App Archaeology · macOS 14 or later

Support

App Archaeology maps application storage and associated files so you can understand what is on your Mac. It is read-only: it does not delete or modify inspected files.

Authorize Library access

App Archaeology uses macOS App Sandbox. To inspect your user Library, authorize read-only access using the app’s native macOS folder picker.

1. Click Choose Library Folder…. It appears on first launch and in the File menu.
2. In the folder picker, press Command-Shift-G, enter ~/Library, and press Return. Select your user Library folder and confirm.
3. Run a scan, then review Scan Coverage.

A security-scoped bookmark preserves your authorization between launches. If access stops working or authorization is requested again, repeat the Library authorization flow, select ~/Library again, and rescan. No Full Disk Access is requested or needed.

Read Scan Coverage

Coverage reports which locations were checked, unavailable, inaccessible, or only partially scanned. macOS sandbox and privacy protections can keep some locations inaccessible even after Library authorization. An empty result does not prove that an app has no associated data.

Understand the evidence

• Confirmed. Strong evidence supports the association with an application.
• Likely. Evidence suggests an association, but does not confirm it.
• Shared. Data may be associated with more than one application.
• Uncertain. There is some evidence of an association, but not enough to present it as confirmed.

Inspect an individual path to see why it was associated with an app. Attribution is deliberately cautious: false negatives are preferable to false-positive attribution.

What are Remains?

Possible artifacts for which no corresponding installed application was found. These files may still be used by something else. The label does not mean they are junk, definitively abandoned, or safe to delete.

Check unexpected results

• Missing apps or data? Check the search field and the Filter menu, review Scan Coverage, confirm Library authorization, and scan again after installing or moving applications.
• Size larger than expected? Sizes are space on disk. Storage shared through APFS clones can be counted more than once. These figures are not estimates of reclaimable disk space.
• Asked to allow access to data from other apps? macOS asks when App Archaeology measures other apps’ containers. Allow it to include those sizes. If you decline, they’re marked incomplete. You can change this later in System Settings › Privacy & Security.
• An Apple app shows “Not measured”? App Archaeology lists data that belongs to Apple’s own apps but doesn’t open it. macOS protects much of it.
• A path no longer opens? Files can move or disappear after a scan. Rescan to refresh results. Use Reveal in Finder or copy a path to inspect an available item.
• Association looks wrong? Review its evidence and confidence state. Heuristic matches are not definitive ownership claims.

Contact Kumiko

Use the Kumiko contact form for App Archaeology support. Include the app version, macOS version, what you expected, and what happened. Avoid sending private filesystem paths or file contents; redact personal details from any examples.

Filesystem analysis stays on your Mac. See the App Archaeology privacy policy.