SiftawayHelp
Short answers to the things people ask first.
Getting started
What does the first scan do?
It reads sizes and metadata for the locations named by the rule set, and runs read-only git commands in your repositories. Nothing is written, moved or uploaded. A typical scan takes well under a minute.
How do I grant Full Disk Access?
Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Full Disk Access, click +, choose Siftaway and turn the switch on, then scan again. macOS hides Mail, Safari and some container folders from apps without this permission, so results are smaller without it. Siftaway says so on the result screen instead of pretending those folders are empty.
How do I switch language?
Siftaway follows your system language (English or Simplified Chinese). To override it, use the Language menu in the menu bar; the app relaunches to apply the change.
Reading results
What do Recommended, Use caution and Can’t remove mean?
- Recommended rows regenerate by themselves or with a quick command. They are selected for you.
- Use caution rows are safe to remove but expensive to rebuild (a long download or compile). They are listed, not selected.
- Can’t remove rows appear in the deep scan so you can see what Siftaway refuses and why. They have no checkbox.
Where does the evidence come from?
From your own machine, at scan time: the rule that matched, the git state of the repository (branch, uncommitted and unpushed work, stashes, files hidden by .gitignore), whether lockfiles are intact, how long ago the data was last written, and the command that rebuilds it. Click any row to open its evidence panel.
Why does it say “not written in 180 days”?
Age is shown as a reason, never offered as a mode. It is based on last-write time, which for package caches means “last downloaded”, not “last used”, so the figure is conservative.
Why do sizes differ from Finder?
Siftaway uses the same decimal units as Finder and Disk Utility (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes) and reports space actually occupied on disk. Sparse files, hard links and APFS clones can make a folder’s logical size much larger than what it really occupies; Disk Analysis shows both.
Undo and space
How do I put something back?
Right after a cleanup, click “Undo this cleanup” on the result card. Later, open the Trash in Finder, select the items and choose Put Back. Both work until you empty the Trash.
I cleaned 50 GB but my disk is still full. Why?
Because the files are in the Trash, and the Trash is on the same disk. Siftaway shows “Actually freed: 0 B” until you choose Empty Trash in Finder. That step is left to you on purpose: it is the one that cannot be undone.
Can I stop a cleanup halfway?
Yes. Items already moved stay in the Trash, the rest are left untouched, and the result card says exactly where it stopped.
License
How do I activate Pro?
- In Siftaway, click the license button in the toolbar and copy this Mac’s device code.
- Open the license page, enter your order number, checkout e-mail and the device code.
- Paste the license into Siftaway and click Activate.
Does activation need the internet?
Not on the Mac running Siftaway. The license is a signed text; the app verifies the signature locally. You can fetch the license on any device with a browser and carry it over.
How do I add another Mac?
Repeat the steps above with the new Mac’s device code. You get a new license that lists all your Macs (up to 3 on Annual and Lifetime); paste it on each one.
“This license is for another Mac”
The license does not list this Mac’s device code. Add this Mac on the license page and paste the new license.
Troubleshooting
Why was an item skipped during cleanup?
The reason is shown next to it. The usual ones: the folder changed since the scan, a process is using it, or it turned out to be on the never-delete list. Scan again and retry. The checks are described on the safety page.
A cache I know about is not listed
Either no rule covers it yet (all 82 are on the rules page), or it is protected, in which case it shows up in the deep scan with the reason. Tell us about caches you would like covered: use Feedback in the app, or write to support@siftaway.com.
Contact
support@siftaway.com. The Feedback button in the app prepares a message in your own mail client, with optional diagnostics you can read before sending. They contain rule ids and counts, never paths.