find-disk-killer
Native macOS disk activity monitor for app I/O, CPU, network, file access tracing, and SMART/NVMe drive health.
What is it?
What it is
FindDiskKiller is a native macOS application that monitors sustained disk activity to identify resource-intensive applications, files, and physical devices. It provides a unified workspace for tracking application I/O, AI agent storage, and physical disk health.
Why it exists
To help users pinpoint applications or processes causing excessive disk usage, especially in modern contexts like AI agent storage and NVMe drives, without requiring data upload or third-party tracking.
Who should use it
macOS users monitoring disk activitydevelopers analyzing app performancesysadmins managing storage healthprivacy-conscious users avoiding cloud data uploads
Who should avoid it
users on macOS versions prior to 14users without admin privileges needing file tracingthose not requiring local disk analysis
How it works
A quick walkthrough in plain English
How find-disk-killer works
Step 1 of 3
You interact with it
Open find-disk-killer, send a request, or connect it to your stack.
Features
Advantages
- Enhanced privacy through local processing
- Comprehensive disk activity analysis in one workspace
- Precise AI storage management with audit trails
- Detailed hardware health diagnostics
- Transparent permissions model
- No false precision in metric reporting
- Community-driven development
- Supports multiple languages and architectures
Disadvantages
- Requires macOS 14+ (excludes older systems)
- File tracing requires explicit user permission
- Limited to macOS platform
- AI storage features may be niche for non-AI users
- Open-source may lack polished UI polish
- Physical disk mapping may not cover all storage types
Installation
native
1. Download the latest signed and notarized DMG from the official website.\n2. Open it and drag FindDiskKiller into Applications.\n3. Launch FindDiskKiller from Applications.
FAQ
What does FindDiskKiller do?
FindDiskKiller helps you follow sustained disk activity from applications to the files and physical disks behind it, showing CPU, disk I/O, network trends, AI agent storage, file traces, and disk health in a single workspace.
Which macOS versions and hardware are supported?
The app requires macOS 14 or later and runs on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
How does FindDiskKiller protect my privacy?
All monitoring, analysis, and display happen locally on your Mac; no data is uploaded, and there are no ads, telemetry, analytics, or third‑party tracking SDKs. Permissions are only requested when you explicitly start file or directory tracing.
How do I start tracing file or folder activity?
Click to start a time‑bounded file or folder trace; the trace shows requested read/write rates, active files, and accessing processes. Tracing runs only after an explicit start and may require macOS permission (e.g., Full Disk Access) for protected locations.
What information is shown in the AI Storage section?
AI Storage displays the total storage used by Codex and Claude, broken down into chat, global, and unattributed data, lets you attribute storage to individual threads or sessions, and provides a review before permanent deletion.
How can I install or build FindDiskKiller?
Download the latest signed and notarized DMG from the official website, open it, and drag FindDiskKiller into Applications. To build from source, you need Xcode 16+ and XcodeGen 2.42.0+, then run the provided xcodegen and xcodebuild commands as described in the README.
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