How to Clean Next.js (.next/cache) & Turborepo

When you run npm run build or develop locally with next dev, Next.js writes:

• SWC compiler caches: Hundreds of thousands of AST transformations in .next/cache/swc.
• Next.js image optimizer: Processed responsive images in .next/cache/images.
• Webpack pack & fetch cache: Pre-rendered route JSON and server actions.

# Check the size of .next in your current project: du -sh .next du -sh .next/cache 2>/dev/null

The entire .next directory is 100% ephemeral and reproducible. You can safely wipe it at any time:

# Delete .next directory in the current project: rm -rf .next # Or delete only the compiler cache: rm -rf .next/cache

Important note: Never delete .env.local or files in public/. Only delete the .next build folder.

If you use Turborepo (turbo), local build artifacts are stored in node_modules/.cache/turbo across all packages in the monorepo:

# Delete Turborepo cache across all workspaces: find . -name ".turbo" -type d -prune -exec rm -rf  + rm -rf node_modules/.cache/turbo

Developers usually don't know which of their 30 client repositories have huge .next folders hoarding SSD space.

SpaceWise automatically indexes your code drives in milliseconds. Its Dormant Project Pruner flags projects untouched for 30+ days and presents an interactive summary of all .next, dist, and node_modules folders ready for safe, 1-click recycling.

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