mothball

v0.1.3 · free · open source · Mac, Windows, Linux

Your disk is full of projects you forgot.

Mothball finds the build output in projects you have not touched in months, puts it away, and rebuilds it the day you come back. Your code stays exactly where it is.

Download free Star on GitHub

The first run, on the Mac Mothball was built on

180 folders

56.5 GB back

Your files Build output in idle projects Free
The Mothball app: free space, Autopilot, and idle projects with the build output each one can give back The Mothball app: free space, Autopilot, and idle projects with the build output each one can give back

22

stacks it understands, from JavaScript and Flutter to Rust, Unity and Terraform.

0

files deleted outright. Everything goes to the Trash first, and your code is never touched.

3

systems, natively: macOS, Windows and Linux, on Intel, AMD and Arm.

How it works

It sits in your menu bar and keeps the shelf tidy.

1. Finds idle projects

It reads each project's own files to know its stack, then measures the build output that can be regenerated. Projects you touched recently are left alone.

2. Puts them away

One click, or let Autopilot do it whenever free space drops below your target. The longest idle projects go first.

3. Wakes them up

Open an old project again and Mothball notices. Wake runs the right restore step for its stack: npm install, flutter pub get, pod install.

All of this is safe to put away.

Every folder here can be rebuilt with one command. Mothball only takes it when the project around it proves what it is.

node_modules.nexttarget.venvPods.dart_toolbuild.gradle.buildbinobjvendor_build.stack-workzig-out.angular.svelte-kit.turboLibraryIntermediate.godot.terraformDerivedData~/.npmSimulatorsHomebrew cache

22 stacks, plus tool caches in green. Missing yours? It's one file.

Safe by design

Careful enough to leave running.

A cleaner you are scared of is a cleaner you never use. Mothball would rather skip a folder than guess.

  • Never touches anything git tracks. If it is committed, it is yours.
  • Never matches by folder name alone. A folder called build is only build output when the project around it says so.
  • Uncommitted work means active. Projects with changes in progress are skipped.
  • Checks again right before moving. If anything changed since the scan, it backs off.
  • Trash, never delete. Every move is logged, and .mothballignore keeps anything you choose.

Prefer the terminal?

The whole thing is a CLI too.

Same engine, same safety checks, on macOS, Windows and Linux.

Download

Get Mothball for your computer

Free and open source, for macOS, Windows and Linux.

Or with Homebrew

$ brew tap herocodess/tap
$ brew trust herocodess/tap
$ brew install --cask mothball

The app includes the mothball command line tool. All files and checksums

Your old projects can rest. Your disk can breathe.

Download free Star on GitHub

Free and open source under the MIT licence.