DiskRings scans a volume or folder and draws its disk usage as a sunburst: every ring is one folder level, every segment is as wide as its share of the storage. Click into any folder to zoom, go back with a swipe, and clean up right from the chart. It is a native SwiftUI app for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and a macOS alternative to tools like WinDirStat, TreeSize, SpaceSniffer or Scanner on Windows.
Languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Turkish and Swedish. DiskRings follows your system language automatically; you can also pick a language in Settings or per app in System Settings → General → Language & Region → Applications. See Translations to improve or add one.
Features
- Fast, accurate scanning of whole volumes or single folders, in parallel via
getattrlistbulk. DiskRings counts the space actually allocated on disk: hard links only once, sparse and compressed files with their real size, the APFS Data volume firmlinks without double counting, and iCloud files without downloading them.
- Interactive sunburst chart with click-to-zoom, animated transitions, back/forward (also with a trackpad swipe) and a breadcrumb bar. Small items are grouped so the chart stays readable.
- Synchronized detail list next to the chart, with percentage bars, multi-selection and search.
- The whole disk at a glance: at the volume root, the ring also shows System Data (other APFS volumes in the container such as Preboot, VM and Recovery, each named, plus unreadable system areas), Purgeable space and Free space (can be hidden via View → Show Free Space in Ring). The start screen and status bar show the same split as a stacked bar.
- Snapshots and compare: "Where did my disk space go?" Save a scan, scan again later and see exactly what grew, what shrank, what is new and what was removed.
- Safe cleanup: context menu with Show in Finder, Open, Quick Look, Copy Path, Rescan This Folder and Move to Trash. Deleting only ever moves items to the Trash, asks first, and can be undone with ⌘Z. System locations are protected.
- Analyze with AI: right-click a folder or file and ask an AI assistant what it is and whether it is safe to delete. Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity open in your browser with the prompt prefilled; Gemini, Le Chat and Duck.ai open with the prompt on the clipboard; Copy Prompt gives you the same prompt for any other assistant. The prompt includes path, sizes, the largest items, file types, the probable owner app and your macOS version, with your user, full and computer name replaced by placeholders. The GitHub download can also start an interactive session in Terminal with an installed AI CLI (Claude Code, Codex CLI – including the one in the ChatGPT app – or GitHub Copilot CLI) and its own start prompt that has the AI look at the folder read-only, in plan or read-only mode or with approval for every change, and without the folder's own MCP servers and settings where the tool allows it. Configuration files and instructions in the folder (e.g. from downloaded projects) can still influence the AI, so use sessions only for folders whose contents you trust. Choose the assistants under Settings → AI. You still delete only in DiskRings.
- Color by branch or by file type, light and dark mode.
- Command-line tool
diskrings-cli for scans, top folders, snapshots and diffs (handy for scripts).
- Private by design: no telemetry, no account; the only network request is the update check of the GitHub download (the App Store version makes none). "Analyze with AI" opens your browser or Terminal only when you click it.
- Automatic updates for the download from GitHub (Sparkle, signed and verified); the App Store version is updated by the App Store.
- Localized into 14 languages, with sizes, numbers and dates formatted for your region.
Sunburst chart
Every ring is a folder level. Hover for details, click to zoom in, and the list on the right follows along.
Compare scans: growth view
Pick an earlier snapshot and DiskRings shows only what changed. In the growth view, segment size is the growth since the snapshot, and the list ranks the largest changes.
Compare scans: delta coloring
The delta coloring keeps the normal layout and paints growth orange and shrinkage blue (distinguishable with red-green color blindness; with “Differentiate without color” shrunk segments are also hatched and marked ±). New items get a dot, removed items appear as dashed outlines.
Context menu
The same actions in the chart, the list and the menu bar. Protected items explain why they can't be trashed.
Start screen
Pick a volume, choose a folder, or drop one onto the window.
Why DiskRings?
There are good disk usage tools for the Mac already. Each has its own focus:
| DiskRings | DaisyDisk | GrandPerspective | OmniDiskSweeper |
|---|
| Visualization | Sunburst + list | Sunburst | Treemap | Sorted list |
| Compare scans over time | Yes (snapshots) | No | No | No |
| Shows space outside folders (system data, purgeable, free) | Yes | Yes (as hidden space) | No | No |
| Delete | Trash only, with undo | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free, open source (MIT) | Paid | Free, open source | Free |
What makes DiskRings different:
- Snapshot compare. Answer "where did my disk space go since last week?" instead of hunting through the whole disk again.
- Honest totals. The scan sum plus System Data plus Purgeable equals the used space reported by the volume, so other volumes, APFS snapshots and purgeable space don't silently disappear.
- Safe by default. There is no permanent delete. Everything goes to the Trash, with a confirmation and ⌘Z undo, and system paths are protected.
- Fast. On an M3 Pro, a home folder with 2.9 million files and folders is scanned in about 10 seconds (
du -sk needs 65 s for the same folder). Comparing two snapshots with 2 million entries each takes about 0.3 s. Details are in dev/PERFORMANCE.md.
- Free and open source, with no in-app purchases, no ads and no data collection.
Installation
Download
- Download the latest DMG from Releases.
- Open it and drag DiskRings into Applications.
- Start it. The app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
Requirements: macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, Apple Silicon or Intel.
Homebrew
Planned.
Full Disk Access (recommended)
Without Full Disk Access, DiskRings still works, but macOS hides folders like ~/Library/Mail, ~/Library/Messages, Safari data and other apps' containers. They show up as unreadable, and their space is counted as "Unreadable System Data". To grant access:
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access (or click the button on the DiskRings start screen).
- Click +, add DiskRings from Applications, and turn the switch on.
- Restart DiskRings.
DiskRings only reads file sizes and metadata. It never opens or uploads your files.
Build from source
DiskRings is a Swift package without an Xcode project. The Command Line Tools with Swift 6 are enough (xcode-select --install); Xcode is optional.
git clone https://github.com/brokoskokoli/diskrings.git
cd diskrings
scripts/check.sh # build and run all tests
DISKRINGS_ADHOC=1 scripts/make-app.sh # build/DiskRings.app (release, universal, ad-hoc signed)
open build/DiskRings.app
Command-line tool:
swift run -c release diskrings-cli scan ~ --top 10 --depth 2
swift run -c release diskrings-cli scan / --json
swift run -c release diskrings-cli volumes
UI previews and Mac App Store screenshots (demo data only, nothing is scanned):
swift run DiskRings --render-snapshots build/snapshots # PNGs of many views, light and dark
swift run DiskRings --store-screenshots build/store --language en --appearance dark # 2880×1800
Publishing a new version
Releases are built, signed with the Developer ID, notarized by Apple and published by the GitHub Actions workflow release.yml when a v* tag is pushed. The version lives in VERSION and uses semantic versioning.
# 1. Bump the version on main (CI must be green)
echo 0.2.0 > VERSION
git commit -am "Version 0.2.0"
git push origin main
# 2. Tag it; the tag must match VERSION
git tag -a v0.2.0 -m "DiskRings 0.2.0"
git push origin v0.2.0
- Approve the run: Actions → Release → Review deployments →
release → Approve and deploy (the release environment requires a maintainer's approval).
- After about 5–10 minutes the release with DMG, ZIP,
appcast.xml and SHA256SUMS appears under Releases, with release notes generated from the commits. Installed copies newer than 0.2.1 find the update through appcast.xml (Sparkle); the ZIP is the signed update archive, the DMG is for first installs. Users of 0.2.1 or older have to download the new version once by hand.
Before a release you can do a dry run that builds, signs and notarizes without publishing: gh workflow run release.yml -f dry_run=true. Only repository admins can create v* tags. A local release without CI is possible with scripts/release.sh --publish. The Mac App Store build is uploaded separately: run Actions → App Store Upload on the tag with dry_run unchecked, approve it, then select the build in App Store Connect and submit it for review, or check submit_for_review to let the workflow submit it via the App Store Connect API using the release notes in dev/release-notes/ (details in dev/APPSTORE.md, German). Automatic updates need a one-time EdDSA key: scripts/setup-release-secrets.sh --sparkle stores the private key as the secret SPARKLE_ED_PRIVATE_KEY and writes the public key to Resources/sparkle-public-ed-key.txt (commit it); without both, a real release stops in the preflight check. One-time setup, secrets, troubleshooting and security trade-offs: dev/RELEASING.md (German).
FAQ
Why does DiskRings show a different size than the Finder?
The Finder usually shows the logical file size (the number of bytes in the file). DiskRings shows the space allocated on disk, like du. They differ for compressed and sparse files, many small files (block size), and hard links, which DiskRings counts only once. APFS clones share blocks, but macOS has no public API to detect that, so cloned files can make a folder total look larger than the space it really uses.
What are "System Data", "Purgeable" and "Free"?
When you scan a whole volume, DiskRings splits the space that appears in no folder (used space minus the scan sum):
- System Data: the other APFS volumes in the same container (Preboot, VM for swap and sleep image, Recovery, Update, or your own volumes such as a Nix store), each with its name and size, plus Unreadable System Data: the rest, e.g. the Spotlight index, document versions,
/private/var/db, APFS metadata and – without Full Disk Access – the folders DiskRings wasn't allowed to read.
- Purgeable: space macOS frees on demand (caches, iCloud files, local snapshots).
- Free: really unused space, drawn light grey.
Local APFS and Time Machine snapshots can't be measured separately without administrator rights; depending on their state they count as Purgeable or Unreadable System Data. Older versions showed all of this as one grey "Unassigned" segment.
Is deleting safe?
DiskRings never deletes permanently. "Move to Trash" uses the system Trash, asks for confirmation with name, size and file count, and can be undone with ⌘Z. The root of a volume, your home folder as a whole, ~/Library as a whole, system locations such as /System and /usr, and the app itself are protected and cannot be trashed. Undo checks that the item in the Trash is still the same one before restoring it.
Does it work on external drives and network volumes?
Yes. Any mounted volume or folder you can read can be scanned. Network volumes are slower because every directory listing goes over the network.
Privacy
DiskRings contains no telemetry, analytics or crash reporting. Scan results and snapshots stay on your Mac (~/Library/Application Support/DiskRings).
- Analyze with AI: data leaves your Mac only when you explicitly click an entry in Analyze with AI, and then through your browser (the chosen AI service receives the prompt) or the AI CLI you chose (an interactive session in Terminal, GitHub download only). DiskRings itself sends nothing. Before the first send (separately for web services and sessions) it explains what is passed on: path, kind, size, file and folder counts, last modification date, names and sizes of the largest items, file types, probable owner app (bundle ID, installed or not), in a comparison the change since the snapshot, and the macOS version. A session tool can also read the files in the folder. Your user name, full name and computer name are replaced by placeholders and your home folder by
~; other folder and file names are passed on unchanged.
- Mac App Store version: makes no network connections at all.
- Download from GitHub: checks GitHub for updates (the file
appcast.xml of the latest release) when you choose Check for Updates… and, if you allow it, about once a day. No information about you, your Mac or your files is sent, and no system profile. DiskRings asks before checking automatically; turn it off in Settings → General → Automatically check for updates. Updates are only installed if their EdDSA signature matches. Full policy: privacy.html.
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome, especially translations, bug reports with steps to reproduce, and performance measurements on other Macs.
- Run
scripts/check.sh before submitting. It must pass without warnings.
- All logic lives in
Sources/DiskRingsCore and is covered by tests in Tests/DiskRingsCoreTests. The SwiftUI app in Sources/DiskRings stays thin.
- The specification is in SPEC.md and design decisions are in dev/DECISIONS.md (both in German).
Translations
The translations were created with machine assistance and reviewed for Apple's macOS terminology, but not yet by native speakers of every language. Corrections are very welcome.
- All texts live in
Sources/DiskRingsCore/Resources/<language>.lproj/: Localizable.strings (UI texts), Localizable.stringsdict (plural forms) and InfoPlist.strings (the privacy texts macOS shows). English (en.lproj) is the source.
- Improve a language: edit the values in that folder and open a pull request. Keep the keys and placeholders (
%@, %1$@, %2$@, …) unchanged; you may reorder positional placeholders.
- Add a language: copy
en.lproj to <code>.lproj (e.g. cs.lproj), translate it, provide the plural categories your language needs in the .stringsdict, and add the code and the language's own name to L10n.supportedLanguages and L10n.nativeName(of:) in Sources/DiskRingsCore/Localization/L10n.swift.
scripts/check.sh runs tests that catch missing or extra keys, mismatched placeholders and missing plural forms.- Screenshots in any language:
swift run DiskRings --render-snapshots build/snapshots/fr --language fr.
License
DiskRings is released under the MIT License. Copyright © 2026 Stefan Richter.
