Moving from AppCleaner

AppCleaner works on the app you drop on it. macleanup looks for what you forgot. Section 21 finds apps you have not opened for a while, and section 12 finds data from apps that are already gone, which a drop window cannot be handed.

What maps to what

In AppCleaner	In macleanup
Drop one app on the window	No command line equivalent. The desktop app has an apps view
Delete an app with its related files	Section 21, which also takes its containers and support files
Files from an app you trashed by hand	Section 12

Move across

1. See what section 12 would offer. "Orphaned" is a heuristic, so read the list.

   npx macleanup --only 12 --dry-run

2. See which apps count as idle after 60 days. Apps with no usable signal are skipped on purpose, so a short list does not mean the rest are in use.

   npx macleanup --only 21 --threshold 60 --dry-run

3. Run section 21 interactively and select by number. Uninstalling also removes the app's local data, so export anything you need from its container first.

   npx macleanup --only 21

Both sections move to the Trash, and a failed Finder move leaves the item where it was. Once Trash is emptied, they are gone.

The facts, dated

Last checked 7 November 2026. Check AppCleaner yourself

AppCleaner plan	Price	Source
DownloadNo price on the pages we checked; direct download links and a Donate link	Not stated on the pages we checked	Source7 November 2026

macleanup's own prices are on Plans and allowance.

What	AppCleaner	macleanup
Clears caches	Not stated on the pages we checked	YesSections 3, 5 and 19.
Clears logs	Not stated on the pages we checked	YesSection 7.
Finds orphan files from removed apps	PartialRemoves related files along with an app. No stated scan for apps already gone.Source	YesSection 12.
Uninstalls apps	YesSource	YesSection 21, moved to the Trash.
Disk usage map	Not stated on the pages we checked	PartialA text report from section 26. No visual map.
Free to use	Not stated on the pages we checked	YesThe command line has no limit. The app has a Free plan with a monthly run limit.
Mac App Store or notarised	Not stated on the pages we checked	NoNot notarised by Apple and not on the Mac App Store.
Open source	Not stated on the pages we checked	PartialThe command line is MIT and public. The desktop app source is private.