aibris

AI + debris. A small CLI for cleaning up the filesystem leftovers from AI coding sessions: worktrees, logs, node_modules, and build caches.

AI tools are productive, but they shed a lot of temporary state while they branch, build, test, and retry. aibris scans the places that debris tends to collect, shows a readable cleanup plan, and only deletes after filters, confirmation, and path safety checks.

Who is this for?

• Developers who use AI coding tools that create Git worktrees under $HOME
• Teams sharing development machines where worktrees accumulate
• Anyone who wants to reclaim disk space from node_modules and build caches
• AI assistants that need structured scan output before cleanup

What it cleans

Category	Examples	Default clean
AI worktrees	$HOME worktree conventions such as .tool/worktrees and project-local worktrees	Classic: orphaned; guided Codex: evidence-based
Dependencies	project node_modules directories	Yes
Build caches	Go, npm, Gradle, Cargo, Xcode	Yes
Python caches	pip and uv cache directories	Yes
AI logs	Codex, Claude, Cursor, Windsurf logs	Only with --risky

Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sungjunlee/aibris/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bash

Install from the current main branch when you want unreleased changes:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sungjunlee/aibris/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bash -s -- main

Install a specific release:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sungjunlee/aibris/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bash -s -- 0.7.0

The installer downloads GitHub Release binaries and verifies checksums.txt. The default install path uses GitHub's releases/latest/download URLs for prebuilt binaries. main builds from source with Go.

By default, aibris installs to ~/.local/bin and does not require sudo. If that directory is not on your PATH, the installer prints the exact command to add it for your shell. For a system-wide install, pass an explicit prefix:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sungjunlee/aibris/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --prefix /usr/local/bin

Usage

aibris scan                    # discover what's taking space
aibris scan --json             # machine-readable output (see docs/JSON_SCHEMA.md)
aibris scan --root ~/.codex    # narrow scan to a home subdirectory

aibris clean --dry-run         # preview without deleting
aibris clean --no-guide --dry-run # force classic cleanup audit
aibris clean                   # delete with confirmation
aibris clean --root ~/.codex --dry-run
aibris clean --age 7d          # classic filter, or guided minimum idle age
aibris clean --age 30d         # older than 30 days
aibris clean --age 1mo         # older than 30 days (month shorthand)
aibris clean --age 1y          # older than 365 days
aibris clean --interactive     # confirm each item
aibris clean --category node_modules   # only node_modules
aibris clean --tool codex,claude       # only specific tools
aibris clean --risky           # include ai-logs
aibris clean --include-active-worktrees # include active worktrees
aibris clean --force           # skip confirmation prompt

See docs/DOGFOOD.md for real local scan transcripts used to validate release behavior.

Example

$ aibris scan

scan
  roots  ~

  scanned  7 sources   4 items   3.2 GB

summary
  found       4 items
  found size  3.2 GB
  default clean 3.1 GB
  protected   96.0 MB active worktrees; use --include-active-worktrees after review

by category
  node_modules    1   1.8 GB
  build-cache     2   1.3 GB
  worktree        1   96.0 MB

largest
    1.8 GB  node_modules  dashboard    -                  24d
  842.0 MB  build-cache   go-build     global             9d
  512.4 MB  build-cache   npm          global             18d
   96.0 MB  worktree      b7f4c2       aibris             active today

next
  aibris clean --dry-run
  aibris scan --json

Preview before deleting anything:

$ aibris clean --category worktree --age 7d --dry-run
clean
  roots  ~

  policy  age>7d, risky=false, active-worktrees=protected
  scan    cached, 8s old

scan summary
  scanned    7 sources   3 items   2.0 GB
  eligible   1 item   96.0 MB
  protected/skipped 2 items   1.9 GB

by category
  category             found     eligible  protected/skipped  main reason
  worktree          2  192.0 MB   1  96.0 MB   1  96.0 MB  active worktree protected
  node_modules      1    1.8 GB   0      0 B   1   1.8 GB  outside category/tool filters

  matched  1 candidate   96.0 MB

clean plan
  mode     dry-run
  targets  1 item   96.0 MB

targets
      size  category      name         project            age/status     action       reason
   96.0 MB  worktree      b7f4c2       aibris             orphaned 12d   remove-path  orphaned worktree; parent repo metadata missing
    ~/.codex/worktrees/b7f4c2

[DRY-RUN] No files were removed.

When active Codex worktrees are the useful cleanup decision and no classic cleanup selector is supplied, aibris clean --dry-run opens guided Codex worktree review by default. This includes protected-only pressure: at least one validated active Codex cleanup unit and either 256 MB total or three units. The guide defaults recommended rows to selected, keeps reviewable and locked rows visible, lets you toggle selectable rows by number, and still hands the final selection to the normal dry-run plan before anything can be deleted:

aibris clean --dry-run

The guided policy operates on physical cleanup units. A unit is sized and removed once, but every direct or one-level nested Git worktree member must pass safety inspection. Members are grouped for retention by canonical Git common-dir, not by the path-derived project label.

Policy evaluation is ordered:

1. Lock the unit when it contains the current directory, dirty or untracked files, unreadable Git or Codex activity evidence, a detached HEAD unreachable from named refs, or activity within the last 6 hours.
2. Keep the three most recently active units per canonical repository as reviewable and unselected. A user may explicitly select these soft holds.
3. Keep units younger than the guided minimum idle age (3 days by default) or smaller than 256 MB reviewable and unselected.
4. Recommend and select the remaining units.

An attached local branch is recoverable even without an upstream. A detached HEAD is recoverable when a local or remote named ref contains it. Missing or gone upstream is shown as explanatory metadata and never locks a row by itself. Changing --age or using the prompt's age, +, -, [ or ] commands changes only the minimum idle age; the 6-hour lock and recent-three ranking do not change.

The guide reads only Codex session metadata such as timestamps and working directories, never conversation bodies. A real deletion still requires the dry-run preview first and then the normal confirmation prompt unless --force is explicitly provided. --force skips only that prompt: it cannot select a locked row and is never passed to git worktree remove. Use --no-guide to keep the classic cleanup audit/executor route, or --guide to force guided Codex review.

Confirm before deleting anything:

$ aibris clean --category node_modules --age 7d
clean
  roots  ~

  policy  age>7d, risky=false, active-worktrees=protected
  scan    cached, 11s old

scan summary
  scanned    7 sources   4 items   3.2 GB
  eligible   1 item   1.8 GB
  protected/skipped 3 items   1.4 GB

by category
  category             found     eligible  protected/skipped  main reason
  node_modules      1    1.8 GB   1   1.8 GB   0      0 B  eligible for cleanup
  build-cache       2    1.3 GB   0      0 B   2   1.3 GB  outside category/tool filters
  worktree          1   96.0 MB   0      0 B   1  96.0 MB  active worktree protected

  matched  1 candidate   1.8 GB

clean plan
  mode     delete
  targets  1 item   1.8 GB

targets
      size  category      name         project            age/status     action       reason
    1.8 GB  node_modules  dashboard    -                  24d           remove-path  dependency directory; can be reinstalled
    ~/path/to/dashboard/node_modules

Proceed? [y/N]: y
removing 1/1: dashboard (node_modules) ...
removed: dashboard (node_modules) — 1.8 GB

cleanup receipt
  targets    1 item
  freed      1.8 GB
  protected/skipped 3 items   1.4 GB

scan writes a short-lived snapshot under the user cache directory. A following clean reuses it for 5 minutes when the scan roots and cache schema match. If the cache is stale, missing, or for different roots, clean falls back to a live scan with progress output.

Live fallback keeps the same audit shape after non-interactive scan progress:

clean
  roots  ~

  scanning node_modules
  scanning build-cache
  found    build-cache    2 items   1.3 GB
  found    node_modules   1 items   1.8 GB

  policy  age>7d, risky=false, active-worktrees=protected
  scan    live

scan summary
  scanned    7 sources   3 items   3.1 GB
  eligible   1 item   1.8 GB
  protected/skipped 2 items   1.3 GB

For unscoped guided Codex cleanup, the no-selector loop is fast and visible:

aibris scan
aibris clean --dry-run
aibris clean

This plain-command pair is not a substitute for a scoped cleanup. If the user approves selectors or safety flags, keep every flag and value identical in the preview and execution commands and remove only --dry-run for execution.

When stdout is an interactive terminal, scans use a single-line spinner while providers run. In non-interactive logs, progress falls back to plain scanning / found lines.

Safety

• Independent age policies: classic cleanup defaults to --age 7d; guided Codex cleanup defaults to a 3-day minimum idle age while always keeping its 6-hour recent-activity lock and recent-three retention
• Human age units support h, d, w, mo, and y
• --dry-run previews before deleting
• --interactive confirms each item
• Target plan before final confirmation shows category, size, project, age/status, path, and cleanup command when applicable
• Guided Codex cleanup classifies physical units as recommended, reviewable, or locked after member-level Git and activity checks, then uses the same dry-run and confirmation model as regular clean
• Git-aware active removal preflights every member, removes it with git worktree remove semantics, preserves attached branch refs and referenced detached commits, and verifies parent worktree metadata. It never falls back to recursive deletion after Git removal fails.
• Recent scan reuse skips a repeated scan when clean can use a fresh compatible snapshot, while still re-checking target paths
• --risky must be explicitly set to delete AI logs
• Active worktrees are excluded by default; use --include-active-worktrees only when you intentionally want age-based cleanup for valid worktrees
• Home-scoped roots: default scanning starts at $HOME; --root can narrow scope to one or more existing directories under $HOME
• Convention-based worktree discovery: worktrees are discovered by finding worktrees, worktree, worktree-*, and worktrees-* directories under scan roots, then validating direct or nested .git files. To keep full-home scans practical, aibris searches hidden owners and project-local containers within a bounded shallow depth instead of recursively walking every child.
• Pruned scan directories for project-style discovery include .Trash, Library, Applications, Pictures, Movies, Music, .git, vendor, and nested node_modules; Desktop and Downloads are scanned
• Official cache cleanup commands are preferred for supported caches (go clean -cache, npm cache clean --force, uv cache prune). If the owning command is missing, aibris falls back to the existing safe path removal behavior; if the command runs and fails, aibris does not fall back silently.
• Confirmation prompt on every clean (use --force to skip only the prompt; hard locks and non-forced Git removal remain unchanged)
• Safety validation rejects deletions outside $HOME, symlink escapes, and unvalidated arbitrary paths. Generic worktrees are only cleanable after scan metadata proves they are active or orphaned Git worktrees.
• Negative age rejection prevents accidental full-scope deletion

How It Works

aibris scan  → discovers worktree conventions, caches, node_modules, logs under scan roots
aibris clean → filters or plans evidence-based units → previews → deletes safely

AI tools leave debris in predictable conventions. aibris scans $HOME by default, prunes high-noise system and media directories while discovering development debris, validates Git worktree metadata before reporting worktrees, measures disk usage, and cleans only after filters and safety checks. Judgment about what should be removed stays with a human or an AI assistant using scan --json.

New tools can be added by implementing the DebrisProvider interface.

Agent Workflow

No-selector guided Codex cleanup:

aibris scan --json
aibris clean --dry-run
aibris clean

Scoped cleanup keeps every approved selector and safety flag identical between preview and execution; only --dry-run is removed:

aibris scan --json
aibris clean --no-guide --category worktree --age 7d --dry-run
aibris clean --no-guide --category worktree --age 7d

The intended agent flow is: scan, summarize by project/category/age, use guided review for active Codex pressure, run a dry-run, ask again, then execute. Treat active as linked Git metadata, not proof of recent use; rely on the guided class and reason before proposing an active unit. A scoped execution must never fall back to plain aibris clean: preserve all approved --category, --tool, --root, --age, routing, and safety flags.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md and AGENTS.md for architecture and development guidelines.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.