rmds

A C utility to recursively remove .DS_Store and AppleDouble files from your system.

Overview

rmds is a powerful and flexible command-line utility designed to clean up metadata clutter. While primarily focused on recursively removing .DS_Store files, it also supports targeting AppleDouble (._*) files and any other recurring junk files through custom naming and pattern modes. This is particularly useful for cleaning up macOS metadata files before sharing directories or committing to version control systems that aren't configured to ignore them.

What are AppleDouble Files?

AppleDouble is a file format used by macOS to store file metadata (like extended attributes and resource forks) on file systems that don't natively support them (such as FAT32, ExFAT, or network drives).

When a file is copied to such a system, macOS creates a companion file prepended with ._. For example, a file named image.png will have a corresponding metadata file named ._image.png. While these files are vital for preserving macOS-specific features, they often appear as "junk" files on other operating systems or in version control.

Features

• Recursive Scanning: Traverses subdirectories automatically.
• Safe Deletion: Only targets files exactly named .DS_Store.
• Flexible Modes:
  • Clean All: Target both .DS_Store and ._* AppleDouble files.
  • Dry Run: Preview deletions without making changes.
  • Interactive: Confirm each deletion manually.
  • Quiet: Suppress non-essential output.
  • Verbose: See which directories are being scanned.
• Fast and Lightweight: Written in pure C with minimal dependencies.

Installation

Prerequisites

• A C compiler (like gcc or clang)
• make (optional, for easier building)

Building from Source

You can build the project using the provided Makefile:

make

Alternatively, compile directly with gcc:

gcc -o rmds rmds.c

Usage

./rmds [options] [start_path]

Options

Flag	Long Flag	Description
-A	--clean-all	Remove both .DS_Store and ._* (AppleDouble) files.
-n	--dry-run	Show what would be deleted without actually deleting.
-q	--quiet	Suppress all output except errors.
-v	--verbose	Display directories as they are scanned.
-i	--interactive	Prompt for confirmation before deleting each file.
-d	--max-depth <N>	Only scan directories at most N levels deep.
-x	--one-file-system	Do not traverse directories on different filesystems.
-e	--exclude <DIR>	Exclude directory name from scan (can be used multiple times).
-m	--name <NAME>	Target filename to delete (defaults to .DS_Store).
-h	--help	Display the help menu.

Examples

Clean a specific directory (dry run):

./rmds -n /path/to/directory

Clean all metadata files (including AppleDouble ._* files):

./rmds -A /path/to/external/drive

Preview cleaning all metadata (dry run):

./rmds -nA /path/to/external/drive

Clean multiple directories quietly:

./rmds -q dir1 dir2 dir3

Ignore specific directories (e.g., .git and node_modules):

./rmds -e .git -e node_modules /path/to/project

Target a different file name:

./rmds -m "Thumbs.db" /path/to/directory

Interactive clean with verbose output:

./rmds -iv /path/to/project

Caution

Deletion is permanent. Ensure you have the necessary permissions and have backed up important data if you are unsure.

Compatibility

rmds is written in standard C and uses POSIX-compliant headers. It is fully compatible with:

• macOS: Native environment; handles TCC/permission errors gracefully.
• Linux: Works perfectly on any distribution (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, etc.).
• Windows (WSL): Compatible through the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

License

This project is licensed under the 3-Clause BSD License. See the LICENSE file for the full license text.

Copyright

Copyright (c) 2026, Vlad Shurupov. All rights reserved.