Xcode Archives: where they are and what is safe to delete
Every time you choose Product → Archive, Xcode saves the result as an .xcarchive. They are useful, and they are not disposable the way DerivedData is. Archives pile up silently, so the real question is not “how do I delete them” but “which ones can I delete”.
Where they are
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/ArchivesInside, Xcode makes one folder per day, such as 2026-10-06, and puts each archive in the day it was created. You can also browse them without Finder: Window → Organizer → Archives. The Organizer shows each archive with its version and date, and lets you show it in Finder or delete it.
See which ones are big
du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/*/* | sort -rh | head -20That lists the 20 biggest archives. To see archives that are older than six months:
find ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives -name "*.xcarchive" -mtime +180Both commands only list. They delete nothing.
What is inside, and why it matters
An archive holds your built app and, importantly, its dSYMs: debug symbol files. When a user’s app crashes, the crash report contains memory addresses. The dSYM for that exact build turns them into function names and line numbers. If you do not have it, the crash report is nearly useless.
To look inside an archive: right-click it in Finder, choose Show Package Contents and open the dSYMs folder.
What is safe to delete
| Archive | Safe to delete? |
|---|---|
| A build you never uploaded or released | Yes |
| A TestFlight build nobody uses any more | Usually yes |
| An old version of an app you still support | Keep it until that version is retired |
| The build currently in the App Store | Keep it |
| Any shipped build, if you copied its dSYMs elsewhere | Yes, the dSYMs are what matter |
The rule: keep the archive, or at least its dSYMs, for every build that real users can run. Everything else is yours to delete.
How to delete
In the Organizer, select an archive and choose Delete. Or delete the .xcarchive file in Finder. From Terminal, remove one by its path:
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/2025-12-18/"MyApp 2025-12-18, 4.32 PM.xcarchive"Quote the file name, because it contains spaces and a comma.
A safer habit
Before you delete an old archive of a shipped build, copy its dSYMs folder somewhere permanent, such as your backup drive or the repository’s release folder. It is a few megabytes, and it keeps crash reports readable long after the archive is gone.
Why this one is different from the rest
Most developer clutter is a cache: it regrows when you need it. Archives are history. That is why a cleaner should leave them alone unless you decide otherwise. For the folders that do regrow, see iOS DeviceSupport, simulator runtimes and the full developer checklist.
Quick answers
Where are Xcode archives stored?
In ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives, in folders named by date. You can also see them in Xcode under Window, Organizer, Archives.
What is a dSYM and why does it matter?
A dSYM file maps the compiled code of a shipped build back to your source code. Without it, crash reports from that build show memory addresses instead of readable function names.
Is it safe to delete archives of builds I never released?
Yes. If a build never reached users, nobody sends you crash reports for it, so its dSYMs are not needed.