# Can I delete old Rust toolchains in ~/.rustup/toolchains?

- URL: https://moreroom.app/folders/rustup-toolchains
- Item: Rust toolchains
- Location: `~/.rustup/toolchains` (items inside)
- Verdict: Review first — Might hold something you care about. Look inside before removing it.
- Comes back on its own: yes
- Official command: `rustup toolchain uninstall <toolchain>`
- Source: MoreRoom rules catalogue (2026-10-17), by Yando Pte. Ltd.

## What is it?

rustup installs each Rust toolchain (stable, beta, dated nightlies, specific versions) in its own folder under `~/.rustup/toolchains`, including the compiler, standard library, components and offline documentation. Nightly and version-pinned toolchains pile up quickly, and each often takes around a gigabyte or more.

## What happens if you delete it?

rustup installs a pinned toolchain again when a project’s `rust-toolchain.toml` asks for it, or when you run `rustup toolchain install <name>`. Nothing else is lost.

## How to remove it properly

Run `rustup toolchain list` to see what is installed and which one is the default, then `rustup toolchain uninstall <name>` for each toolchain you no longer need. This is rustup’s own command and deletes permanently.