Is it safe to delete Xcode DerivedData?

Yes. DerivedData is Xcode's build cache, and it's often tens of gigabytes. Here's what it is, how to clear it, and what else Xcode leaves behind.

What DerivedData is

Every time you build a project, Xcode writes intermediate build products, indexes and logs to ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData, one folder per project. It's there to make the next build faster. Xcode never cleans up folders for projects you've stopped working on, so it grows forever.

Is it safe to delete?

Yes. Nothing in DerivedData is your source code or settings. If you delete it, Xcode recreates what it needs. The only cost is that the next build of each project takes longer, and indexing (autocomplete, jump to definition) catches up in the background.

Quit Xcode first, so it isn't writing to the folder while you delete it.

How to delete it

From Finder

• In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder… and enter ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData.
• Move the project folders you don't need to the Trash, or all of them.

From Terminal

rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/*

This deletes permanently, with no Trash. Double-check the path before pressing Return.

Other Xcode storage worth checking

Folder	What it is	Safe to remove?
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport	Debug symbols copied from each iOS version you've connected a device on	Yes for old iOS versions. They're copied again if you connect that version. Details
~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator	Simulator devices and their data	Unavailable ones, yes: xcrun simctl delete unavailable. Details
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives	Builds you archived for release	Careful. Keep archives of shipped versions if you need their crash symbols.
~/Library/Caches/com.apple.dt.Xcode	Xcode's own cache	Yes. It's rebuilt.

Other developer leftovers

The same idea applies to node_modules folders, Rust target folders, Python virtual environments and Gradle caches in projects you haven't touched in months. They're all rebuilt by one install or build command. Two other big ones on developer Macs: Docker's disk and local AI models.