sizeMatters

sizeMatters is a free, native macOS disk-space explorer inspired by TreeSize. Scan a folder or startup disk, sort its contents by allocated size, expand directories, and remove unwanted files without waiting for a new scan after every deletion.

Features

• Expandable directory tree sorted by allocated size
• Folder and whole-disk scanning with live progress and cancellation
• Multiple selection with Command-click or Shift-click
• Move to Trash or permanently delete with confirmation
• Instant in-memory size updates after deletion—no automatic rescan
• Hidden-file scanning, symlink-cycle protection, and APFS mount deduplication
• Persistent authorization for folders selected through the file picker
• One-click access to macOS Full Disk Access settings
• Runs entirely on your Mac

Install

sizeMatters currently supports Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or newer.

1. Download sizeMatters-0.2.0-apple-silicon.dmg from the latest release.
2. Open the DMG.
3. Drag sizeMatters into the Applications folder.
4. Because this early release is not Apple-notarized, Control-click sizeMatters in Applications, choose Open, then confirm Open the first time.

Do not run sizeMatters permanently from the DMG. Moving it to Applications gives macOS a stable path for saved permissions.

Full Disk Access

macOS protects Mail, Messages, other applications' containers, and parts of the startup disk even after a folder is selected.

Before a full startup-disk scan:

1. Open sizeMatters and click Full Disk Access on the welcome screen or toolbar.
2. Click + in System Settings and choose /Applications/sizeMatters.app.
3. Enable sizeMatters, quit it completely, and reopen it.

Apple requires this permission to be granted manually. sizeMatters cannot enable it for itself.

Use

1. Click Choose a Folder or Drive and select a scan root.
2. Wait for sizeMatters to calculate allocated sizes.
3. Expand folders to find large descendants.
4. Command-click or Shift-click to select multiple rows.
5. Use Trash for recoverable deletion. Permanent deletion is available from the context menu and cannot be undone.
6. Click Rescan only when you want to refresh changes made outside sizeMatters.

The total shown is the sum of per-file allocated sizes. APFS clones may share physical blocks, so this can differ from the physical space reported by System Settings. macOS remains authoritative for actual free capacity.

Build from source

Requirements: macOS 14+, Xcode 16+, and the Xcode command-line tools.

git clone https://github.com/silidos/size-matters.git
cd size-matters
swift test
scripts/build-app.sh
open dist/sizeMatters.app

To create the release DMG:

scripts/build-dmg.sh

Artifacts are written to dist/. Override release metadata with SIZE_MATTERS_VERSION and SIZE_MATTERS_BUILD_NUMBER.

Signing and distribution

Local builds are ad-hoc signed. A production release should use an Apple Developer ID Application certificate, hardened runtime, and Apple notarization. Stable Developer ID signing is also important because macOS privacy permissions are associated with the app's signing identity.

Safety and limitations

• The selected scan root cannot be deleted inside sizeMatters.
• Trash operations are recoverable until Trash is emptied.
• Permanent deletion has a separate confirmation.
• Mounted volumes and APFS system namespaces are excluded from / scans to avoid double counting; select another mounted volume directly to scan it.
• Some protected files remain unreadable until Full Disk Access is granted.

License

MIT