# Is it safe to delete Rancher Desktop’s lima folder?

- URL: https://moreroom.app/folders/rancher-desktop
- Item: Rancher Desktop virtual machine
- Location: `~/Library/Application Support/rancher-desktop/lima`
- Verdict: Review first — Might hold something you care about. Look inside before removing it.
- Comes back on its own: no
- Typical size: 5–100 GB
- From the app: Rancher Desktop > Images: remove unused images, or Troubleshooting > Factory Reset.
- Source: MoreRoom rules catalogue (2026-10-17), by Yando Pte. Ltd.

## What is it?

Rancher Desktop runs Kubernetes and a container engine inside a Lima virtual machine. Its VM disk lives in `~/Library/Application Support/rancher-desktop/lima` and holds your images, containers, volumes and Kubernetes state. Typically several GB to tens of GB.

## What happens if you delete it?

Not as it was: deleting it loses images, containers and cluster data. Rancher Desktop creates a fresh VM at its next start.

## How to remove it properly

In Rancher Desktop, open Images and remove the images you no longer need. To start completely fresh, use Troubleshooting › Factory Reset, which removes the VM and its data properly.

## Before you delete it

Quit Rancher Desktop before touching this folder by hand; deleting it while the VM runs can corrupt the app’s state.