# Can I delete Xcode Archives on Mac?

- URL: https://moreroom.app/folders/xcode-archives
- Item: Xcode archives
- Location: `~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives`
- Verdict: Keep — your data — Your data. Shrink it from its app; don’t delete the folder.
- Comes back on its own: no
- Source: MoreRoom rules catalogue (2026-10-17), by Yando Pte. Ltd.

## What is it?

Every time you choose Product › Archive, Xcode saves an `.xcarchive` bundle here, sorted into dated folders. Each archive holds the signed app build you distributed and its dSYM debug symbol files. They are your release history, which is why this folder counts as your data rather than a cache.

## What happens if you delete it?

Archives are not recreated. Rebuilding the same tag of your code does not produce the identical binary, so the dSYMs of a deleted archive cannot be regenerated to match a version already in users’ hands.

## How to remove it properly

Open Xcode’s Organizer (Window › Organizer › Archives) and right-click › Delete only the archives you are sure you will never need, such as test builds or versions no longer installed by anyone. To save space without losing them, copy the whole `~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives` folder to an external drive or another backup first.

## Before you delete it

Without the matching dSYM, crash reports from that version cannot be symbolicated, so keep at least the archives of every build that is still live on the App Store or TestFlight.