Purge: Uninstaller for macOS That Goes Deep

#macos #cli #opensource

Purge: A CLI Uninstaller for macOS That Goes Deep

Dragging apps to the trash on macOS leaves behind preferences, caches, and support files that waste space and can cause conflicts. purge (or prg) is a command-line tool that finds and removes all these hidden files.

Key Features

Smart Detection: Extracts app identifiers from Info.plist files
Thorough Scanning: Searches all standard macOS system locations
Interactive Selection: Choose which files to keep or delete
Self-Contained: Single binary with no runtime dependencies
Coming Soon: Dry-run mode to preview without deleting

Installation

# Via Homebrew
brew tap wess/packages
brew install purge

# Or manually
git clone https://github.com/wess/purge.git
cd purge
npm install
npm run build:mac
ln -sf "$(pwd)/dist/prg-macos-$(uname -m)" /usr/local/bin/prg

Latest releases can also be downloaded at https://github.com/wess/purge (throw a star!)

Usage

prg /Applications/SomeApp.app

An interactive checklist appears with all related files. Uncheck items to keep, press Enter to trash the rest.

Options:

-n, --dry-run: Preview files without deleting (coming soon)
-h, --help: Show help information

How It Works

Reads the app's metadata to find identifiers
Scans system folders where apps store their data
Matches files based on naming patterns
Displays all candidates for your review before deleting

Why Use Purge?

Clean System: Recover space from hidden caches and support files
Prevent Conflicts: Avoid issues when reinstalling applications
Terminal Efficiency: Perfect for command-line workflows and scripts
Complete Control: See exactly what's being removed

Join the Community

purge is open-source on GitHub. Issues, feature suggestions, and pull requests are welcome!

What leftover app files are hiding on your Mac? Try purge and let us know what you discover!

DEV Community