Mac storage basics · Developer tools

How do I delete old iOS simulators and simulator runtimes?

Short answer: Run xcrun simctl delete unavailable to remove stale simulator devices, and remove unused runtimes in Xcode's settings under Platforms (Components in older versions).

Two kinds of data build up:

  • Simulator devices — in Terminal, xcrun simctl delete unavailable removes devices for runtimes you no longer have. You can also delete devices in Xcode's Devices and Simulators window.
  • Simulator runtimes (whole iOS, watchOS, tvOS or visionOS versions) — remove ones you don't need from Xcode's settings, under Platforms (called Components in some older versions).

Quit Simulator first. Deleting a simulator also deletes apps and data installed in it.

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