Cleanmymac x

CleanMyMac X CLI Equivalent

Overview

CleanMyMac X is the best-known system utility for macOS. This skill implements each of its 8 core modules using native CLI tools:

#	Module	CleanMyMac X Name	Risk Level
1	System Junk	System Junk	🟢 Safe
2	Privacy	Privacy	🟢 Safe
3	Large Files	Large & Old Files	🟢 Safe
4	Duplicates	Duplicates	🟢 Safe
5	Malware Detection	Malware Removal	🟡 Caution
6	Performance	Speed / Maintenance	🟡 Caution
7	App Uninstall	Uninstaller	🔴 Irreversible
8	Smart Scan	Smart Scan	🟢 Safe

Core principle:

Scan first → confirm before cleaning. All cleanup operations are dry-run by default; actual execution requires explicit confirmation.

Quick Start

This skill ships with scripts/cmx.sh, a convenience script for all modules:

# System overview (disk/memory/load/security)
bash cmx.sh status

# Smart scan (full module summary)
bash cmx.sh scan

# Clean system junk (preview → confirm)
bash cmx.sh clean system-junk --apply

# Performance optimization
bash cmx.sh optimize --apply

# Uninstall an app
bash cmx.sh uninstall "AppName"

You can also run the individual commands shown in each module below for fine-grained control.

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Module 1: System Junk

What it does

CleanMyMac X's System Junk scans these macOS locations:

Item	Path	CleanMyMac Logic
User caches	~/Library/Caches/	Per-app cache directories, safe to delete
System caches	/Library/Caches/	Same, some require root
User logs	~/Library/Logs/	Evaluated by file count and age
System logs	/Library/Logs/, /private/var/log/	Same
Xcode DerivedData	~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/	Build intermediates, safe to delete
Xcode Archives	~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/	Distributed .xcarchive
iOS Backups	~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/	Old device backups
Language files	*.app/Contents/Resources/*.lproj	Keep current language, remove extra
Trash	~/.Trash/	Staging area for deleted files
Temp files	/private/tmp/, /private/var/tmp/	System temp files
Homebrew cache	$(brew --cache)	Old formula package cache
npm/pnpm/yarn cache	(package manager cache dirs)	Node ecosystem dep caches

macOS does not automatically clean app caches and leftover files — that's where this tool comes in.

Scan

# ── User caches ──
echo "=== User Caches ===" && du -sh ~/Library/Caches/ 2>/dev/null
echo "Top 10 cache subdirs:" && du -sh ~/Library/Caches/*/ 2>/dev/null | sort -rh | head -10

# ── System caches ──
echo "=== System Caches ===" && du -sh /Library/Caches/ 2>/dev/null

# ── Log files ──
echo "=== User Logs ===" && du -sh ~/Library/Logs/ 2>/dev/null
echo "Logs older than 30 days:" && find ~/Library/Logs -type f -mtime +30 2>/dev/null | wc -l
echo "=== System Logs ===" && du -sh /Library/Logs/ 2>/dev/null
echo "=== var/log ===" && du -sh /private/var/log/ 2>/dev/null

# ── Xcode ──
echo "=== Xcode DerivedData ===" && du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/ 2>/dev/null
echo "=== Xcode Archives ===" && du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/ 2>/dev/null

# ── iOS Backups ──
echo "=== iOS Backups ===" && du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/ 2>/dev/null

# ── Trash ──
echo "=== Trash ===" && du -sh ~/.Trash/ 2>/dev/null

# ── Temp files ──
echo "=== Temp Files ===" && du -sh /private/tmp/ /private/var/tmp/ 2>/dev/null

# ── Homebrew cache (if installed) ──
which brew >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "=== Homebrew Cache ===" && du -sh $(brew --cache) 2>/dev/null

# ── npm cache (if installed) ──
which npm >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "=== npm Cache ===" && du -sh $(npm cache dir) 2>/dev/null

Clean

⚠️ Quit running apps before clearing caches. Deleting caches while an app is running may cause unexpected behavior.

# 1. Delete logs older than 30 days (safe)
find ~/Library/Logs -type f -mtime +30 -delete 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ Old logs cleaned"

# 2. Clean system logs (needs sudo)
sudo find /private/var/log -type f -mtime +30 -delete 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ System logs cleaned"

# 3. Empty trash
rm -rf ~/.Trash/* 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ Trash emptied"

# 4. Clean Xcode DerivedData (Xcode will rebuild)
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/* 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ DerivedData cleaned"

# 5. Clean Homebrew cache
brew cleanup -s 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ Homebrew cache cleaned"

# 6. Clean npm cache
npm cache clean --force 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ npm cache cleaned"

# 7. Clean user caches (most aggressive, use with care)
# rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/*

Language file cleanup (advanced)

CleanMyMac X removes unused language packs from apps, keeping only your current language:

# Check which languages an app includes
ls /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Resources/ | grep lproj

# Keep Chinese and English only, delete the rest (example for one app)
# find /Applications/SomeApp.app -name "*.lproj" ! -name "zh*" ! -name "en*" -exec rm -rf {} +

Do this per-app, not bulk — some apps bundle data in unexpected lproj directories.

---

Module 2: Privacy

What it does

CleanMyMac X cleans three types of privacy traces:

Category	Contents	Path
Browser traces	Cache, history, cookies, LocalStorage	Varies by browser
System traces	Recent files, clipboard, recent searches	Finder / System services
Communication traces	Message attachments, call history	Messages / FaceTime

Scan

# ── Safari ──
echo "=== Safari ==="
echo "Cache:" && du -sh ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/ 2>/dev/null
echo "History:" && ls -lh ~/Library/Safari/History.db 2>/dev/null

# ── Chrome ──
echo "=== Google Chrome ==="
echo "Cache:" && du -sh ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome/ 2>/dev/null
echo "History file:" && ls -lh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome/Default/History 2>/dev/null

# ── Firefox ──
echo "=== Firefox ==="
ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/Firefox/Profiles/ 2>/dev/null

# ── Recent files ──
echo "=== Recent Files ==="
mdfind "kMDItemLastUsedDate >= \$time.today(-7)" -onlyin ~/Documents 2>/dev/null | head -20

# ── Clipboard ──
echo "=== Clipboard ==="
pbpaste 2>/dev/null | head -3 || echo "(empty)"

Clean

# Safari cache (safe to clear while browser is running)
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/* 2>/dev/null

# Chrome cache (clearing while browser is running will force redownload)
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome/* 2>/dev/null

# Clear clipboard
pbcopy < /dev/null

# Clear recent files list (takes effect after Finder restart)
osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to set the name of every item of trash to ""' 2>/dev/null

# Clear Safari browsing history (deletes History.db)
# rm ~/Library/Safari/History.db  # Safari will recreate when launched

After clearing browser caches, resources will redownload on next launch — first load may be slower.

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Module 3: Large & Old Files

What it does

CleanMyMac X uses the Spotlight index (mdfind) to quickly locate large files instead of traversing the filesystem.

Scan

# Fastest: use Spotlight index to find files > 1GB
mdfind "kMDItemFSSize > 1000000000" 2>/dev/null | head -30

# Show file sizes
mdfind "kMDItemFSSize > 1000000000" 2>/dev/null | while read f; do
  [ -f "$f" ] && echo "$(stat -f%z "$f" 2>/dev/null | xargs -I {} echo "scale=1; {} / 1073741824" | bc 2>/dev/null)GB  $f"
done | sort -rn | head -30

# Fallback: use find (slow, no index needed)
find ~ -type f -size +1G 2>/dev/null -exec ls -lhS {} + | awk '{print $5, $NF}' | head -20

# Find old files (not accessed in over a year)
find ~ -type f -atime +365 2>/dev/null | head -20

# Find large directories
du -sh ~/*/ 2>/dev/null | sort -rh | head -10
du -sh ~/Library/*/ 2>/dev/null | sort -rh | head -10

Clean

Review scan results manually, then rm or move to Trash:

# Safe: move to Trash instead of deleting directly
# osascript -e "tell application \"Finder\" to delete POSIX file \"$PWD/large-file.mp4\""

# Direct delete (after confirmation)
# rm -i /path/to/unwanted/large/file.mkv

---

Module 4: Duplicates

What it does

CleanMyMac X finds duplicate files by comparing file hashes (MD5/SHA). Same approach using md5 + sort + uniq.

Scan

# Find duplicates in ~/Documents grouped by MD5
echo "Scanning ~/Documents for duplicates (MD5-based)..."
find ~/Documents -type f -size +1k 2>/dev/null \
  -exec md5 -r {} \; \
  | sort \
  | awk '{seen[$1]++; lines[$1]=lines[$1] ? lines[$1]"\n  "$2 : "  "$2} \
         END{for(h in seen) if(seen[h]>1) printf "--- MD5: %s ---\n%s\n\n", h, lines[h]}'

# Same for ~/Downloads
echo "Scanning ~/Downloads..."
find ~/Downloads -type f -size +1k 2>/dev/null \
  -exec md5 -r {} \; \
  | sort \
  | awk '{seen[$1]++; lines[$1]=lines[$1] ? lines[$1]"\n  "$2 : "  "$2} \
         END{for(h in seen) if(seen[h]>1) printf "--- MD5: %s ---\n%s\n\n", h, lines[h]}'

Clean

Review the scan results, then manually delete duplicates — keep one copy.

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Module 5: Malware Detection

What it does

macOS has multiple built-in security layers:

Layer	Technology	Description
XProtect	Signature scanning	Apple-maintained malware signature database, auto-updated
Gatekeeper	App notarization check	Blocks un-notarized apps from running
Notarization	Code signing	Developers must pass Apple review

CleanMyMac X's Malware Removal is essentially a wrapper around XProtect + scanning common malware installation paths.

Scan

# 1. XProtect version and status
xprotect version 2>/dev/null || echo "XProtect unavailable (requires macOS 15+)"

# 2. XProtect full scan (needs root, macOS 15+)
sudo xprotect check --json 2>/dev/null || echo "Requires Full Disk Access"

# 3. Check login items (common persistence point for malware)
osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to get the name of every login item' 2>/dev/null

# 4. Check Launch Agents (user-level auto-start items)
ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ 2>/dev/null
# Inspect suspicious plists
for f in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/*.plist; do
  [ -f "$f" ] && echo "--- $(basename $f) ---" && plutil -p "$f" 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"Program|ProgramArguments|Label"' | head -5
done

# 5. Check for suspicious processes
ps aux | grep -iE "(adware|spy|trojan|keylogger|miner|crypto)" | grep -v grep

# 6. Check browser extensions (Chrome)
ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions/ 2>/dev/null

# 7. Check system extensions
systemextensionsctl list 2>/dev/null

Security recommendations

• macOS built-in protection (XProtect + Gatekeeper + SIP) is already strong
• Keep the system updated: softwareupdate --list
• Only download apps from official sources
• If you suspect infection, try Malwarebytes for Mac (free scan)

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Module 6: Performance Optimization

What it does

CleanMyMac X's Speed module covers:

Sub-feature	Implementation	Effect
Free memory	purge command	Clears inactive memory pages
Maintenance scripts	periodic (removed in macOS 15+)	Clean temp files, rotate logs
Flush DNS	dscacheutil + killall -HUP mDNSResponder	Clears DNS cache
Rebuild Spotlight	mdutil -E	Fixes search result issues
Dynamic linker cache	update_dyld_shared_cache	Speeds up app launch

Execute

# 1. Free inactive memory (needs sudo)
echo "=== Memory Status ==="
vm_stat | head -10
sudo purge && echo "✓ Memory purged"

# 2. Flush DNS cache
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache && sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder && echo "✓ DNS cache flushed"

# 3. Rebuild Spotlight index (takes a while)
# sudo mdutil -E / && echo "✓ Spotlight rebuild triggered"

# 4. Clean system temp files
sudo rm -rf /private/var/tmp/* 2>/dev/null
sudo rm -rf /private/tmp/* 2>/dev/null
echo "✓ Temp files cleaned"

# 5. Rebuild dynamic linker cache (recommended after system updates)
# sudo update_dyld_shared_cache -force 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ Dyld cache rebuilt"

macOS 15+ notes

macOS Sequoia (15) removed the periodic command. Steps 2 and 4 above cover its core functions — just run them directly.

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Module 7: App Uninstall

What it does

Dragging .app to Trash leaves config files behind. CleanMyMac X finds and removes:

Leftover Type	Path Pattern
Preferences	~/Library/Preferences/com.developer.appname.plist
App Support	~/Library/Application Support/appname/
Caches	~/Library/Caches/com.developer.appname/
Saved State	~/Library/Saved Application State/com.developer.appname.savedState/
Containers	~/Library/Containers/com.developer.appname/
Group Containers	~/Library/Group Containers/*.appname/

Find and uninstall

# Step 1: Locate the app
mdfind "kMDItemKind == 'Application' && kMDItemDisplayName == 'AppName'cw"
# Alternative
find /Applications -iname "*AppName*" -maxdepth 2

# Step 2: List all associated files
# Replace AppName with the actual app name
app="AppName"
echo "=== App Bundle ===" && find /Applications ~/Applications -maxdepth 2 -iname "*${app}*" -type d 2>/dev/null
echo "=== Preferences ===" && find ~/Library/Preferences -maxdepth 2 -iname "*${app}*" 2>/dev/null
echo "=== App Support ===" && find ~/Library/Application\ Support -maxdepth 3 -iname "*${app}*" 2>/dev/null
echo "=== Caches ===" && find ~/Library/Caches -maxdepth 2 -iname "*${app}*" 2>/dev/null
echo "=== Saved State ===" && find ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State -maxdepth 2 -iname "*${app}*" 2>/dev/null
echo "=== Containers ===" && find ~/Library/Containers -maxdepth 2 -iname "*${app}*" 2>/dev/null

# Step 3: Delete (after confirmation)
app="AppName"
# Remove app bundle
sudo rm -rf "/Applications/${app}.app" 2>/dev/null || rm -rf ~/Applications/"${app}.app" 2>/dev/null
# Remove config files
find ~/Library/Preferences ~/Library/Application\ Support ~/Library/Caches \
  ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State ~/Library/Containers \
  -maxdepth 3 -iname "*${app}*" -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null
echo "✓ ${app} and related files removed"

---

Module 8: Smart Scan

What it does

CleanMyMac X's Smart Scan combines System Junk + Malware Detection + Performance Optimization into a single one-click operation.

CLI approach A: Run scan modules together

echo "==============================="
echo "  Smart Scan — All Modules"
echo "==============================="
echo ""

echo "=== 1/4 System Junk ==="
du -sh ~/Library/Caches/ ~/Library/Logs/ ~/.Trash/ ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/ 2>/dev/null

echo ""
echo "=== 2/4 Large Files (>1GB) ==="
mdfind "kMDItemFSSize > 1000000000" 2>/dev/null | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== 3/4 Duplicates ==="
find ~/Documents ~/Downloads -type f -size +1k 2>/dev/null \
  -exec md5 -r {} \; | sort | awk '{seen[$1]++; lines[$1]=lines[$1] ? lines[$1]"\n  "$2 : "  "$2} \
  END{for(h in seen) if(seen[h]>1) printf "Duplicates: %s\n%s\n", h, lines[h]}' | head -50

echo ""
echo "=== 4/4 System Status ==="
echo "Disk free:" && df -h / | tail -1 | awk '{print $4}'
echo "XProtect:" && xprotect version 2>/dev/null

Approach B: Use cmx.sh script

bash /path/to/scripts/cmx.sh scan

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Safety Notes

Risk levels

Level	Meaning	Examples
🟢 Safe	Files auto-generated by system/apps, safe to remove	Caches, logs, DerivedData
🟡 Caution	Affects system behavior but is recoverable	Flush DNS, purge memory
🔴 Risky	Irreversible — double-check before deleting	Uninstall app, delete files

Best practices

1. Scan first, clean second — never skip the scan step
2. Quit apps before clearing cache — avoids issues with running processes
3. Keep recent logs — only delete logs older than 30 days
4. Check large files manually — some large files are work-critical (VMs, asset libraries)
5. Don't blindly delete system caches — /Library/Caches/ may include system-required items

Recovery

If you accidentally delete something important:

• App caches: restart the app — they'll be recreated
• System caches: restart your Mac — they'll be recreated
• Xcode DerivedData: auto-rebuilt on next build
• Spotlight index: rebuild with mdutil -E /

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Appendix: cmx.sh Reference

This skill ships with scripts/cmx.sh, a one-stop script wrapping all the above functionality.

Installation

Via skills.sh (recommended)

npx skills add evanlong-me/skills --skill cleanmymac-x

Manual cmx alias

# Add alias to your shell config
# Replace /path/to with the actual path
echo 'alias cmx="bash /path/to/cleanmymac-x/scripts/cmx.sh"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Commands

cmx status                # System status (disk/memory/load)
cmx scan                  # Smart scan (all modules)
cmx scan system-junk      # Scan system junk only
cmx scan privacy          # Scan privacy traces only
cmx scan large-files      # Scan large files only (default >3GB)
cmx scan duplicates       # Scan duplicates only
cmx scan malware          # Malware detection only
cmx clean system-junk     # Clean system junk (dry-run)
cmx clean system-junk --apply   # Confirm and clean
cmx clean privacy --apply       # Clean privacy traces
cmx optimize --apply      # Performance optimization
cmx uninstall "AppName"   # Preview uninstall
cmx uninstall "AppName" --apply # Actually uninstall

Options

Option	Description	Default
--apply	Actually execute clean (default: preview)	dry-run
--size 500M	Large file threshold	3GB
--days 30	Log retention days	365

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References

• Apple official storage space guide
• XProtect man page
• Apple platform security — malware protection