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Toolbox
Understand Mac changes before you clean them up
Toolbox is a free, open-source macOS app I built after getting tired of cleanup tools that show large folders without explaining what created them or whether removal is reversible. It traces installer changes, finds rebuildable project output only inside folders you choose, and records Trash-backed cleanup actions so you can recover them. Everything runs locally. No account, telemetry, privileged helper, or automatic deletion. Not Apple-notarized; first launch requires Open Anyway.
I built Toolbox because I kept running into the same problem on my Mac: I could see that a folder was large, but I couldn't tell what created it, whether it was safe to remove, or how I would undo the cleanup if I got it wrong.
So I made the tool I wanted to use myself.
Toolbox has three main workflows:
- Install Trace compares filesystem metadata before and after a normal installer.
- Projects finds known rebuildable output only inside project folders you choose.
- Recovery keeps evidence for Trash-backed cleanup actions and checks paths before restoring.
It runs locally and doesn't require an account. There is no telemetry, privileged helper, automatic deletion, or malware verdict.
One honest limitation: Toolbox 2.0 is a stable product release, but it is ad-hoc signed and not notarized by Apple, so macOS requires the Open Anyway step in Privacy & Security. I included a SHA-256 checksum, and the source is public. Please don't disable Gatekeeper or remove quarantine attributes.
I'm looking for practical feedback from Mac developers. What evidence would you need before cleaning a path? Which confirmation or recovery step feels unclear? And which project artifact should Toolbox recognize next?
If you find a reproducible issue, please include your macOS version and Mac architecture, but not private paths or files:
Toolbox was submitted on Product Hunt and earned 0 upvotes and 1 comments, placing #24 on the daily leaderboard. Toolbox is a free, open-source macOS app I built after getting tired of cleanup tools that show large folders without explaining what created them or whether removal is reversible. It traces installer changes, finds rebuildable project output only inside folders you choose, and records Trash-backed cleanup actions so you can recover them. Everything runs locally. No account, telemetry, privileged helper, or automatic deletion. Not Apple-notarized; first launch requires Open Anyway.
On the analytics side, Toolbox competes within Mac, Open Source, Developer Tools and GitHub — topics that collectively have 732.9k followers on Product Hunt. The dashboard above tracks how Toolbox performed against the three products that launched closest to it on the same day.
Who hunted Toolbox?
Toolbox was hunted by thangldw. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
For a complete overview of Toolbox including community comment highlights and product details, visit the product overview.
thangldw
Hi Product Hunt,
I built Toolbox because I kept running into the same problem on my Mac: I could see that a folder was large, but I couldn't tell what created it, whether it was safe to remove, or how I would undo the cleanup if I got it wrong.
So I made the tool I wanted to use myself.
Toolbox has three main workflows:
- Install Trace compares filesystem metadata before and after a normal installer.
- Projects finds known rebuildable output only inside project folders you choose.
- Recovery keeps evidence for Trash-backed cleanup actions and checks paths before restoring.
It runs locally and doesn't require an account. There is no telemetry, privileged helper, automatic deletion, or malware verdict.
One honest limitation: Toolbox 2.0 is a stable product release, but it is ad-hoc signed and not notarized by Apple, so macOS requires the Open Anyway step in Privacy & Security. I included a SHA-256 checksum, and the source is public. Please don't disable Gatekeeper or remove quarantine attributes.
I'm looking for practical feedback from Mac developers. What evidence would you need before cleaning a path? Which confirmation or recovery step feels unclear? And which project artifact should Toolbox recognize next?
If you find a reproducible issue, please include your macOS version and Mac architecture, but not private paths or files:
https://github.com/thangldw/toolbox/issues
Thanks for trying it.