Quickstart

Quickstart

Install

Python 3.9+. No dependencies for the CLI.

git clone https://github.com/ibrews/unreal-custodian.git
cd unreal-custodian
python3 -m custodian.cli report

On Windows, install Everything and put es.exe on your PATH (or beside the repo) for instant project discovery. Without it, discovery falls back to a filesystem walk — still correct, just slower, and it says so.

On macOS, Spotlight is used automatically. Nothing to install.

First look

python3 -m custodian.cli report

Lists every .uproject and engine install found, with reclaimable bytes, last-touched age, and why anything is excluded ("too recent", "Binaries kept (C++ rebuild cost)"). Nothing is deleted by report — ever, no flag changes that.

python3 -m custodian.cli report --detail

Breaks each project down by directory, with the rebuild cost of reclaiming it stated in plain language.

First cleanup

python3 -m custodian.cli clean --ignore-pressure

Dry run by default — prints exactly what a real cleanup would remove, without --ignore-pressure it will also check whether your disk is actually under pressure first (see Safety-Model).

python3 -m custodian.cli clean --apply

Moves reclaimed directories to the Trash / Recycle Bin. Add --permanent to delete outright and free the space immediately — see FAQ for why Trash alone often frees nothing.

Protect a project

Drop next to its .uproject:

{ "enabled": false }

in a file named .ueclean.json, and it drops out of every future plan with an "opted out" note. Full reference: Configuration.

Engines, not just projects

A single source-built engine can hold more reclaimable output than an entire project library — 90 GB+ of Engine/Intermediate isn't unusual. See Safety-Model for how installed vs. source-built engines are told apart, then:

python3 -m custodian.cli report --engine-intermediate --engine-binaries