Windows disk cleanup and storage guides

When node_modules is safe to delete, the exact PowerShell and cmd commands, how to clear out old ones with npkill, and why pnpm needs one more step.

What Windows.old and the WinSxS folder are, why File Explorer makes WinSxS look bigger than it is, and the steps and DISM commands that reclaim space without breaking Windows.

What the Local, LocalLow and Roaming folders are, a PowerShell script that ranks the biggest folders in AppData, and which ones are safe to clear.

How SpaceFree, WizTree, TreeSize and WinDirStat actually differ: scan method, license, and whether any of them understand WSL2, Docker Desktop or AI coding assistant storage.

Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, Windsurf and Google Antigravity all cache data on Windows that quietly grows into hundreds of megabytes. What that cache actually is, and what is safe to clear.

How to use Windows Disk Cleanup, Storage settings, and a disk space analyzer to find what is filling your C: drive without deleting useful files.

Deleting files inside WSL2 does not hand the space back to Windows. Here is why, and the documented ways to compact the ext4.vhdx file.

How to see what Docker is using, what docker system prune actually removes, and why the space may not come back to Windows straight away.

Where each package manager keeps its cache on Windows, the official commands to clear it, and what to expect afterwards.

What loose objects, packs and unreachable data actually are, how to measure them, and what git gc does and does not fix.