- All-in-one toolkit: Combines CleanMyMac, AppCleaner, DaisyDisk, and iStat Menus in a single binary
- Deep cleaning: Removes caches, logs, and browser leftovers to reclaim gigabytes of space
- Smart uninstaller: Removes apps plus launch agents, preferences, and hidden remnants
- Disk insights: Visualizes usage, finds large files, rebuilds caches, and refreshes system services
- Live monitoring: Shows real-time CPU, GPU, memory, disk, and network stats
Install via Homebrew
brew install moleOr via script
# Optional args: -s latest for main branch code, -s 1.17.0 for specific version
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tw93/mole/main/install.sh | bashNote: Mole is built for macOS. An experimental Windows version is available in the windows branch for early adopters.
Run
mo # Interactive menu
mo clean # Deep cleanup
mo uninstall # Remove apps + leftovers
mo optimize # Refresh caches & services
mo analyze # Visual disk explorer
mo status # Live system health dashboard
mo purge # Clean project build artifacts
mo installer # Find and remove installer files
mo touchid # Configure Touch ID for sudo
mo completion # Set up shell tab completion
mo update # Update Mole
mo update --nightly # Update to latest unreleased main build, script install only
mo remove # Remove Mole from system
mo --help # Show help
mo --version # Show installed versionPreview safely
mo clean --dry-run
mo uninstall --dry-run
mo purge --dry-run
# Also works with: optimize, installer, remove, completion, touchid enable
mo clean --dry-run --debug # Preview + detailed logs
mo optimize --whitelist # Manage protected optimization rules
mo clean --whitelist # Manage protected caches
mo purge --paths # Configure project scan directories
mo analyze /Volumes # Analyze external drives onlyMole is a local system maintenance tool, and some commands can perform destructive local operations.
Mole uses safety-first defaults: path validation, protected-directory rules, conservative cleanup boundaries, and explicit confirmation for higher-risk actions. When risk or uncertainty is high, Mole skips, refuses, or requires stronger confirmation rather than broadening deletion scope.
mo analyze is safer for ad hoc cleanup because it moves files to Trash through Finder instead of deleting them directly.
Review SECURITY.md and SECURITY_AUDIT.md for reporting guidance, safety boundaries, and current limitations.
- Video tutorial: Watch the Mole tutorial video, thanks to PAPAYA 電腦教室.
- Safety and logs:
clean,uninstall,purge,installer, andremoveare destructive. Review with--dry-runfirst, and add--debugwhen needed. File operations are logged to~/.config/mole/operations.log. Disable withMO_NO_OPLOG=1. Review SECURITY.md and SECURITY_AUDIT.md. - Navigation: Mole supports arrow keys and Vim bindings
h/j/k/l.
$ mo clean
Scanning cache directories...
✓ User app cache 45.2GB
✓ Browser cache (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) 10.5GB
✓ Developer tools (Xcode, Node.js, npm) 23.3GB
✓ System logs and temp files 3.8GB
✓ App-specific cache (Spotify, Dropbox, Slack) 8.4GB
✓ Trash 12.3GB
====================================================================
Space freed: 95.5GB | Free space now: 223.5GB
====================================================================Note: In mo clean -> Developer tools, Mole removes unused CoreSimulator Volumes/Cryptex entries and skips IN_USE items.
$ mo uninstall
Select Apps to Remove
═══════════════════════════
▶ ☑ Photoshop 2024 (4.2G) | Old
☐ IntelliJ IDEA (2.8G) | Recent
☐ Premiere Pro (3.4G) | Recent
Uninstalling: Photoshop 2024
✓ Removed application
✓ Cleaned 52 related files across 12 locations
- Application Support, Caches, Preferences
- Logs, WebKit storage, Cookies
- Extensions, Plugins, Launch daemons
====================================================================
Space freed: 12.8GB
====================================================================$ mo optimize
System: 5/32 GB RAM | 333/460 GB Disk (72%) | Uptime 6d
✓ Rebuild system databases and clear caches
✓ Reset network services
✓ Refresh Finder and Dock
✓ Clean diagnostic and crash logs
✓ Remove swap files and restart dynamic pager
✓ Rebuild launch services and spotlight index
====================================================================
System optimization completed
====================================================================
Use `mo optimize --whitelist` to exclude specific optimizations.Note: By default, Mole skips external drives under
/Volumesfor faster startup. To inspect them, runmo analyze /Volumesor a specific mount path.
$ mo analyze
Analyze Disk ~/Documents | Total: 156.8GB
▶ 1. ███████████████████ 48.2% | 📁 Library 75.4GB >6mo
2. ██████████░░░░░░░░░ 22.1% | 📁 Downloads 34.6GB
3. ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 14.3% | 📁 Movies 22.4GB
4. ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 10.8% | 📁 Documents 16.9GB
5. ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 5.2% | 📄 backup_2023.zip 8.2GB
↑↓←→ Navigate | O Open | F Show | ⌫ Delete | L Large files | Q QuitReal-time dashboard with health score, hardware info, and performance metrics.
$ mo status
Mole Status Health ● 92 MacBook Pro · M4 Pro · 32GB · macOS 14.5
⚙ CPU ▦ Memory
Total ████████████░░░░░░░ 45.2% Used ███████████░░░░░░░ 58.4%
Load 0.82 / 1.05 / 1.23 (8 cores) Total 14.2 / 24.0 GB
Core 1 ███████████████░░░░ 78.3% Free ████████░░░░░░░░░░ 41.6%
Core 2 ████████████░░░░░░░ 62.1% Avail 9.8 GB
▤ Disk ⚡ Power
Used █████████████░░░░░░ 67.2% Level ██████████████████ 100%
Free 156.3 GB Status Charged
Read ▮▯▯▯▯ 2.1 MB/s Health Normal · 423 cycles
Write ▮▮▮▯▯ 18.3 MB/s Temp 58°C · 1200 RPM
⇅ Network ▶ Processes
Down ▁▁█▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▇▆▅▂ 0.54 MB/s Code ▮▮▮▮▯ 42.1%
Up ▄▄▄▃▃▃▄▆▆▇█▁▁▁▁▁ 0.02 MB/s Chrome ▮▮▮▯▯ 28.3%
Proxy HTTP · 192.168.1.100 Terminal ▮▯▯▯▯ 12.5%Health score is based on CPU, memory, disk, temperature, and I/O load, with color-coded ranges.
Shortcuts: In mo status, press k to toggle the cat and save the preference, and q to quit.
Clean old build artifacts such as node_modules, target, build, and dist to free up disk space.
mo purge
Select Categories to Clean - 18.5GB (8 selected)
➤ ● my-react-app 3.2GB | node_modules
● old-project 2.8GB | node_modules
● rust-app 4.1GB | target
● next-blog 1.9GB | node_modules
○ current-work 856MB | node_modules | Recent
● django-api 2.3GB | venv
● vue-dashboard 1.7GB | node_modules
● backend-service 2.5GB | node_modulesNote: We recommend installing
fdon macOS.brew install fd
Safety: This permanently deletes selected artifacts. Review carefully before confirming. Projects newer than 7 days are marked and unselected by default.
Custom Scan Paths
Run mo purge --paths to configure scan directories, or edit ~/.config/mole/purge_paths directly:
~/Documents/MyProjects
~/Work/ClientA
~/Work/ClientBWhen custom paths are configured, Mole scans only those directories. Otherwise, it uses defaults like ~/Projects, ~/GitHub, and ~/dev.
Find and remove large installer files across Downloads, Desktop, Homebrew caches, iCloud, and Mail. Each file is labeled by source.
mo installer
Select Installers to Remove - 3.8GB (5 selected)
➤ ● Photoshop_2024.dmg 1.2GB | Downloads
● IntelliJ_IDEA.dmg 850.6MB | Downloads
● Illustrator_Setup.pkg 920.4MB | Downloads
● PyCharm_Pro.dmg 640.5MB | Homebrew
● Acrobat_Reader.dmg 220.4MB | Downloads
○ AppCode_Legacy.zip 410.6MB | DownloadsLaunch Mole commands from Raycast or Alfred:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tw93/Mole/main/scripts/setup-quick-launchers.sh | bashAdds 5 commands: Mole Clean, Mole Uninstall, Mole Optimize, Mole Analyze, Mole Status.
After running the script, complete these steps in Raycast:
- Open Raycast Settings (⌘ + ,)
- Go to Extensions → Script Commands
- Click "Add Script Directory" (or "+")
- Add path:
~/Library/Application Support/Raycast/script-commands - Search in Raycast for: "Reload Script Directories" and run it
- Done! Search for
Mole Cleanorclean,Mole Optimize, orMole Statusto use the commands
Note: The script creates the commands, but Raycast still requires a one-time manual script directory setup.
Mole auto-detects your terminal app. iTerm2 has known compatibility issues. We highly recommend Kaku. Other good options are Alacritty, kitty, WezTerm, Ghostty, and Warp. To override, set MO_LAUNCHER_APP=<name>.
Thanks to everyone who helped build Mole. Go follow them. ❤️
Real feedback from users who shared Mole on X.
- If Mole helped you, star the repo or share it with friends.
- Got ideas or bugs? Read the Contributing Guide and open an issue or PR.
- Like Mole? Buy Tw93 a Coke to support the project. 🥤 Supporters are below.
MIT License. Feel free to use Mole and contribute.
