01 System requirements
- macOS
- macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later
- Processor
- Apple Silicon, M1 or later. Intel Macs are not supported.
- Permissions
- Full Disk Access for protected locations, enabled in System Settings › Privacy & Security
- Internet
- Required for license activation and periodic validation. Online services are described below.
Using an older Mac? Compare GrandPerspective and OmniDiskSweeper and check their current system requirements.
02 Storage you can explore
Scan a selected folder or a mounted volume. Results depend on the permissions and metadata available from that location.
- Internal
- The startup disk and other mounted local volumes
- External
- USB and Thunderbolt drives, SD cards, and flash storage
- Network
- Mounted network shares. Performance and metadata depend on the server and connection.
- Disk images
- Mounted disk images and sparse bundles
- Cloud folders
- Locally visible iCloud Drive entries, including indicators for files stored only in the cloud
- Backups
- Accessible files on mounted backup volumes. Manage backup retention through the backup application.
03 File systems and scanning
- APFS
- Logical and allocated sizes, with hardlink and clone metadata used where available
- Other formats
- Mounted HFS+, exFAT, FAT32, and readable NTFS volumes, subject to macOS driver access
- Scanning
- Bulk directory metadata through
getattrlistbulk, with fallback enumeration when needed
- Network behavior
- Reduced metadata requests and safeguards for large network scans
- Performance
- Scan size, storage speed, permissions, and connection quality affect resource use and responsiveness
Read the architecture notes for more about the scanning and rendering approach.
04 What the sizes mean
Delve shows logical size and allocated size so you can compare a file's apparent length with the storage attributed to it. These figures help you investigate disk use; they do not guarantee how much space a deletion will release.
- Logical size
- The apparent length of a file, before accounting for shared storage, compression, or sparse regions
- Allocated size
- Storage allocation reported by the file system, with available link and clone adjustments
- Shared storage
- APFS clones, hardlinks, and snapshots can retain data after one visible file is removed
- Cloud files
- An online-only file can have a logical size even when its contents are not downloaded
- Free space
- Moving a file to the Trash does not free its storage. Check available space after emptying the Trash.
See how Mac disk sizes are counted and Apple's explanation of APFS.
05 Views and file inspection
- Treemap
- A rectangular storage map rendered with Metal
- Sunburst
- A radial view of the folder hierarchy
- File lists
- Browse folders, file types, and largest files
- Filters
- Include and exclude rules for focused exploration
- Quick Look
- Preview supported file types using the space bar
- Finder
- Reveal a selected item in Finder
- Export
- Export a scan as a poster with Command-Shift-E
06 Cleanup you review
- Scanning
- Reads file metadata without moving or deleting your files
- Collector
- Stage selections from the scan and review them together
- Move to Trash
- Explicit confirmation before selected items move to the macOS Trash
- Undo
- Restore moved items in the same app session while they remain in the Trash. Restoration can fail if the original location is unavailable or occupied.
- Final removal
- Emptying the Trash removes the files needed for Undo. Back up files you may need again.
A file's size or type alone does not establish whether it is safe to delete. Check its location and contents, and use an application's own storage controls for managed libraries and backups.
07 Network services and privacy
Disk scanning is processed on your Mac. Delve also uses online services for licensing, updates, account features, analytics, and diagnostics.
- Licensing
- Lemon Squeezy handles activation and validation. Activation includes the license key and a name for the Mac. A licensed installation has a seven-day offline grace period after successful validation.
- Updates
- Sparkle checks the release feed and downloads updates
- Accounts
- Sign in with Apple and Supabase support account and referral features
- Product analytics
- PostHog receives product analytics, app information, and the Mac account name and username
- First launch
- A notification to Khaos Studios through Discord includes the Mac account name, username, app version, and macOS version
- Diagnostics
- Automatic incident reports to PostHog and Discord can include scan counts, byte totals, resource use, status, and sanitized crash details. Diagnostic sanitization is designed to exclude scanned file names and paths.
Read the privacy policy. For a managed environment or a detailed network review, contact support@khaosstudio.com.
08 Security and distribution
- Download
- Direct disk image, signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple
- Hardened Runtime
- Enabled
- App Sandbox
- Not enabled. macOS permissions still control access to protected locations.
- Updates
- Sparkle updates configured with an EdDSA verification key
- Bundle identifier
app.delve.Delve- Interface
- SwiftUI with Metal rendering
- Language
- English