buildkill

Find and delete .next, .turbo, dist, build and other regenerable build caches. Like npkill, but for build artifacts instead of node_modules.

 buildkill v1.0.0  ~/Desktop                                        ✓ 11,294 dirs scanned
 152 folders · 11.1 GB total · 2 selected (3.0 GB) · freed 0 B

            SIZE   AGE  TARGET            PATH
 ❯ [x]   1.73 GB   2mo  .next             Tagmango/tagmango-frontend/apps/web/.next
   [x]   1.26 GB   5mo  .next             Fleapo/the-dream-live-v2/.next
   [ ]   1.13 GB    7m  .turbo            Fleapo/itic-one/.turbo
   [ ]    889 MB   3mo  .next             Tagmango/fg-client/.next
   …
 ↑↓ move · space select · a all · d/⏎ delete · o open · s sort:size · q quit

Zero dependencies. Node 18+.

Install

npm install -g buildkill

or run it once without installing:

npx buildkill ~/Desktop

Requires Node 18+. macOS, Linux and Windows.

Usage

buildkill [dir] [options]            interactive (default: current directory)

  -t, --target <a,b,c>   folder names to look for (replaces the default list)
  -a, --add <a,b,c>      extra folder names on top of the defaults (e.g. node_modules)
  -N, --node-modules     also look for node_modules folders (npkill-style)
  -W, --worktrees        list whole Claude Code worktrees (.claude/worktrees/*), flagging
                         any with uncommitted changes; runs git worktree prune after deleting
      --all              also include Pods and .venv on top of node_modules
  -x, --exclude <a,b>    folder names or path fragments to skip
  -d, --depth <n>        how deep to descend (default: unlimited)
      --min-size <size>  only show folders at least this big       e.g. 100mb, 2gb
      --older-than <age> only show folders untouched for this long  e.g. 7d, 2w, 3mo
  -s, --sort <mode>      size (default) | age | path
      --full             show absolute paths instead of relative ones

  -l, --list             non-interactive: print what was found and exit
      --json             like --list, as JSON
  -y, --yes              non-interactive: delete EVERYTHING found (combine with filters!)
  -n, --dry-run          never delete, only show what would be deleted
      --targets          print the default target list and exit

Keys in interactive mode:

key	action
↑ ↓ / j k	move
space	select / unselect
a	select all / none
d / Enter / Delete	delete selected (asks y/N first)
o	reveal in Finder / file manager
s	cycle sort: size → age → path
q / Esc	quit

Examples:

buildkill ~/Desktop/Fleapo                       # browse every project under a folder
buildkill -l --min-size 200mb                    # quick report of the big offenders
buildkill -t .next,.turbo -y --older-than 30d    # unattended cleanup of stale caches
buildkill -N                                     # include node_modules too (npkill-style)
buildkill ~ -N --older-than 30d                  # everything stale, including old node_modules
buildkill ~/Desktop -W                           # leftover Claude Code session worktrees
buildkill -n -y                                  # dry run: show what -y would delete

What it deletes, and what it refuses to

Run buildkill --targets for the full list. In short:

• Always: framework caches whose names are unambiguous: .next, .turbo, .nuxt, .svelte-kit, .astro, .angular, .parcel-cache, .vite, .expo, .dart_tool, __pycache__, .pytest_cache, …
• Only inside a project folder (one with package.json, build.gradle, Cargo.toml, pyproject.toml, Podfile, …): generic names like dist, build, out, coverage, .cache, target, storybook-static. A build folder in ~/Documents is never touched.
• Opt-in: node_modules with -N (or --all, which also adds Pods and .venv). These are regenerable but slow to restore, so they stay out of the default list. With -N, buildkill fully replaces npkill.
• Claude Code worktrees (<repo>/.claude/worktrees/<session>) are scanned like any other project, so the node_modules and .next a session left behind show up. With -W each worktree is listed whole instead; ones with uncommitted changes are flagged in red, and deleting one also runs git worktree prune in the parent repo.
• Inside node_modules only .cache and .vite are reported. It never recurses into node_modules, vendor, venv, .git, hidden folders, symlinks, or ~/Library.
• Empty folders are hidden. Deletion refuses /, your home folder and the scan root.

Sizes are allocated disk blocks (what du reports), not apparent file sizes. "AGE" is the newest file inside the folder, so a .next marked 5mo really has not been built in five months.

Windows notes

• Works in Windows Terminal, PowerShell and cmd. In Git Bash Node doesn't get a real terminal, so the interactive screen can't start; run winpty buildkill … there, or use -l.
• ~ is expanded by buildkill itself, so buildkill ~/Desktop works even though PowerShell and cmd pass it through literally. Plain paths work too: buildkill C:\Users\you\Desktop.
• Scanning a whole drive (buildkill C:\) works; Windows, Program Files, ProgramData and AppData are skipped, and installed apps (anything with an .exe next to resources\, an .asar payload, or a macOS .app bundle) are never entered even though they contain package.json and dist folders of their own.
• If a delete fails with "in use or locked", a dev server, editor or indexer still has a file open inside that folder. Stop it and press d again.
• If PowerShell refuses to run npx ("running scripts is disabled"), use npx.cmd buildkill or allow local scripts once: Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned.

Alternatives

tool	notes
npx npkill -t .next,.turbo,dist	npkill already supports custom targets, comma-separated. No notion of "safe to delete", so dist matches everywhere.
kondo (Rust)	Multi-language artifact cleaner (Cargo, Gradle, Node, Python, Unity …). Doesn't know .next / .turbo.
sweep, ZapDir	npkill-style TUIs covering .next, dist, .turbo.
git clean -Xdn / -Xdf	Per repo: removes everything gitignored. Careful, that includes .env files.

Feedback

If it's useful, a star on the repo helps and feel free to pass it on to other devs. Bugs, ideas, PRs, or if you want to work on it together: open an issue or ping me.

Development

git clone https://github.com/Avilash2001/buildkill.git
cd buildkill
npm test
npm install -g .   # link your local copy as the global command

MIT © Avilash Ghosh