Essential Shortcuts to Clean Xcode Caches

Xcode occasionally bogs down due to leftover build files, preview data, or outdated simulator caches. If you’re dealing with sluggish performance, failing builds, here are a few terminal shortcuts to clean house fast.

🔧 Quick Terminal Commands

Remove simulator cache:

rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Caches

Fix SwiftUI preview glitches:

rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/UserData/Previews

Free up storage from old archives:

rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives

Remove old compiled product files:

rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Products

Fix Swift Package Manager dependency issues:

rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/org.swift.swiftpm

⏳ When to Run These?

• SwiftUI previews fail to load or crash
• Simulator feels slow or stuck
• Builds fail for no clear reason
• You’re switching Xcode versions
• Storage is filling up fast
• SPM packages refuse to resolve

🚀 Pro Tip

Bundle these into a shell script or alias for quick cleanup:

alias cleanXcodeCache='rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Caches && \
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/UserData/Previews && \
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives && \
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Products && \
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/org.swift.swiftpm'

Then just run:

cleanXcodeCache

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Keeping your Xcode environment clean can save you hours of frustration. Use these shortcuts regularly to stay productive.