Is the VS Code Extensions Folder Safe to Delete on Your Mac?
~/.vscode/extensionsYes, you can delete ~/.vscode/extensions, but know what you're signing up for: it holds every VS Code extension you have installed, and deleting it removes them all. Nothing is lost forever, since extensions reinstall from the marketplace, but you'll be rebuilding your setup by hand unless Settings Sync is on. Most of the time the smarter move is trimming the folder, not wiping it.
What it is
~/.vscode/extensions is where Visual Studio Code unpacks every extension you install from the marketplace. Each extension gets its own folder named publisher.name-version, so you'll see entries like ms-python.python-2026.6.0 or dbaeumer.vscode-eslint-3.0.10. The folder lives in your home directory, hidden by the leading dot, which is why it rarely shows up until a disk scan points at it.
It grows for two reasons. First, modern extensions are not small: language tooling for Python, C++, Java, or Flutter often bundles its own language server binaries, and a single one can run into hundreds of megabytes. Second, when an extension updates, VS Code unpacks the new version into a fresh folder and is supposed to remove the old one, but it frequently leaves the previous version behind. Stack a few years of updates on top of a few dozen extensions and the folder commonly reaches several gigabytes, with heavy setups going well past that.
Is it safe to delete?
Deleting the folder won't break VS Code or your Mac. The next launch, VS Code simply starts with zero extensions and recreates the folder as you reinstall them. Your settings, keybindings, and snippets are safe either way, because those live in ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User, not here. The real cost is your time: without Settings Sync, you have to remember and reinstall every extension yourself. If you plan a full wipe, run code --list-extensions in Terminal first and save the output so you have a reinstall list.
For most people the better play is selective cleanup. Uninstall the extensions you no longer use from inside VS Code, then clear out the stale duplicate version folders that updates left behind. That recovers most of the space with none of the rebuild. Diskmack identifies this folder automatically and cleans the leftover old versions the safe way.
How to check its size
In Finder: In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (or press Shift+Cmd+G), paste ~/.vscode/extensions, and press Return. Select everything with Cmd+A, then press Cmd+Option+I to see the combined size in one inspector window.
In Terminal:
du -sh ~/.vscode/extensionsHow to clean it
- Open VS Code and press Shift+Cmd+X to open the Extensions view.
- Uninstall anything you no longer use, starting with big language packs and tools from old projects. Each uninstall deletes its folder for you.
- Optional, if you're considering a full wipe: run code --list-extensions > ~/Desktop/extensions.txt in Terminal so you have a reinstall list. If Terminal says it can't find code, open the Command Palette in VS Code (Shift+Cmd+P) and run "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH" first.
- Quit VS Code completely with Cmd+Q.
- In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder and open ~/.vscode/extensions.
- Look for duplicate folders that differ only by version number, such as publisher.name-1.2.0 next to publisher.name-1.4.2. Move the older duplicates to the Trash.
- Reopen VS Code, confirm your extensions still load, then empty the Trash.
If Settings Sync is turned on, your extension list restores automatically the next time you sign in, which makes even a full wipe a fairly low-risk move.
Will it come back?
Yes, and that's by design. The folder regrows every time you install an extension and every time one updates, since each update unpacks a new versioned folder and sometimes strands the old one. VS Code prunes obsolete versions now and then, but not reliably, so expect to repeat this cleanup every few months if you install extensions often. The growth rate depends on what you use: a handful of themes barely registers, while language tooling for C++, Java, or Flutter can add gigabytes over a year.
Common questions
Will deleting the extensions folder erase my settings and keybindings?
No. Settings, keybindings, and snippets live in ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User. The extensions folder only holds the extension code itself, so your configuration survives even a full wipe.
Why do I see two folders for the same extension?
Updates. VS Code unpacks each new version into its own publisher.name-version folder and is supposed to remove the old one, but it often leaves it behind. The older duplicate is dead weight and safe to move to the Trash while VS Code is closed.
Can I just delete the whole ~/.vscode folder instead?
You can, but it also holds a few config files like argv.json alongside the extensions. If disk space is the goal, the extensions subfolder is where nearly all the size lives, so target that and leave the rest.
Does this apply to Cursor or VS Code Insiders?
Not this exact path. Cursor keeps its extensions in ~/.cursor/extensions and Insiders uses ~/.vscode-insiders/extensions. Same layout, same cleanup logic, different folders.