diskreap

Reclaim disk space from build artifacts and dependency caches — across every language, in one scan. node_modules, .venv, target, .next, __pycache__, .gradle, dist/build, and more — diskreap finds them all, shows you what's eating your disk, and deletes only what a single command can rebuild. Zero dependencies, nothing to install.

# See what's reclaimable under the current directory:
npx diskreap

# Reclaim it (asks first):
npx diskreap clean ~/code

Why

Every project you've ever touched left a node_modules or a target/ behind. Across a ~/code folder with dozens of repos, that's easily tens of gigabytes of stuff you never think about — until the disk fills up.

The existing tools each cover one corner: npkill is node_modules-only, kondo needs a Rust toolchain to install. diskreap is one zero-dependency command that runs instantly with npx (or pip/pipx — there's a twin Python package), reaches every ecosystem at once, and refuses to touch anything that isn't safely regenerable.

What it reclaims

| Directory | Kind | Comes back via | |-----------|------|----------------| | node_modules | Node deps | npm install | | .venv · venv | Python venv | python -m venv | | __pycache__ · .pytest_cache · .mypy_cache · .ruff_cache | Python caches | auto | | .next · .nuxt · .svelte-kit · .turbo · .parcel-cache | JS build/cache | rebuild | | target (beside Cargo.toml/pom.xml) | Rust/Maven build | cargo/mvn build | | .gradle | Gradle cache | gradle build | | vendor (beside composer.json/go.mod) | PHP/Go deps | composer/go install | | dist · build (beside a project manifest) | Build output | rebuild | | .terraform · Pods | Terraform / CocoaPods | init / pod install |

Safety by design: generic names like target, dist, build, vendor are only ever matched when a sibling project file proves their origin — a bare build/ folder of your own files is never touched. Symlinks are never followed, and clean always asks before deleting (unless you pass --yes).

Usage

diskreap [path]                 # scan (default: current dir)
diskreap scan ~/code            # explicit scan
diskreap clean ~/code           # delete (confirms first)

Scan

diskreap scan ~/code
#
#  /Users/you/code
#
#     412 MB  Node deps        webapp/node_modules        · 3w ago
#     1.2 GB  Rust/Maven build scanner/target            · 5d ago
#      88 MB  Python venv      ml-notes/.venv            · 2mo ago
#     ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
#     total reclaimable: 1.7 GB across 12 dir(s)

Filters

diskreap scan ~/code --min 100MB        # ignore the small fry
diskreap scan ~/code --older 30d        # only stuff untouched for a month
diskreap scan ~/code --only node_modules,target
diskreap scan ~/code --json             # machine-readable

Clean

diskreap clean ~/code --dry-run         # preview exactly what would go
diskreap clean ~/code --older 60d       # reap only long-idle projects
diskreap clean ~/code --yes             # no prompt (scripts / CI)

clean accepts the same --min / --older / --only filters as scan, so you can scope a sweep precisely before committing to it.

Exit codes

| Code | Meaning | |------|---------| | 0 | ok (scan complete, or clean finished) | | 2 | error (bad args, or a deletion failed) |

Size & duration formats

Sizes: 500K · 10MB · 1.5G (binary units). Durations: 12h · 30d · 2w (a bare number means days).

Also available for Python

pip install diskreap (or pipx run diskreap) — same tool, same flags, same output. See diskreap-py.

License

MIT