Mole — Terminal Cleanup and Optimization Toolkit for macOS

Introduction

Mole is an open-source command-line tool by tw93 that brings macOS system maintenance into the terminal. It replaces GUI utilities like CleanMyMac, DaisyDisk, and iStat Menus with a single lightweight binary, giving developers full control over cleanup, monitoring, and optimization without leaving their workflow.

What Mole Does

• Scans and removes system junk, caches, logs, and leftover files to reclaim disk space
• Fully uninstalls applications including preferences, containers, and support files
• Analyzes disk usage with an interactive visual breakdown in the terminal
• Monitors CPU, memory, disk, and network usage in real time
• Optimizes system performance by clearing inactive memory and DNS caches

Architecture Overview

Mole is written as a collection of shell scripts orchestrated by a central dispatcher. Each subcommand (clean, uninstall, analyze, optimize, monitor) is a standalone module that uses native macOS utilities like mdfind, lsof, and system_profiler under the hood. This keeps the binary small and dependency-free while leveraging the operating system's own APIs for accurate results.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install via Homebrew with brew install tw93/tap/mole
• Alternatively clone the repo and run make install for manual setup
• Configuration is stored in ~/.config/mole/config.toml for custom scan paths
• Supports exclusion lists to skip specific directories or apps during cleanup
• Works on macOS 12 Monterey and later with both Intel and Apple Silicon

Key Features

• Single binary with zero external dependencies beyond macOS system tools
• Interactive terminal UI for disk analysis with color-coded size indicators
• Safe uninstall mode that previews files before deletion
• Real-time system monitor as a lightweight alternative to Activity Monitor
• Extensible subcommand architecture for adding custom maintenance scripts

Comparison with Similar Tools

• CleanMyMac — commercial GUI app with subscription pricing; Mole is free and terminal-native
• DaisyDisk — excellent disk visualizer but GUI-only; Mole provides terminal-based analysis
• AppCleaner — uninstalls apps but limited to drag-and-drop; Mole handles CLI batch operations
• iStat Menus — system monitor in the menu bar; Mole provides similar data in the terminal
• ncdu — disk usage analyzer for any Unix; Mole adds macOS-specific cleanup and uninstall

FAQ

Q: Does Mole work on Linux? A: No, Mole is designed specifically for macOS and relies on macOS-native system APIs and utilities.

Q: Is it safe to run mole clean on a production machine? A: Mole targets caches, logs, and temporary files that are safe to remove. It always shows a preview before deleting, and you can add exclusions for sensitive paths.

Q: How does Mole compare to running manual terminal commands? A: Mole aggregates dozens of cleanup and analysis commands into simple subcommands, saving time and reducing the chance of accidentally deleting important files.

Q: Can Mole schedule automated cleanups? A: Mole itself does not include a scheduler, but you can invoke it from cron or launchd for recurring maintenance.

Sources

• https://github.com/tw93/Mole
• https://tw93.fun/