Delest
Français · Site: https://kdev1966.github.io/delest-site/
Delest finds what can be deleted on a developer's machine without harming their work (build artefacts, dependencies, caches) and frees the space with their consent. Every verdict comes with its reasons.
Status: phases 1 to 3 done and phase 4 (local AI, model store) nearly done, macOS first. See the design document (in French).
Install
The command:
cargo install --path crates/delest
The app, with the command inside it, for the system it is built on (on Windows, from Git Bash):
cargo install tauri-cli --version "^2" --locked # once
rustup target add x86_64-apple-darwin aarch64-apple-darwin # once, on macOS: a universal app
./scripts/package.sh # macOS: DMG; Linux: .deb and AppImage; Windows: installer
Ready-made packages are attached to each release. On Linux the app needs WebKitGTK (libwebkit2gtk-4.1).
- macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon): open the DMG and drag Delest into Applications. The app is not notarised yet: the first time, open it with right-click → Open.
- Linux:
sudo apt install ./Delest_<version>_amd64.deb, or make the AppImage executable and run it.
- Windows: run
Delest_<version>_x64-setup.exe; it installs for the current user. It is not signed yet: SmartScreen asks to confirm (More info → Run anyway).
Usage
delest scan ~/Projects # what can be freed, and why (read only)
delest explain ~/Projects/app/target
delest clean ~/Projects --dry-run # preview of what would go into the quarantine
delest clean ~/Projects # preview, confirmation, then quarantine
delest restore --list # what the quarantine holds
delest restore # put the latest item back
delest purge # free at once what rebuilds locally
delest protect ~/Clients/archive # never offer this folder
delest status # free space, what the last scan found, the quarantine
delest install # hook in Claude Code: a check at each session
delest timer on # a check every 4 hours (off by default)
delest shadow # what the new rules, still in shadow, would offer
delest mcp # read-only tools for agents (MCP)
delest doctor
What Delest never touches
- a file tracked by git, or new to it (neither tracked nor ignored);
- a folder holding secrets, local configuration or data (
.env*, *.db, *.sqlite, *.pem…);
- a build folder without a manifest that holds source code;
- a folder protected with
delest protect;
- a symbolic link.
These bans come before every rule and every habit.
Verdicts
| Verdict | Meaning |
|---|
| freeable | rebuilt locally |
| freeable online | rebuilt identically from the network (lockfile); never offered offline |
| to review | offered only one by one, with clean --review |
| protected, unknown | never offered |
Safety
clean moves items into a quarantine on the same volume, never copies them; each item's record is written before the move.- Right before acting, each folder is assessed again; it stays in place if its verdict changed, if it was modified in the last ten minutes, or if a program has a file open in it.
- The quarantine keeps each item 7 days, within 10 % of the volume;
purge empties it sooner, only for what rebuilds locally.
- The dependencies of a project worked on in the last 30 days are kept.
- An item refused three times is no longer offered; a restore makes the item, then its rule, more cautious.
- Every action is journaled.
Acceptance corpus
delest corpus replays real folders whose verdict the developer set; it fails if a protected item comes out freeable. See corpus/README.md (in French).
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md; to report a vulnerability, SECURITY.md.
License
MIT © 2026 Othman Kaabaoui.
