove accumulated browser cache files from Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Arc
- Wipe temporary directories left by JetBrains IDEs, pnpm, Puppeteer, and Selenium
- Reclaim storage by deleting cached Hugging Face, PyTorch, and Whisper models
- Prune unused Docker containers and volumes before manually reviewing node_modules

## Example prompts
- Clean standard package manager caches using /cleanup-cache
- Delete browser and machine learning model caches with /cleanup-cache --aggressive
- Trigger a deep cleanup including unused Docker resources via /cleanup-cache --maximum

## Source text · cleanup-cache.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 8059ec179ce46363.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 8059ec179ce46363
````text
---
allowed-tools: Bash(df:*), Bash(du:*), Bash(npm cache clean:*), Bash(brew cleanup:*), Bash(rm:*), Bash(find:*), Bash(docker system prune:*)
argument-hint: "[--aggressive] | [--maximum]"
description: Clean system caches (npm, Homebrew, Yarn, browsers, Python/ML) to free disk space
---

# System Cache Cleanup

Clean temporary files and caches to free disk space: $ARGUMENTS

## Current Disk Usage

- **Disk space**: !`df -h / | tail -1`
- **npm cache**: !`du -sh ~/.npm 2>/dev/null || echo "Not found"`
- **Yarn cache**: !`du -sh ~/Library/Caches/Yarn 2>/dev/null || echo "Not found"`
- **Homebrew cache**: !`brew cleanup -n 2>/dev/null | head -5 || echo "Homebrew not installed"`

## Cleanup Options

Based on the arguments provided, execute the appropriate cleanup level:

### Option 1: Conservative Cleanup (default)

Safe cleanup of package manager caches that can be easily rebuilt:

```bash
# Record starting disk space
echo "Starting cleanup..."
df -h / | tail -1 | awk '{print "Before: " $4 " free"}'

# Clean npm cache
echo "Cleaning npm cache..."
npm cache clean --force

# Clean Homebrew
echo "Cleaning Homebrew..."
brew cleanup

# Clean Yarn cache
echo "Cleaning Yarn cache..."
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Yarn

# Show results
df -h / | tail -1 | awk '{print "After: " $4 " free"}'
```

### Option 2: Aggressive Cleanup (--aggressive flag)

Includes all conservative cleanup plus browser and development tool caches:

```bash
# Run conservative cleanup first (from Option 1)
npm cache clean --force
brew cleanup
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Yarn

# Clean browser caches
echo "Cleaning browser caches..."
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Google
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.operasoftware.Opera
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Firefox
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Mozilla
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/zen
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Arc

# Clean development tool caches
echo "Cleaning development caches..."
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/JetBrains
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/pnpm
rm -rf ~/.cache/puppeteer
rm -rf ~/.cache/selenium

# Clean Python/ML caches
echo "Cleaning Python/ML caches..."
rm -rf ~/.cache/uv
rm -rf ~/.cache/huggingface
rm -rf ~/.cache/torch
rm -rf ~/.cache/whisper

# Show results
df -h / | tail -1 | awk '{print "After aggressive cleanup: " $4 " free"}'
```

### Option 3: Maximum Cleanup (--maximum flag)

Includes all aggressive cleanup plus Docker and old node_modules:

```bash
# Run aggressive cleanup first (from Option 2)
npm cache clean --force
brew cleanup
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Yarn
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/{Google,com.operasoftware.Opera,Firefox,Mozilla,zen,Arc,JetBrains,pnpm}
rm -rf ~/.cache/{puppeteer,selenium,uv,huggingface,torch,whisper}

# Clean Docker (if installed)
echo "Cleaning Docker..."
docker system prune -af --volumes 2>/dev/null || echo "Docker not running or not installed"

# List node_modules directories for manual review
echo "Finding node_modules directories..."
echo "Note: Not auto-deleting. Review and delete manually if needed."
find ~ -name "node_modules" -type d -prune 2>/dev/null | head -20

# Show results
df -h / | tail -1 | awk '{print "After maximum cleanup: " $4 " free"}'
```

## Execution Steps

1. **Determine Cleanup Level**
   - No arguments or empty: Run Conservative Cleanup (Option 1)
   - `--aggressive`: Run Aggressive Cleanup (Option 2)
   - `--maximum`: Run Maximum Cleanup (Option 3)

2. **Safety Checks**
   - Verify sufficient permissions
   - Ensure critical applications are closed (browsers for Option 2+)
   - Warn about Docker containers being removed (Option 3)

3. **Execute Cleanup**
   - Run appropriate commands based on the selected option
   - Show progress for each cleanup step
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 8059ec179ce46363

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