Overview
Node.js projects are notorious for their massive node_modules directories. A single React project can easily have 500MB+ in dependencies, and if you work on multiple projects, this adds up quickly.
What Cluttered Cleans
| Artifact | Description | Typical Size |
|---|---|---|
node_modules/ | All npm dependencies | 200MB - 2GB |
.next/ | Next.js build cache | 50MB - 500MB |
dist/ | TypeScript/Webpack output | 10MB - 100MB |
.turbo/ | Turborepo cache | 50MB - 500MB |
Why These Get So Large
The JavaScript ecosystem has a deep dependency tree. A simple React app might have:
- 1,500+ packages in node_modules
- Hundreds of transitive dependencies
- Multiple copies of the same package at different versions
Safety Considerations
Cluttered protects your Node.js projects by:
- Checking for uncommitted git changes
- Detecting active
npm runprocesses - Looking for recent
package-lock.jsonmodifications - Identifying VS Code workspace activity
Frequently Asked Questions
Will cleaning node_modules break my project?
No! Just run npm install to restore dependencies. All your code is untouched.
Does Cluttered support pnpm and yarn?
Yes! Cluttered detects all Node.js package managers and cleans appropriately.
What about global npm packages?
Cluttered only cleans project-local node_modules. Global packages are not touched.