I Was Tired of Losing Disk Space to node_modules - So I Built ArtifactSweep

Being a developer, we all create many projects for learning, work, and experiments. Over time my machine started filling up — not with source code, but with generated junk : node_modules target dist / build framework caches like .next , .angular , .nuxt and more of the same across every cloned repo Every few months I would hunt folders manually, delete something, free a few GB, then the same problem would come back. Only learning about “clean your disk” tips doesn’t help much. Building something for the problem does. So I ended up building ArtifactSweep — a small open-source tool for this everyday developer issue. The real problem As developers we regenerate these folders all the time: npm install cargo build ng build They are not our source of truth. But they sit on the SSD for months. The painful part is not only size. It is: Finding them across many project roots Knowing how big they are before delete Not deleting the wrong folder by mistake I wanted something that could: Scan a folder tree Show sizes Let me clean with more control Work on my day-to-day machines (Windows, Linux, Mac) Step 1: Start with a CLI I started with the command line first. Why CLI? Fast to build and test Fits terminal-first workflow Easy to script and share The CLI is called sweep . Basic usage: # Safe: only list junk under a path sweep scan . # Preview deletes sweep clean . --dry-run # Delete sweep clean . On one of my project folders alone, it reclaimed nearly 5 GB . That was enough validation: this is not a fake problem. Every active developer hits it. Step 2: Then came the desktop app CLI is great when you already know the path and trust dry-run. But sometimes I wanted to: See a list of folders and sizes Filter by type Confirm before delete Click through without remembering flags So I added a desktop app on top of the same idea (same cleanup job, different UI). Flow is simple: Choose folder Scan Review results (and filters if needed) Clean with confirmation If you like GUIs for this ki