Rydd Help

Clear steps before clear space.

How to scan, review, uninstall, analyze, maintain, and recover safely.

Private beta preview

Run Rydd from anywhere

The private beta is one notarized standalone app. It does not use an installer and can run from an ordinary folder. The app download is not public yet.

Keep backups. Rydd is beta software. Review every proposed item, and never let a cleanup utility become the only protection for important data.

Clean Junk

  1. Choose Clean Junk in the sidebar.
  2. Choose Scan for Junk.
  3. Review the category, size, explanation, and any REVIEW badge.
  4. Check or uncheck individual items.
  5. Choose Move Selected to Trash and confirm.

Rydd suggests older user caches, old logs, and known rebuildable developer caches. Apple, Dropbox, and Codex runtime areas are excluded from the broad cache scan.

Understand REVIEW

A REVIEW badge means the location may contain user-created work, durable settings, archives, or other data that cannot be assumed disposable. REVIEW items stay unselected. Select one only after revealing it in Finder and understanding its contents.

Uninstall an app

  1. Choose Uninstall Apps.
  2. Search for and select the app.
  3. Wait while Rydd finds exact bundle-identifier and app-name matches.
  4. Review the application, cache, preference, log, saved-state, launch-item, container, and Application Support rows.
  5. Select only the data you intend to remove, then choose Uninstall to Trash.

Rydd asks a running app to quit. It rejects Apple apps, short generic identifiers, system paths, and vendor-wide matches.

Application Support and Containers need care. They can include projects, downloads, local databases, licenses, and settings. They are deliberately unselected.

Analyze a folder

Choose Disk Analyzer. Rydd selects your home folder but waits without scanning. Choose Analyze when you are ready, or choose Choose Another Folder first. Rydd then measures the folder's immediate contents and sorts the largest first. The scan is read-only. Use the magnifying glass to reveal an item before selecting it for Trash.

Run maintenance

Rydd offers four fixed tasks:

  • Refresh Quick Look previews clears thumbnail caches that macOS rebuilds as needed.
  • Rebuild Open With refreshes the Launch Services application database.
  • Verify the startup volume runs a read-only APFS check.
  • Run macOS periodic maintenance runs Apple's daily, weekly, and monthly housekeeping scripts.

Rydd does not add arbitrary commands, reset privacy permissions, install packages, or run a background optimizer.

Clean project artifacts

Choose the folder containing your projects. Rydd searches a bounded depth for known rebuildable directories such as node_modules, .build, DerivedData, target, dist, build, .next, .nuxt, virtual environments, and Pods. Items modified within seven days stay unselected.

Rydd never judges a Git worktree or project itself as safe to delete.

Find installers

Choose Installers to scan Downloads, or choose another folder. Rydd lists DMG, PKG, MPKG, and XIP files. Files downloaded within seven days stay unselected.

History and recovery

History records the action, date, item count, successful moves, failures, and total size. It never stores item names or paths. Rydd uses macOS Trash; use Finder's Put Back before emptying Trash when you need to recover an item.

Full Disk Access

Full Disk Access is needed for Rydd to inspect protected caches and app remnants. The Overview checks whether it is enabled. If it is not, choose Open Settings, add or enable Rydd in Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access, then return to Rydd and choose Check Again. You remain in control of the permission, and denied locations are skipped.

Send feedback

This private beta is intended to expose unfamiliar app layouts, cleanup categories, or permissions before public release. Send Rydd beta feedback with the feature used and the visible message. Do not send private file paths unless they are necessary.