Where does Ollama store its models on a Mac?

In ~/.ollama/models. Each model is one or more multi-GB blob files — a 7B model is roughly 4–5 GB, a 70B model can exceed 40 GB. List installed models with 'ollama list' and remove one with 'ollama rm '. Don't delete the folder blindly; you'd have to re-download everything.

Is it safe to delete Cursor's cache folders?

Cursor is VS Code-based, so its Cache, CachedData and GPUCache folders under ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor are regenerable and safe to delete. Its workspaceStorage and file History folders are also deletable but contain per-project editor state and local file history — clear them only if you don't rely on those features.

Will cleaning AI app caches log me out?

Not if you only delete cache directories. Sessions live in Cookies, Local Storage and credential files — which is exactly why a cleaner should hard-protect those paths. DevCleaner keeps a deny-list of credential and session files it will never delete regardless of category.

How Much Disk Space AI Coding Tools Use — Claude, Cursor, Ollama & More

Two different problems: caches vs. models

AI tools eat disk in two ways that need different treatment:

Caches, logs and updater leftovers SAFE — regenerable, delete freely.
Downloaded model weights WARNING — deletable, but re-downloading 40 GB is a real cost. Delete deliberately, never in a blind sweep.

Desktop AI apps (Electron): Claude, ChatGPT

Both keep their data under ~/Library/Application Support/. The regenerable parts:

App	Safe to clean	Typical size
Claude	`Cache`, `Code Cache`, `GPUCache`, crash dumps, ShipIt updater leftovers	0.5–3 GB
ChatGPT	`Cache`, `Code Cache`, `GPUCache`, crash dumps	0.5–2 GB

What you must not touch: Cookies, Local Storage, Session Storage, IndexedDB, Local State. That's where your login session lives. Deleting them logs you out — a classic mistake of overly enthusiastic cleanup scripts.

CLI agents: Claude Code, Gemini CLI

CLI tools keep state in dotfolders in your home directory:

Claude Code — ~/.claude/ holds session transcripts, shell snapshots and per-project state. Old transcripts and shell snapshots are deletable; .claude.json, credentials and state files are not — they hold your auth and settings.
Gemini CLI — ~/.gemini/ with a similar split: temp/cache files safe, settings.json and OAuth credentials not.

AI editors: Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity

All three are VS Code derivatives, so they inherit VS Code's storage layout under ~/Library/Application Support/<Editor>/:

Folder	What it is	Risk
Cache, CachedData, GPUCache	Renderer + extension host caches	SAFE
CachedExtensionVSIXs	Downloaded extension installers	SAFE
Crashpad, logs	Crash dumps and logs	SAFE
workspaceStorage	Per-project editor state	WARNING
History	Local file history (undo across sessions)	WARNING

A long-lived Cursor install commonly carries 2–8 GB of the safe stuff. workspaceStorage grows unbounded too (one folder per workspace you've ever opened), but clearing it resets per-project UI state — your call.

Local LLM runtimes: Ollama, LM Studio

This is where the tens of gigabytes hide:

du -sh ~/.ollama/models
du -sh ~/.lmstudio/models   # older versions: ~/.cache/lm-studio

Manage models with the tools themselves rather than deleting files:

ollama list
ollama rm llama3:70b

In LM Studio, use the My Models tab. A handful of experiments — a 7B here, a 70B there — easily adds up to 50+ GB of weights you tried once.

DevCleaner knows all of these out of the box

Free menu bar app with dedicated scanners for Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, Gemini CLI, Ollama and LM Studio — plus Xcode, npm, Homebrew and 10 more classic toolchains. Caches are rated Safe; model weights are rated Warning and never pre-selected; credential and session files are protected by a hard deny-list the cleaner cannot cross, no matter what's selected.

Download DevCleaner — free ↓

free · no account · 4 MB · macOS 14+

FAQ

Where does Ollama store models on a Mac?: ~/.ollama/models — blob files, several GB per model. Use ollama list / ollama rm instead of deleting files by hand.
Will cleaning AI app caches log me out?: Not if you stick to cache directories. Sessions live in Cookies, Local Storage and credential files — a safe cleaner treats those as untouchable.
Can I delete Claude Code's old session transcripts?: Yes — they're records of past sessions, not state the tool needs. Keep .claude.json and anything named like credentials or state.

How Much Disk Space AI Coding Tools Really Use