Is It Safe to Delete iOS DeviceSupport Files on Your Mac?

Yes, it's safe to deleteDiskmack safety tier: Safe to clean

~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport~/Library/Developer/Xcode/watchOS DeviceSupport

Yes, you can delete everything inside ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport. These are debug symbols Xcode copied from every iPhone and iPad you've ever plugged in, and it copies them again the next time you attach a device. The same goes for the watchOS DeviceSupport folder sitting next to it. If you haven't debugged on a physical device lately, this is one of the easiest multi-gigabyte wins on a developer Mac.

What it is

The first time you connect an iPhone or iPad for debugging (and again after every iOS update), Xcode shows a progress bar labeled 'Fetching debug symbols' (older versions called it 'Preparing debugger support'). During that wait it copies the device's debug symbols to your Mac so it can symbolicate crashes and show readable stack traces. The symbols land in a subfolder named for the OS version and build number, something like '17.5 (21F79)'; newer Xcode versions add the device model to the name. Each subfolder typically runs a few gigabytes.

Xcode never cleans any of this up. Every iOS point release from every device you've ever attached gets its own folder, including devices you sold years ago. Paired Apple Watches do the same thing in ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/watchOS DeviceSupport. On a Mac that has seen a few devices through a few iOS versions, the combined total is often 10 GB or more, and heavy device-testing setups can pass 50 GB.

Is it safe to delete?

Deleting these folders costs you nothing permanent. The symbols live on the devices themselves; the copies on your Mac are just a local mirror. The next time you plug in a device and start a debug session, Xcode re-copies that device's symbols and everything works as before. The only price is sitting through 'Fetching debug symbols' again, usually a few minutes per device.

If you debug on hardware every day, a middle path is to keep the subfolders matching the iOS versions your current devices run and trash everything else. Old versions and devices you no longer own won't come up in normal debugging again. The one narrow loss: crash logs from an iOS version you deleted will show unsymbolicated system frames until a device on that version is attached again. Diskmack identifies both DeviceSupport folders automatically and cleans them the safe way, moving the contents to the Trash instead of deleting in place.

How to check its size

In Finder: In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (or press Command-Shift-G), paste ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport and press Return. Select everything inside with Command-A, then press Command-Option-I to see the combined size. Repeat with ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/watchOS DeviceSupport.

In Terminal:

du -sh ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/"iOS DeviceSupport" ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/"watchOS DeviceSupport"

The ~ expands to your home folder; the quotes handle the space in the name.

How to clean it

Quit Xcode, especially if a debug session is running.
In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder and enter ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport.
Select everything inside with Command-A and move it to the Trash with Command-Delete.
Repeat for ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/watchOS DeviceSupport if you've ever paired an Apple Watch.
Empty the Trash once you're sure you don't need to undo.

The next time you attach a device to debug, Xcode will show 'Fetching debug symbols' while it re-copies that device's symbols. Budget a few minutes per device before your first build-and-run.

Will it come back?

Yes, but only as fast as you debug on real hardware. Each device you attach for a debug session writes its symbols back, one folder per OS version, typically a few gigabytes each. If you test on several devices and update them with every iOS release, expect the folder to creep back up over the following months. If you work only in the simulator, it stays empty; simulators never write here.

Common questions

Can I delete just some of the version folders?

Yes. Each subfolder is named for an OS version and build number. Keep the ones matching what your current devices run and delete the rest. If you guess wrong, Xcode just re-copies the symbols on the next connection.

Will deleting this break Xcode, the simulator, or my apps?

No. These files are only used to debug on a physical device and symbolicate its crash logs. Building, archiving, App Store uploads, and all simulator work are unaffected.

Why is this folder so big?

Each OS version's symbols run to a few gigabytes, and Xcode keeps every version from every device forever. Two or three devices across a handful of iOS updates adds up quickly.

Is watchOS DeviceSupport the same deal?

Yes. It holds debug symbols from paired Apple Watches, it's safe to delete, and Xcode re-copies the symbols the next time the watch is attached through a debug session.