Good alternatives for CCleaner

To safely find all of the files related to an applicaiton downlonad and use Find Any File to do the search. I can search areas that Spotligh can't, like invisible folders, packages and systsem folders. Like this search for GraphicConverter:

Then it's up to you to select the files that need to be deleted and drag the from the search results window to the T

OTrash bin.

tommy_db wrote:

I know that it's an old post but you're one of the few people who understood that a Mac is not a magic computer. A Mac, like anything, needs some maintenance and attention.

In 30+ years using a Mac, I have never performed any maintenance on any of my Macs, short of not installing crapware and backing up my data.

Never had a problem.

Never found any garbage.

What specifically is it about the iTunes library that you consider garbage?

Well, a single example: if I play an audio file outside iTunes library (may be a wave file I use developing apps) why does iTunes create its copy into "Music" folder inside "iTunes Media" using "Unknown artist" and "Unknown album" sub-folders? Is there any reason to keep copies there? Even if I delete original ones? Why doesn't create a weak link? iTunes seems to play only things that are inside its library but doesn't notify to users that it's working in this manner (like iPhoto does instead). I can't say that osx uses disk space sparingly...

I don't know what about you, but every time I take a ride manually inside my disk, I can clean a lot of unuseful data (not talking about downloaded files or old documents stored by me).

What you say, imho, is quite good if you install only apps coming from App Store but if you install stuff coming from outside... things changes. Take a look to library folders... a setup package may install a lot of stuff inside them but simply moving your .app folder ("the application" for a normal user) into the trash bin won't make you get rid of that stuff...

In the screenshot there is an example of a quite "cleaned" user library folder.

you shouldnt have been using CC Cleaner in the first place, there is NO recommended replacement for same

😊

For instance i hate the way you have to uninstall apps on mac

Removing APPS from a Mac is the case (usually) where nothing is left behind, you have it backwards.

Yes, this is why I said "(usually)" above.

Photoshop is an exception to be certain. 😉

I should have specified "98% of Mac APPS out there can be dragged to the trash for TOTAL removal"

Photoshop indeed leaves some things behind, so does Acrobat Pro, Corel, and a handful of LARGE Applications.

Total applications overall that leave behind traces is extremely small.

You should never use apps like AppCleaner, AppZapper or (assuming it provides this functionality) CCleaner. They are unreliable, and can cause problems due to incomplete removal or removing things that don't actually belong to the app being removed.

If an application was downloaded from the App Store, deletion is as simple as dragging it to the trash. This will leave behind some very small preference files. These files have no impact on your computer's performance, and take up a tiny fraction of a percentage of your computer's total hard drive space. They are insignificant, and are not worth troubling yourself over.

If an application required an installer, the only appropriate method for removing it is to use the uninstaller provided by the developer of that app. You should make yourself aware of the uninstall method for an app before installing it. Some apps require an installer, but the developer provides no uninstaller; such apps should not be installed in the first place.

If an application does not require an installer, but was not obtained from the App Store, it's possible it may install components on its own. Check with the developer of that app to find out what the recommended uninstall method is. For the most part, though, such apps should uninstall as easily as an App Store app.

You can use such tools to find the locations by any application. But I reccomend don't clean your mac with such tools because if you give privilege rights can damage your system.

I use the terminal for that to remove applcations manually

sudo find /* | grep "application-name*"

Ok old school but it works. Note the exact spelling Name of the Application.

@elias wrote:

Thanks thomas you're right but for me works. OK for inexperienced users it's not so good. If you have better solution over the Terminal I'm glad to read.

Greetings,

@elias

The reason it is unreliable is that many things installed by an app do not contain "application-name"

The less you modify your Mac with 3rd party apps the better it will run. Caches don't need cleaning, all that does is waste time while they are being rebuilt. Soon you need more 3rd party junk to fix what the previous3rd party junk messed up.

This not Windows, you don't need your Windows habits anymore.

As others have said, you should not mess with the underpinings. However, if you must, you chould try TinkerTool System 2 by Brenick Software. While it can do much of what you are asking for, it can really screw up the system unless you know what you are doing. If you are looking for bits and pieces of left over applications and like to look for them by name, you could try Thomas Templton's Find Any File. Lack of knowlegde using Find Any File will also make a huge mess of your system. So, buyer beware, utilities do exist but........

Steve H

P.S. I have used both of these in the past and I do keep them around for the very, very rare time I need to get to something, I never use either on a routine basis.

cerwik wrote:

I unninstal apps with AppCleaner:

Okay.

That's not really a good idea, though. Any kind of generalized uninstaller like that is very unreliable, prone to removing too little or (worse) too much.

If an app actually needs an uninstaller, with very rare exceptions, you should ONLY use the uninstaller provided by the developer. That uninstaller knows exactly what needs to be removed, and will do it properly. If an app doesn't need an uninstaller (such as an App Store app), then... well, it doesn't need an uninstaller. Just chuck it in the trash and be done with it.

If an app forced you to reboot when you installed it you probably have little rabbit turds lying around that need cleaning.

If you did not need to reboot you are probably ok with just trashing the application.

The .plist files are way too small to effect any problems.

Apps like Garageband have a great deal of add-on files that are problematic. Almost any Adobe product and also Word create gobs of stuff (Fonts and things) that should be removed if not needed.

I agree that 95% of all Mac apps are drag and drop into the trash for removal.