How to uninstall Xcode and clear its caches

Before uninstalling Xcode

Decide whether you are leaving development altogether or just trying to recover space. The app, simulator operating systems, simulator device data, build products and release archives serve different purposes. Removing all of them together makes it hard to tell what you lost.

• Back up source projects. Confirm that uncommitted work and local assets exist outside temporary build folders and are backed up.
• Preserve release archives. These can include the exact build and debug symbols needed to understand crash reports from customers.
• Check other tools. Homebrew and development tools may still need Apple’s compiler tools even if you no longer use the Xcode interface.
• On a managed Mac, ask IT. An organization may depend on an approved developer-tool version.

There is no universal number of gigabytes this saves. Components and downloaded platforms vary. Inspect this Mac’s folders and Xcode’s component sizes instead of assuming a cleanup estimate applies to your installation.

Remove the Xcode app

1. Finish active builds and save your work. Quit Xcode, Simulator and any development apps using the selected Xcode installation.
2. In Finder, open Go › Applications.
3. Find Xcode.app. If you deliberately keep more than one version, confirm which one you intend to remove.
4. Use File › Move to Trash. Finder may ask an administrator to authorize the change.
5. Review the Trash before emptying it. Reinstalling later requires a compatible Xcode download; it does not restore discarded simulator data or release archives.

Finder’s route applies on macOS 15 Sequoia, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27. The component controls described below belong to Xcode and change with its version. Do not copy a deletion script that assumes the layout of a much older Xcode release.

Remove unused simulator runtimes in Xcode

If you still use Xcode, manage runtimes before deleting the app. In current Xcode documentation, choose Xcode › Settings › Components. Find an installed component, open its information control and use Delete when offered. Some versions show a selected runtime with a minus button. Follow the confirmation in your version.

A runtime is an operating-system package used by simulated devices. A simulator device is a particular test device with its own state. Removing an unused runtime is different from resetting a device. Apple’s component documentation shows the current controls; its simulator guide also describes device removal.

Use Window › Devices and Simulators › Simulators, select the specific device you no longer need and use its Delete command. Prefer this to browsing system folders for runtime files. macOS may protect downloaded assets in system-managed locations; leave those locations alone.

DerivedData: rebuildable work, with a cost

Xcode’s derived data includes build products and indexing work. If a project is misbehaving, start with Product › Clean Build Folder for that project instead of removing every project’s data. An Apple Developer Technical Support answer recommends that built-in route.

For broader review, inspect Xcode › Settings › Locations and follow the location shown for Derived Data. A common default is ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData, also identified in an Apple DTS forum answer. Projects can override the location, so the setting is more reliable than assuming this path holds everything.

Quit Xcode before moving a known project’s derived data to the Trash. The next build and index will take time and can use substantial CPU, network and battery. Do not confuse a repository named similarly to a project with its generated build folder. If you are unsure which is which, leave the files in place and use Clean Build Folder.

Keep archives; review device support conservatively

Use Window › Organizer › Archives to review release archives. Preserve archives for builds you may need to diagnose or redistribute, and back them up before any cleanup. Apple’s crash-report guidance explains why the matching debug symbols matter; rebuilding the same source later does not guarantee identical symbols.

Device support data is another category you may encounter, including data for physical iPhones used during development. It is not interchangeable with a simulator runtime. This guide does not provide a blanket manual deletion path for it: retain support for devices you still use, and let Xcode manage its components where possible. Do not remove the entire Developer folder as a shortcut.

Terminal reference: inspect before deleting

This read-only command prints the active developer directory and needs no sudo. It changes nothing and needs no undo:

xcode-select -p

On the Mac used to prepare this guide, running macOS 27.0.1 on 23 October 2026, it returned /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools. The separate Command Line Tools package was selected; this is not evidence that a full Xcode app is installed.

For Macs with full Xcode and Simulator tools available, Apple DTS also documents:

xcrun simctl delete unavailable

It does not need sudo. It targets unavailable simulator devices, not arbitrary source projects. We did not run this deletion command. The read-only help attempt on this Mac reported that simctl was unavailable because only Command Line Tools were selected; we did not install or reconfigure Xcode to test it. Check xcrun simctl help delete on your own full Xcode installation before deciding whether the operation fits.

Command Line Tools are separate

Apple offers a standalone Command Line Tools package in addition to the tools bundled with Xcode. Removing Xcode does not automatically remove that separate package. Keep it if you use Homebrew or another tool that needs it.

If you intend to remove the standalone package too, follow Apple’s current package instructions. That is an administrator-level developer-environment change, beyond this Finder cleanup. This guide does not direct deletion from shared Library directories. App Store downloads, developer membership and team access are also separate from uninstalling the app.

How Tend helps

Tend’s free Clean Up view lists Developer files, including DerivedData, Simulator caches, DeviceSupport folders and Archives, with sizes. It leaves Archives and the newest DeviceSupport folder unselected. Those categories help you compare costs before choosing what to remove; they are not a substitute for preserving release symbols.

Moving selected eligible items to the macOS Trash requires Pro. Its Uninstaller also works with apps and support files in your own Library, but it does not remove shared system components or replace Xcode’s runtime manager. For general cache decisions, see clearing Mac caches; for storage categories, see System Data.

Questions

Related guides

Sources

• Apple Developer, Manage additional Xcode components and Add and remove simulators.
• Apple DTS, Clean Build Folder and unavailable simulator devices; DerivedData default location.
• Apple Developer, Understanding Crashes and Crash Logs (preserving archives and symbols).
• Apple Developer, Installing the Command Line Tools.
• Local read-only checks on macOS 27.0.1, 23 October 2026: xcode-select -p and the unsuccessful xcrun simctl help delete. No deletion was run.

Sources checked 23 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.