The editor that grew to 10 GB: VS Code's hidden storage on Mac
VS Code itself is a lightweight download — around 300 MB. But after months of daily use, extensions, workspace data, and caches can push its total footprint to 5, 10, even 15 GB. None of this shows up in Apple's storage breakdown in any obvious way. It just silently sits inside your Library folder.
Where VS Code stores data
VS Code spreads its files across several locations. Here are the ones that actually matter for disk space:
| Location | What's inside | Typical size |
|---|---|---|
~/.vscode/extensions | All installed extensions | 1–5 GB |
~/Library/Application Support/Code | Workspace state, settings, logs | 1–4 GB |
~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode | Update cache, GPU cache, network cache | 500 MB–2 GB |
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/workspaceStorage | Per-workspace data from extensions | 500 MB–3 GB |
Clean up extensions you don't use
Open VS Code, go to the Extensions sidebar (Cmd+Shift+X), and sort by installed. Every extension you installed for a one-off project and forgot about is still there — and some are surprisingly large (language servers, linters with bundled binaries, AI assistants).
Uninstall anything you don't actively use. You can always reinstall in seconds if you need it later.
To see how much space extensions are using from Terminal:
du -sh ~/.vscode/extensions
Clean workspace storage
This is the sneaky one. Every time you open a folder in VS Code, it creates a workspace entry in workspaceStorage. Extensions store per-project data there — and it's never cleaned up automatically, even if you delete the project.
Check the total size:
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/workspaceStorage
Each subfolder is a workspace. The folder names are hashes, but inside each one there's a workspace.json file that tells you which project it belongs to. If a project no longer exists on your disk, that workspace entry is pure waste.
Clear the cache
VS Code's cache folder contains update downloads, GPU shader cache, and network cache. You can safely delete its contents — VS Code rebuilds what it needs on next launch:
~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode
Close VS Code before clearing this folder, then reopen it. First launch may be slightly slower as caches rebuild.
Logs and crash reports
VS Code keeps logs in ~/Library/Application Support/Code/logs. These rotate, but on a heavily used setup they can accumulate. If the folder is over a few hundred MB, you can delete old log folders safely.
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User — that's your settings, keybindings, and snippets. And don't delete ~/.vscode/extensions wholesale unless you're prepared to reinstall everything.The bigger picture
VS Code is just one contributor. If you're a developer, your other tools — npm, Docker, Xcode, Homebrew — each have their own cache piles that add up fast. System Data on your Mac is often 50%+ developer leftovers on a coding machine.
Let Gigatidy find what your editor left behind
Gigatidy scans all your app caches — VS Code included — and shows exactly what's safe to clear, with sizes and explanations.
Meet Gigatidy →FAQ
Will cleaning VS Code caches affect my settings or extensions?
No. Your settings, keybindings, snippets, and extensions are stored separately from the cache. Clearing the cache folder only removes temporary data that VS Code rebuilds on its own.
Why does VS Code use so much space on Mac?
Most of the space comes from extensions (especially language servers and AI tools), per-workspace storage that accumulates as you open different projects, and caches that are never automatically cleaned up.
Can I safely delete old workspaceStorage folders?
Yes, especially for projects you no longer have on your disk. Each workspace folder stores extension data for one project. Deleting it means extensions will recreate their data the next time you open that project — your code, settings, and global preferences are not affected.