null-e

Disk cleanup for developers — clean node_modules, target, .venv, Docker, Xcode caches and 50+ cache types

Download • Quick Start • Docs • Changelog

/dev/null + Wall-E = null-e — like the adorable trash-compacting robot, null-e tirelessly cleans up developer junk and sends it where it belongs.

Reclaim 100+ GB — most developer machines accumulate tens of gigabytes of stale node_modules, target/, .venv, Docker images, and IDE caches.

null-e is distributed as an unsigned/non-notarized .dmg (no Apple Developer Program). macOS Gatekeeper will block it on first launch — this is expected. Two ways to open it:

1. Open Anyway (no Terminal)

1. Drag null-e.app to /Applications and double-click it.
2. macOS says it can't verify the developer. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the bottom, and click Open Anyway next to null-e.
3. Confirm Open. You only need to do this once per version.

2. Terminal (power users)

# Drag null-e.app to /Applications, then run:
xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/null-e.app
open /Applications/null-e.app

To clean system and other-app caches, null-e needs Full Disk Access: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access → enable null-e, then relaunch the app (macOS only applies the grant to a freshly launched process). null-e's in-app guide walks you through this.

Heads up: because the app is unsigned, updating to a new version can reset the Full Disk Access grant — macOS ties the permission to each build. If cleaning suddenly fails after an update, just re-enable null-e in Full Disk Access and relaunch. (Building from source with a stable self-signed certificate avoids this — see the release workflow.)

One-line install (downloads the right prebuilt binary for your OS/arch):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/us/null-e/main/install.sh | sh

Or via Cargo:

cargo install null-e        # build from source
cargo binstall null-e       # prebuilt binary, no compile
null-e sweep

• cli: add --no-emoji flag and list files in dry-run preview (c9f2747)
• one-line curl | sh installer (fb31d43)

• release: publish CLI to crates.io as null-e (dd3cb14)

See CHANGELOG.md for the full release history.

See CHANGELOG.md for the full release history.

• Multi-language Support — Node.js, Rust, Python, Go, Java, .NET, Swift, Ruby, PHP and more
• Git Protection — 4 levels (none/warn/block/paranoid) to prevent deleting uncommitted work
• Safe Deletion — Moves to trash by default with recovery option, dry-run mode
• Parallel Scanning — Fast multi-threaded directory traversal with rayon + walkdir
• Interactive TUI — 18 scan modes, keyboard navigation, live progress with ratatui
• Analysis Tools — Find stale projects, duplicate dependencies, optimize git repos
• System Cleaners — Xcode, Docker, Android, ML/AI, IDE, Homebrew, Electron, Cloud CLI, and more
• Configurable — TOML config file, CLI flags override, JSON output support
• Cross-Platform — macOS, Linux, Windows

cargo install null-e

Download from GitHub Releases:

# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install null-e

# AUR (Arch Linux)
yay -S null-e

# Scoop (Windows)
scoop bucket add us https://github.com/us/scoop-bucket
scoop install null-e

docker run -v $(pwd):/workspace ghcr.io/us/null-e

git clone https://github.com/us/null-e.git
cd null-e
cargo install --path .

# Scan current directory for cleanable artifacts
null-e

# Deep sweep — find ALL cleanable items across your system
null-e sweep

# Clean global developer caches (npm, pip, cargo, etc.)
null-e caches

# Interactive TUI mode
null-e tui

# Find stale projects not touched in 6 months
null-e stale ~/projects

# Dry run — see what would be deleted
null-e clean ~/projects --dry-run

     .---.
    |o   o|
    |  ^  |    ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    | === |    │                       CLI                         │
    `-----'    ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
     /| |\     │                    Core Engine                    │
               │  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐        │
               │  │ Scanner  │  │ Cleaner  │  │ Analysis │        │
               │  │          │  │          │  │  Tools   │        │
               │  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  └──────────┘        │
               ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
               │                    Modules                        │
               │  ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐     │
               │  │Plugins │ │Cleaners│ │ Caches │ │ Docker │     │
               │  │(langs) │ │(system)│ │(global)│ │        │     │
               │  └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘     │
               └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Create ~/.config/null-e/config.toml:

[general]
default_paths = ["~/projects", "~/work"]

[scan]
max_depth = 10
min_size = 1000000  # 1 MB

[clean]
delete_method = "trash"
protection_level = "warn"

[ui]
sort_by = "size"
use_icons = true

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feat/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes using conventional commits
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feat/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

WTFPL — Do What The Fuck You Want To Public License.

null-e is provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind. The authors are not responsible for any data loss resulting from the use of this software.

• Always keep backups of important work before running cleanup operations
• Use --dry-run to preview what will be deleted before committing
• Trash mode (default) allows recovery, but is not guaranteed on all filesystems
• Permanent delete is irreversible — use with extreme caution
• This tool is designed for developers who understand the artifacts being cleaned