Bottom Line: It is 100% safe to delete old .xcarchive packages in Xcode Archives. Deleting past archives will NOT delete your Xcode app source code (.xcodeproj, .swift) or active App Store deployments.
What is the Xcode Archives Folder?
Located at ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives on macOS, this directory is created by Xcode when iOS and macOS developers build app release packages.
When you select Product > Archive in Xcode to submit an app to App Store Connect or TestFlight, Xcode compiles your project into a .xcarchive bundle containing dSYM debug symbols, app binaries, and bitcode.
Each archive weighs 200 MB to 2 GB. Over years of iOS app development, hundreds of old build archives hoard 20 GB to 60 GB+ of Mac SSD storage.
Can You Delete Xcode Archives?
✅ Yes, it is safe to delete.
- No source code loss: Your
.swiftcode files, asset catalogs, and Git commit history remain 100% safe. - Redownload symbols: Published app archives submitted to App Store Connect have their dSYM symbols saved in Apple’s cloud portal.
How to Safely Clean Up Xcode Archives
Method 1: Delete via Xcode Organizer (Recommended)
- Open Xcode.
- Go to Window > Organizer.
- Select Archives tab on the left sidebar.
- Select old app versions, right-click, and select Delete Archive….
Method 2: Manual Terminal Purge
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/*Related Guides
- Learn about deleting Xcode DerivedData.
- How to clean up CocoaPods cache.
- Check if you can clean Swift PM cache.
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