Mole

Mac disk cleanup and app removal from one mo command

Mole is a macOS command-line tool for getting disk space back. mo clean clears caches, logs and temporary files, mo uninstall removes an app along with the files Mole can trace back to it, and mo purge deletes build artifacts from code projects. The same mo command also opens a disk explorer and a live system dashboard in the terminal. This repository holds only the free CLI, and brew install mole installs nothing else.

Dry-run previews and purges that spare Git repos

• Preview before delete: clean, uninstall, optimize, purge, installer and slim take --dry-run. Every cleanup goes into a log that mo history reads back.
• Personal data survives uninstalls: mo uninstall removes the app, its LaunchAgents and the leftovers Mole can tie to it. Settings and plugins stay by default; press D or pass --with-data to include them. Files that another installed copy still uses are left alone.
• Build purges that respect Git: mo purge groups node_modules, target, .build, build and dist folders by project. Anything touched in the last 7 days starts unselected, and folders holding Git-tracked files, a nested Git repository or a deployment keypair are protected.
• Keyboard-driven disk explorer: mo analyze moves with arrow keys or Vim keys, filters, multi-selects and sends items to the Trash after confirmation.
• System health a script can read: mo status is a read-only view of CPU, memory, disk, network, battery and processes, with a health score. mo status --json, mo analyze --json and mo history --json print JSON, and mo status --watch streams NDJSON.
• Intel code stripped from universal apps: on Apple Silicon, mo slim thins a copy of the app and swaps it in only after the copy passes code signing and Gatekeeper checks. The app's next update brings the Intel code back.

Permanent deletes and a paid app beside the GPL CLI

clean, purge and installer delete permanently. uninstall, analyze and slim send what they remove to the Trash after confirmation. mo clean also empties ~/.Trash by default unless Trash is ticked in mo clean --whitelist. The project site warns that a dry run previews a deletion but cannot undo it.

macOS 12 or later, with Windows on its own branch. The main branch, a Bash script backed by two Go binaries (analyze and status), targets Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. The Windows CLI, which the site lists for Windows 10 and 11, lives on the windows branch with its own version numbers.

Pitched as CleanMyMac, AppCleaner, DaisyDisk and iStat Menus in one command. The README makes that comparison itself. The site adds App Cleaner & Uninstaller and Sensei to the list, and states that Mole is not a security scanner.

GPL-3.0 for the CLI, $19 for the proprietary Mac app. Mole for Mac is a separate Swift implementation that runs without the CLI and requires macOS 14; the site sells it as a one-time license for two Macs. purge, installer and touchid exist only in the CLI. The project's trademark policy asks forks to use their own name and icon, since the GPL covers the code and not the brand.

Ten macOS releases in under a month. They shipped between September 28 and October 25, 2026, ending with V1.64.0. Security fixes are only guaranteed for the latest release and main. The repository's security audit calls itself a maintainer review rather than an independent certification, and its October 26 pass notes that the published V1.64.0 does not include that review's repairs.