Several useful Xcode and macOS paths are listed below. Inspect each target before deleting anything, close Xcode and Simulator first, and prefer Xcode’s own management UI when available.
| Purpose | Path |
|---|---|
| Hosts file | /private/etc/hosts |
| Legacy Xcode plug-ins | ~/Library/Application Support/Developer/Shared/Xcode/Plug-ins |
| Build index and DerivedData | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData |
| Device support symbols | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport |
| Simulator devices and their data | ~/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices |
| Organizer archives | ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives |
| Provisioning profiles | ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles |
| CocoaPods cache | ~/Library/Caches/CocoaPods |
DerivedData can be regenerated, although the next build and index may take longer. Simulator devices and archives can contain irreplaceable app data or archived builds, so manage them through Window → Devices and Simulators and Window → Organizer or back them up first.
Find retain cycles and leaks
Run Product → Analyze for static diagnostics. For runtime leaks, choose Xcode → Open Developer Tool → Instruments, then use the Leaks and Allocations templates. Runtime tools can reveal issues that static analysis cannot observe.
Diagnose zombie objects
Enable Zombie Objects under Product → Scheme → Edit Scheme → Diagnostics, or use Instruments’ Zombies template. Zombies intentionally retain metadata about deallocated Objective-C objects and increase memory usage, so use them only in a debug run.
Choose between multiple Xcode installations
Xcode’s Settings → Locations → Command Line Tools selects a toolchain for many command-line operations. The terminal can also inspect and change the active developer directory:
1 | xcode-select --print-path |
Confirm the target path before switching, especially on build machines that intentionally use a pinned Xcode version.
