Windows 10 & 11 · 64-bit
Free Windows Storage Cleaner
Worm Cleaner is a free, open-source (MIT) Windows storage cleaner and junk file remover for Windows 10 and 11. It applies 66 scan rules across 12 categories, groups every result by category with tri-state selection, and puts deleted files in the Recycle Bin so mistakes are recoverable. No ads, no prompts, no telemetry.
By Naman Namdev
Clepsydra Technologies
Updated
Version 1.0.4
A Windows machine accumulates temp files, crash dumps, browser caches, package-manager caches and Recycle Bin contents continuously. The built-in Storage Sense handles some of it, but it is coarse: coarse categories, no per-item control, and no visibility into what a category actually contains before it goes.
What the Windows cleaner scans
66 scan rules across 12 categories: Developer Tools, App Caches, Browsers, Cloud & Office, AI Tools, Apps & Utilities, Virtualization, User Essentials, System Caches, Logs, Old Windows Installations and Misc. A thirteenth category, the Recycle Bin, has no scan rules because it has no filesystem path to walk — it is measured and emptied through the Windows Shell API instead. Every target carries its own checkbox, and each category has tri-state selection so you can clean one group and skip another.
Windows scan categories and examples| Category | Examples |
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| Developer Tools | npm, pnpm, Yarn, NuGet, pip, Cargo registry, Gradle task output, VS / VS Code / Cursor / JetBrains caches |
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| App Caches | Per-application cache folders, Chromium Code Cache and GPUCache, Explorer thumbnails |
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| Browsers | Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi — across every profile, not just Default |
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| Cloud & Office | OneDrive, Dropbox, Teams |
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| AI Tools | Claude Desktop, Codex logs, OpenCode, Copilot |
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| Apps & Utilities | Discord, Slack, Teams webview, Spotify, Figma, Unity Hub, Obsidian, Zoom |
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| Virtualization | Docker Desktop builder cache, WSL, Hyper-V, BlueStacks |
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| User Essentials | Crash dumps, DirectX shader cache |
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| System Caches | %TEMP%, C:\Windows\Temp, WER archives, Delivery Optimization, Prefetch |
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| Logs | User log files, application log folders, pending crash reports |
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| Old Windows Installations | Windows.old, previous Windows installation folders, Windows upgrade files, WinSxS backup, the installation image (ESD) |
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| Misc | Minidumps, superseded installers, diagnostic traces |
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| Recycle Bin | No scan rules — it has no filesystem path to walk, so it is measured and emptied through the Shell API |
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Age gates are applied per rule — 7 days for logs and temp files, 30 for saved state — so freshly written files are left alone. Deleted items go to the Recycle Bin by default, and every operation is appended to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Worm\Logs\deletions.tsv.
What Worm deliberately does not clean on Windows: C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution (the Windows Update download tree) is excluded by design. Its files cannot be aged into proven-inactive, and a half-cleared update cache breaks patching in ways that are tedious to recover from. If you want that space, the supported route is Settings → System → Storage → Temporary files, or the Disk Cleanup tool that ships with Windows.
How to free up disk space on Windows 11
- Download
Worm-Windows-x64.zip and extract it. There is no installer and no admin rights required to run it.
- Open the Disk tab to see capacity across every fixed volume, with warnings at 85% and 92%.
- Run a scan from the Clean tab. Review the categories and uncheck anything you do not want removed.
- Clean. Files go to the Recycle Bin, so anything wrongly included can be restored.
- Check the audit log if you want to confirm exactly what was removed and how many bytes it freed.
Disk analysis and large-file finder
The Disk tab reports capacity per volume, the biggest folders one level into your profile (click to open them), and a large-file finder with an adjustable size threshold. The large-file finder is read-only by design: it reports, it never deletes. A tool that offered to delete your 4 GB video because it was large would be dangerous, and this one declines to be.
Uninstalling Windows apps properly
Worm enumerates installed apps from the HKLM and HKCU uninstall registry keys — the same list Programs and Features shows — and lets you sort by size or name and filter as you type. Removal runs each app's own registered uninstaller, preferring its quiet command, because hand-deleting an install directory leaves a half-uninstalled app with orphaned services and registry keys. Protected components (Visual Studio, .NET runtimes and SDKs, Microsoft components) cannot be selected, and a running app is blocked until you quit it.
Reclaiming space from a Windows upgrade
If you upgraded Windows in the last month or so, start here. After a major version upgrade, Windows keeps the entire previous installation so you can roll back — the Windows.old folder, upgrade staging files, a WinSxS backup and the original installation image. Together these are frequently 20–40 GB, and they are pure dead weight once the rollback window has passed.
Worm lists them under Old Windows Installations with their measured sizes so you can see the total before deciding. Deleting them by hand is what Disk Cleanup's “Previous Windows installation(s)” entry does; doing it through a cleaner just means you can see the size first. If you are still within the rollback window, or unsure, keep them — Disk Cleanup can also remove them properly via the built-in entry.
Clearing Windows crash dumps and WER reports
Windows Error Reporting archives, crash dumps and minidumps are genuine reclaimable space and are safe to remove once the problem they describe no longer interests you. Worm targets WER archives, crash dumps, pending crash reports and minidumps with a 7-day age gate, so the dump for a crash you are currently debugging is not thrown away underneath you.
Frequently asked questions
Does Worm Cleaner delete the Windows Update cache (SoftwareDistribution)?
No, and that is deliberate. C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution holds Windows Update's download tree, and file age cannot prove an update package is no longer needed — clearing it can leave patching broken in ways that are tedious to recover from. Worm excludes it entirely. To reclaim that space safely, use Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files, or the Disk Cleanup tool that ships with Windows.
Is it safe to clean Windows temp files?
Generally yes, which is why Worm applies a 7-day age gate to temp files and logs rather than deleting everything in sight. Files currently in use are never deleted, and a running application's cache is flagged rather than silently removed. Deleted items go to the Recycle Bin, so a mistake is recoverable.
Does the Windows app need administrator rights?
No. Worm-Windows-x64.zip is a portable, extract-and-run build, so you can use it without elevation. Rules that cannot reach a protected location are skipped rather than triggering a UAC prompt mid-scan.
How do I free up disk space on Windows 11 fast?
Start with the Recycle Bin and System Caches categories, which are usually the largest safe wins on a machine that has been running a while. Then check Developer Tools if you build software, and Apps & Utilities if you use Discord, Slack or Teams daily. Run the scan first — it reports the size of every category, so you can aim at the biggest one instead of guessing.
Is a Windows cleaner without ads actually free?
Yes. Worm Cleaner is MIT licensed, with no advertising, no upsell, no premium tier and no scan limit. It is also open source, so the absence of ads is verifiable in the repository rather than merely promised.
Download Worm Cleaner
Worm Cleaner is free, MIT licensed and runs on macOS 14+ and Windows 10/11. No account, no subscription, no telemetry in the app.
