Documentation

Trace shows what occupies your Mac’s storage, associates files with apps and categories, and helps you review the effects before removing anything. Open a category from the dashboard or explore a folder in the Directory Inspector.

On first launch, a full scan starts automatically once permissions and required services are ready. Existing results remain visible while further checks run. Before removal, the confirmation explains whether items will go to the Trash, into quarantine, or be deleted permanently. These actions have different consequences.

Trace distinguishes logical file size from bytes allocated on disk. Sparse files such as Docker.raw can have a much larger logical size than their disk usage. A folder’s size already includes its subfolders and files: a folder and a file inside it are not two independent contributions to total usage.

Hard links and APFS clones can share storage. An allocated size is therefore not automatically the amount that deleting that item would reclaim. Trace uses available filesystem information and avoids assigning the same data to multiple categories. Protected areas, snapshots, and APFS metadata can limit exact attribution of individual bytes.

If you compare Trace with macOS System Settings (Storage), you'll notice differences. That's intentional:

Trace first shows drive usage and available preliminary results, then runs the full scan automatically. More files can mean a longer scan; a time or file-count limit alone must not turn unfinished work into a completed result. Use Refresh when you want to start a new run.

The Watcher detects filesystem changes and records which areas need another check. Valid saved results can be reused on the next launch. It does not run a continuous full scan or delete anything automatically. Hiding the menu bar icon does not necessarily stop background monitoring.

“Calculated” means the requested run finished normally. macOS access restrictions may still limit the detail available. A confirmed empty area is 0 KB; an unknown value is not automatically zero. The estimated duration is guidance, not a deadline that stops the scan.

All installed apps from /Applications, ~/Applications, and system apps. Trace shows not only the bundle, but also associated app data.

What Trace includes

• App bundle (.app)
• Container (~/Library/Containers/<bundleID>)
• Group Container (~/Library/Group Containers/...)
• Caches, Preferences, Logs, Saved State
• Application Support folders

Apps tab

Lists installed apps by size and lets you jump straight into App Inspector.

User documents and downloads – your own files, including iCloud Drive and cloud drives like Dropbox/OneDrive. Trace shows what's actually stored locally and what lives only in the cloud. Free up space without deleting cloud data.

Included paths

• ~/Desktop, ~/Documents, ~/Downloads, ~/Public
• Other top-level folders in your home directory (except Library, Pictures, Movies, Music)
• iCloud Drive (~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs)
• Cloud Storage (Dropbox, OneDrive etc. via ~/Library/CloudStorage)

Cloud status

Trace detects whether items are stored locally, cloud-only, or mixed. With “Free up space”, local on-demand copies can be removed without deleting cloud data.

Photo, video, and audio libraries can quickly reach double-digit GB – often packaged as bundles (e.g. Photos Library, Final Cut Pro, Logic). Trace detects these libraries and shows their footprint transparently, so you can clean up without accidentally deleting an entire library.

Included paths

• ~/Pictures, ~/Movies, ~/Music
• Libraries/Packages: .photoslibrary, .fcpbundle, .imovielibrary, .logicx, .band
• System-wide libraries (GarageBand, Logic)

Game libraries from launchers (e.g. Steam) including assets, mods, and save games.

How Trace detects games

• Manifests/marker files: Trace uses launcher manifests (e.g. Steam steamapps/appmanifest_*.acf) to reliably detect installed games.
• Library folders: the actual data usually lives in launcher library directories (e.g. ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps) or on other volumes.
• Dedicated Game Inspector: detected games show up as separate entries – apart from regular app bundles.

Note: games installed only as regular apps (without a launcher library) may show up under Apps depending on your setup.

Games tab

Shows detected games and their size. For each title, open Game Inspector to manage assets, mods, caches, and saves.

Mail and chat apps often store attachments, media, and databases locally, even when content looks “online” in the app. Trace makes these storage hogs visible and shows what they belong to. Be especially careful here, because some apps use local databases directly.

Included paths

• ~/Library/Mail (Apple Mail)
• ~/Library/Messages (iMessage)
• Third-party apps via containers and group containers

Build artifacts, simulators, toolchains, and package caches can take up a lot of space – not just in Xcode. Much of it is rebuildable and may reappear after cleanup. Trace helps you tell apart “safe to remove” vs. “better keep it”.

Included paths (selection)

On the dashboard, System Data is the used storage remaining after the other categories are assigned. The detail view explains accessible parts and lists important system directories for reference. Their full folder sizes may also include apps, development data, or cloud files; do not add them on top of the category total.

An empty folder such as /cores can correctly show 0 KB. SIP and other macOS protections stay enabled; Trace does not require you to disable them. It does not invent sizes for inaccessible items. Use the Directory Inspector to look closer and the dedicated Snapshots, Launchers, or Kexts tabs rather than deleting whole system folders.

Catch-all category for paths that can't be clearly attributed to another category – especially visible dotfiles and dotfolders in Home that are not assigned to Development or System Data. Trace lists the largest fragments and helps you classify them.

Contains

• Home dotfiles/dotfolders not recognized as dev dots
• Visible Home dotfiles and dotfolders, except dev dots and Trash

App Inspector shows all paths belonging to an app – along with the rationale (evidence).

Mapping methods

Each entry shows a Match badge (for example Exact/Heuristic), risk level (safe/caution/danger), and a “Why?” explanation.

The UI intentionally avoids raw percentages. Match explains ownership rationale; the Risk overlay explains impact and recommendation.

Safari web apps can use far more space than their small app bundles suggest. Trace includes clearly attributable web-app data and caches in the Agent and App Inspector. These bytes must not also be counted under System Data. Shared browser profiles and other websites’ data are not exclusive app leftovers and must not be removed indiscriminately.

Backups before permanent deletion

Open a detected game in Games to inspect its installation and associated data. The inspector shows the detected associations, sizes, and risks. A saved game is not the same as a replaceable download cache; review the selection before acting.

The confirmation distinguishes quarantine from permanent removal. Risky permanent deletion uses the same 24-hour Time Machine check as the App Inspector. Do not confuse shared launcher data with files owned exclusively by one game.

Backups before permanent deletion

Trace offers four presets that only control the default selection. You can always select/deselect individual paths manually.

Backups before permanent deletion

Quarantine is an option you explicitly choose, not the default for every Delete button. The data stays on disk in a session that records its original location. No space is freed at this stage.

From the dashboard, review a session, restore it, or delete it permanently. Restoration must not silently overwrite files that now exist at the destination. Protected paths require the helper and its checks. Only permanent removal releases the occupied space; it cannot be undone.

Backups before permanent deletion

The additional Time Machine check applies to permanent deletion with caution, high, or unknown risk. A confirmed backup from the last 24 hours counts as current. If no such backup exists or its age cannot be confirmed, Trace warns about potential data loss and offers a way to open Time Machine.

This applies to the relevant actions in the App and Game Inspectors, categories, and Directory Inspector, as well as permanent quarantine or Trash cleanup. Low-risk items do not trigger the extra backup warning. An ordinary deletion confirmation may still appear.

Moving items to the Trash, as Trace Agent does, is not permanent deletion and does not need this extra backup warning. Where supported, quarantine is another option. It allows restoration but does not free space immediately. A recent backup adds protection; it does not guarantee that every file is included.

Directory Inspector lets you analyze any folder or drive – independent of predefined categories.

Features

• Stacked storage bars: each level shows the size distribution as color-coded bars (folders by size, files gray)
• Drill-down: click a folder to navigate deeper
• Size legend: shows allocated and logical size
• Cloud status: icons show whether items are local, cloud-only, or mixed
• Context menus: right-click to open in Finder, delete, and more
• Filter: checkbox to show/hide hidden files

Access

You can open Directory Inspector from the dashboard (“Open Directory Inspector …”) or via the context menu in category views.

Manage all default apps in one place – without digging through different System Settings screens.

Supported categories

Vendor Inspector includes curated profiles for well-known apps – with specific rules for paths, shared data, and cleanup behavior.

Why vendor profiles?

Many large software vendors don't follow Apple conventions for app data. They store files in unexpected locations, share data between apps, or use proprietary folder structures. Vendor Inspector knows these patterns.

Supported vendors (selection)

Shared data warnings

Vendor Inspector detects shared data between apps (e.g. Adobe Creative Cloud Shared, Microsoft Office Shared) and marks it as “Shared/Danger” – it is never selected automatically in any cleanup mode.

tracectl is Trace's read-only command-line companion. It ships with Trace and is made available as a Terminal command by PKG/Homebrew installations. It is designed for status checks, diagnostics, storage summaries, and app inspection – not unattended deletion.

$ tracectl doctor
Trace doctor

[OK]   Trace.app installation
[OK]   TraceHelper
[OK]   TraceAgent
[WARN] Full Disk Access

Use tracectl help for all commands.

TraceHelper handles actions you explicitly request that need elevated permissions, such as removing eligible local APFS snapshots or accessing protected locations. Installation, background activity, and Full Disk Access are separate requirements. Check their current status in Permissions or Settings.

TraceAgent gives you quick access from the menu bar: find an app, drop an app onto its icon, or review related data after moving an app to the Trash. You choose the items in the suggestion window. Shared and high-risk data are not selected by default. TraceAgent never deletes anything automatically and is free to use in the demo too.

The agent’s Delete action moves selected data to the Trash. It does not delete it permanently, so no extra Time Machine warning is needed here. Apps already in the Trash are not moved again. Files and folders dropped onto the menu bar icon can be moved into quarantine after a visible confirmation. Open the App Inspector for more detail.

Open Permissions or Trace Settings to check Full Disk Access, helper, and agent status. macOS manages Full Disk Access in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Use the installed Trace app in /Applications and the entries identified by Trace, not an old build or rollback copy.

Background activity and Full Disk Access are different permissions. An enabled agent does not automatically gain access to protected data. Depending on the active background host, its access is checked separately. Follow Trace’s current status; an old TraceAgent entry is not a blanket replacement for the app’s permissions.

For background services, open System Settings → General → Login Items and allow background activity for Trace. TraceAgent can still be enabled or disabled separately inside Trace. Startup checks can repair recoverable registration problems automatically; intentionally disabled features stay disabled. Any approval required by macOS must still be given.

Time Machine status appears here and in Settings. A confirmed backup up to 24 hours old is current. This status does not replace checking whether important files are excluded from backups, or your explicit confirmation of permanent deletion.

APFS automatically creates snapshots for Time Machine, updates, and other system operations. These can take up significant space.

What Trace shows

• Snapshots on system and data volumes
• Best-effort sizes (exact sizing is complex on APFS)
• Timestamp and source (Time Machine, OS update, etc.)

Deleting snapshots

Published release notes and earlier changes.

• Trace 2.0.1 (61) September 23, 2026
• Trace 2.0.0 (60) September 22, 2026
• Trace 1.3.1 (49) July 20, 2026
• Trace 1.3.0 (45) July 20, 2026
• Trace 1.2.3 (28) June 10, 2026
• Trace 1.2.2 (27) May 14, 2026
• Trace 1.2.1 (26) May 13, 2026
• Trace 1.2.0 (24) May 13, 2026
• Trace 1.1.5 (23) February 23, 2026
• Trace 1.1.4 (22) February 23, 2026
• Trace 1.1.3 (21) February 19, 2026
• Trace 1.1.2 (20) February 19, 2026
• Trace 1.1.1 (19) February 18, 2026
• Trace 1.1.0 (18) February 18, 2026
• Trace 1.0.0 (17) February 16, 2026