If you have ever plugged an iPhone or iPad into your Mac and used Xcode — even briefly — you have almost certainly accumulated a folder full of iOS DeviceSupport files you can delete without losing anything meaningful. These folders can quietly consume tens of gigabytes, and most developers do not notice them until a low-storage warning appears or a routine disk audit turns up the surprise. This guide explains exactly what each folder contains, which versions are safe to remove, and how to do it cleanly on macOS Sequoia and the upcoming macOS Tahoe, whether you are running Apple Silicon or an Intel Mac.
What Is the iOS DeviceSupport Folder?
When you connect a physical iPhone or iPad to Xcode for the first time, Xcode copies a bundle of debug symbols and shared libraries from the device onto your Mac. This bundle is called a DeviceSupport package, and one is created for each unique combination of iOS version and build number you have ever debugged against.
The files live here:
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport/
A typical subfolder looks like 17.4 (21E219) or 18.2 (22C152). Inside each one you will find a Symbols directory that can be 3–8 GB on its own. The purpose of these symbols is to let the Xcode debugger resolve real function names and line numbers when a crash occurs on a real device running that exact OS build. Without the matching symbols, stack traces appear as raw memory addresses.
Where Exactly Are the Files and How Big Do They Get?
The parent folder is inside your home directory's Library, which is hidden by default. You can open it in Finder by pressing Cmd + Shift + G and pasting the path below:
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport
To measure the total size from Terminal:
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/"iOS DeviceSupport"
To list each subfolder sorted by size:
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/"iOS DeviceSupport"/* | sort -rh
Here is a representative sizing breakdown for a Mac that has been used for active iOS development over two major OS generations:
| Folder name (example) | iOS release | Typical size | Safe to delete? |
|---|---|---|---|
15.8.3 (19H386) |
iOS 15 (2022–23) | 3–4 GB | Yes, unless you still debug iOS 15 devices |
16.7.10 (20H350) |
iOS 16 (2022–24) | 4–6 GB | Yes, if all your test devices are on iOS 17+ |
17.5.1 (21F90) |
iOS 17 (2023–24) | 5–7 GB | Depends — keep if any device is on iOS 17 |
18.4 (22E240) |
iOS 18 (2024–25) | 6–8 GB | Keep the latest build you actively test |
18.5 (22F77) |
iOS 18.5 (2025) | 6–8 GB | Keep — current release as of mid-2026 |
It is common to find 10–15 subfolders totaling 50–80 GB on a Mac that has been in active use for several years. That is real, recoverable space.
Is It Safe to Delete iOS DeviceSupport Folders?
Yes, with one caveat: deleting a DeviceSupport folder for a version you still actively debug will force Xcode to re-copy the symbols the next time you connect a device running that version. The re-copy takes a few minutes and requires the physical device to be plugged in. There is no data loss of your own code, project files, derived data, or app archives — those live in entirely different locations.
What you will lose:
- The ability to symbolicate crash logs from that specific OS version without re-attaching the device
- A few minutes of wait time the next time you connect a device on that version
What you will not lose:
- Installed apps on your devices
- Xcode projects or workspaces
- Simulators, derived data, or archives
- App Store credentials or provisioning profiles
How to Delete Old iOS DeviceSupport Versions (Step-by-Step)
- Quit Xcode entirely before deleting anything. Use Cmd + Q or right-click the Dock icon and choose Quit.
- Open the folder in Finder: press Cmd + Shift + G, paste
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport, and press Return. - Sort by name (View > Sort By > Name) to see versions in order. Identify the iOS versions you no longer need to support.
- Select old folders — anything two or more major versions behind your current minimum deployment target is generally safe. For example, if your app targets iOS 17+, you can remove all iOS 15 and iOS 16 folders.
- Move to Trash (Cmd + Delete), then empty the Trash.
- Verify by running
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/"iOS DeviceSupport"again in Terminal.
Alternatively, from Terminal you can delete a single version non-interactively:
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/"iOS DeviceSupport"/"15.8.3 (19H386)"
Double-check the folder name with ls ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/"iOS DeviceSupport"/ first so you do not mistype a version string.
Related Xcode Folders That Also Eat Disk Space
iOS DeviceSupport is one of several heavyweight directories under ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/. If you are doing a thorough cleanup, check these locations too:
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/— build artifacts, indexing caches. Fully regenerated on the next build. Often 10–30 GB.~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/— .xcarchive bundles used for App Store submission. Keep recent releases; delete old ones after you have confirmed the App Store upload is live.~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices/— simulator runtime images. Each simulator runtime is 5–10 GB. Remove unused runtimes via Xcode > Settings > Platforms.~/Library/Developer/Xcode/watchOS DeviceSupport/— same pattern as iOS, but for Apple Watch pairings.~/Library/Developer/Xcode/tvOS DeviceSupport/— same pattern for Apple TV.
For a broader look at what is consuming your disk beyond Xcode, see our guide on why Xcode takes up so much space — it covers DerivedData, simulators, and archives in depth.
Watchos and tvOS DeviceSupport: Same Rules Apply
The same logic applies to Watch and TV device support folders. If you develop for watchOS, you will find a parallel folder at:
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/watchOS DeviceSupport/
And for Apple TV:
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/tvOS DeviceSupport/
Each subfolder follows the same version (build) naming convention and the same deletion rules. You can safely remove any version that is two or more major releases behind the current watchOS or tvOS version, as long as you are not actively debugging a device running that version.
How Often Do These Folders Accumulate?
Xcode creates a new DeviceSupport entry for every new build number — not just major iOS versions. That means a single iOS release cycle (say, iOS 18.0 through 18.5) can produce five or six separate subfolders over the course of a year, each several gigabytes in size. If you test on multiple physical devices running slightly different builds, you can get duplicate entries for what is effectively the same release.
A practical cleanup cadence is once per major iOS release cycle — usually in autumn after Apple ships the new iOS version. At that point, any folder two or more major versions old (e.g., iOS 15 when iOS 18 is current) can be deleted without hesitation. A tool like Crumb can audit all of these developer folders at once and show you the size of each before you decide what to delete, which is useful when you have watchOS, tvOS, and iOS support folders mixed together.
Will Deleting DeviceSupport Affect App Store Submissions?
No. App Store submissions use your .xcarchive bundles and provisioning profiles, which are stored separately. DeviceSupport files are purely for local on-device debugging via Xcode. They are not uploaded to Apple, not embedded in your app binary, and not required for TestFlight distribution. If you maintain a CI/CD pipeline using Xcode Cloud or a third-party service, those environments manage their own symbol caches and are not affected by what you delete locally.
For a complete picture of what is eating your Mac's storage beyond just developer tools, the full storage breakdown guide covers system data, caches, and application support directories across the board.