Understand your Mac before you delete anything.

OriginLens scans the folders you choose and reads only file names, sizes, dates and types. Deterministic, documented rules recognize well-known locations and patterns, for example:

• ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari is a browser cache that Safari rebuilds.
• node_modules next to package.json holds dependencies your package manager can reinstall.
• Xcode DerivedData contains build products; removing it does not touch source code.
• Disk images in Downloads are usually leftovers once an app is installed.

Each result combines evidence — location, neighbouring project files, age, whether the owning app is installed or running — into a plain-language explanation. When OriginLens does not recognize something, it says so and treats it as important.

The inspector also answers “why does OriginLens think this?”. A built-in knowledge base links common locations to what is documented about them, and shows the sources: Apple and vendor documentation, open-source project documentation, and — clearly marked as such — community discussions. Evidence that rests on community reports alone never produces a “safe to delete”: it asks you to review. Where sources disagree, you see the disagreement instead of a confident guess.

The knowledge base is a file inside the app. Nothing is fetched while scanning, and no page content is copied into the app — only facts, short summaries written for OriginLens, and links you can open yourself.

• Safe — strong evidence the data is regenerable and unused.
• Low risk — normally regenerated; may cause a re-download or slower next launch.
• Review required — possibly removable, but only you can confirm.
• Unknown — not recognized, so treated as important.
• High risk — likely your data or settings; never suggested for removal.
• Protected — system files, keychains and credentials; never offered.

Before anything moves you see the exact list, the total, a risk summary and the items that will be skipped, and you confirm explicitly. Items go to the Trash — nothing is deleted permanently — and every operation is recorded so you can put items back.

Suggestions are careful estimates, not guarantees. Space is freed when you empty the Trash, and some items (such as files shared with snapshots) may free less than shown.