Sift the junk from the keep.
Sifty is an open-source maintenance tool for Windows that is built to be hard
to misuse: it previews every change, deletes only to the Recycle Bin, and can
undo any clean. It clears junk and caches, analyzes disk usage, finds
duplicate files, and manages apps, startup items and updates. It also cleans the
clutter other cleaners ignore: stray node_modules and build output, orphaned
git worktrees, and bloated WSL2 disks. Drive it from a scriptable CLI or a
full-screen terminal UI.
The optional AI assistant runs locally via Ollama: nothing leaves your machine, and it only ever sees file metadata (names, sizes, paths), never file contents.
Sifty deletes files and changes system state, so it is built to be hard to misuse:
- Dry-run by default. Every destructive command previews what it would do;
real changes need an explicit
--apply. - Recycle Bin, never permanent delete. All removals go through one
trash()function backed by Send2Trash, andsifty undorestores the last clean. - Protected paths.
C:\Windows,Program Files,ProgramData, the drive root and your profile root are refused even with--apply --yes. - Audit log. Every applied deletion is recorded in
%APPDATA%\sifty\audit.log. - The AI never deletes anything. It is advisory; high-risk tool calls always require your approval.
| Feature | Sifty | CCleaner | BleachBit | Revo Uninstaller | WinDirStat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junk / cache cleaning | ✅ 11+ categories | ✅ | ✅ | ➖ | ❌ |
| Disk usage analysis | ✅ top-N + volumes | ➖ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ treemap |
| Duplicate finder | ✅ SHA-256, NTFS-aware | ✅ (paid) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| App uninstall + leftover scan | ✅ winget + leftovers | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ + leftovers | ❌ |
| App updates | ✅ via winget | ✅ (paid) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Startup manager | ✅ reversible | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Dev artifact purge (node_modules, …) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Git worktree / WSL2 VHD cleanup | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Local AI assistant | ✅ Ollama | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Scriptable (JSON output) | ✅ | ❌ | ➖ CLI | ❌ | ❌ |
| Recycle Bin + undo for everything | ✅ | ➖ | ❌ permanent | ➖ | n/a |
| Open source | ✅ MIT | ❌ | ✅ GPL | ❌ | ✅ |
| Price | Free, MIT | Freemium | Free | Freemium | Free |
Sifty is built developer-first: everything is scriptable, the engine is a reusable Python library, and it cleans the things developer machines actually accumulate (build artifacts, orphaned worktrees, bloated WSL2 disks). BleachBit is the closest open-source cousin; it is cross-platform and can securely shred files, while Sifty stays Windows-only, sends everything to the Recycle Bin with full undo, and adds duplicates, app management and developer cleanups.
pipx install sifty # recommended (isolated); or: pip install sifty
scoop bucket add sifty https://github.com/Vortrix5/scoop-bucket; scoop install sifty
winget install Vortrix5.Sifty # once the winget-pkgs PR is merged
sifty doctor # check admin rights, winget, OllamaPrefer no Python install? Download the standalone sifty.exe from the
latest release.
For development:
python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pytest -qsifty checkup # one read-only scan of everything: junk, updates,
# orphans, stale files, disk space, startup
sifty tui # the full-screen interactive app
# Junk
sifty junk scan # show reclaimable space per category
sifty junk clean # preview removal (dry-run)
sifty junk clean --apply # send junk to the Recycle Bin (asks first)
# Disk
sifty disk volumes # used/free/total per volume
sifty disk analyze C:\Users # biggest folders/files under a path
sifty disk duplicates D:\ # find duplicate files and wasted space
# Apps & updates
sifty apps list --by-size # installed apps, largest first
sifty apps orphans # broken uninstall entries in the registry
sifty apps uninstall "App" # uninstall via winget (preview, then --apply)
sifty apps leftovers "App" # what the uninstaller left behind (then --apply)
sifty update check # available updates (winget)
sifty update apply # upgrade everything (asks first)
# Developer cleanup
sifty purge clean # node_modules, dist, __pycache__, target, …
sifty cleanup duplicates D:\Photos # de-duplicate (keeps one copy each)
sifty cleanup large C:\Users\you # biggest files under a path
sifty cleanup stale --days 180 # old items in Downloads
# Startup & services
sifty startup list # startup programs (enabled/disabled)
sifty startup disable "Spotify" # reversible (sifty startup enable …)
sifty services list # curated optional services + state
sifty --admin services disable DiagTrack # toggle one (needs admin)
# History & undo
sifty history # what was cleaned + total space reclaimed
sifty undo # restore the most recent clean from the Recycle Bin
# Organize files
sifty organize preview C:\Users\you\Downloads --by type
sifty organize apply C:\Users\you\Downloads --by date
sifty organize undo # put the last organize's files back
# Configuration
sifty config # all settings + which ones you've overridden
sifty config set ai.model "llama3.2:3b"
sifty config edit # open config.toml in your editor
# AI (requires Ollama running)
sifty ai status
sifty ai ask "what can I safely delete on my C drive?" --path C:\
# Scripting: JSON output on read-only commands (auto-enabled when piped)
sifty --json checkup
sifty --json disk volumes
sifty --json apps list --by-sizeSome operations (Windows temp, update cache, certain uninstalls) need an
Administrator terminal. sifty doctor tells you if you're elevated, and
sifty --admin <cmd> relaunches elevated via UAC.
sifty tui opens a full-screen app with a seven-section sidebar (Home,
Clean, Disk, Apps, Monitor, Reports, AI):
- Home: volume gauges and a Run checkup button that scans everything at once; findings come with buttons that fix them right there (clean junk, clean stale downloads, apply updates, each behind a confirm).
- Clean: Junk / Purge / Optimize / Smart cleanup under one roof (tabs).
- Apps: Installed / Updates / Startup / Services, with fuzzy filter, sorting, bulk uninstall, and an automatic leftover scan after uninstalling.
- AI: an agentic chat where proposed tool runs show Run/Skip buttons inline in the conversation, and scan results carry follow-up action buttons.
Press Ctrl+P for the command palette (jump to any screen), F2 to elevate, Space to mark rows for bulk actions. The Reports screen shows space reclaimed over time with an Undo last clean button.
- Install Ollama and start it.
- Pull the configured model:
ollama pull qwen2.5:3b. sifty ai statusshould report "running".
Configure everything with the sifty config command, no need to hand-edit
files:
sifty config # show all settings + your overrides
sifty config set ai.model "llama3.2:3b" # use a different local model
sifty config set ai.host "http://localhost:11434"
sifty config set safety.extra_protected_paths '["D:\\Important"]'
sifty config set junk.include_downloads_installers true
sifty config edit # or open config.toml in your editorSettings live in %APPDATA%\sifty\config.toml; sifty config set only writes
the keys you change, so defaults keep flowing through on upgrades.
Layered: thin frontends over a reusable engine, OS specifics quarantined:
src/sifty/
├── cli/ # Typer entry point + one thin command module per group
├── tui/ # Textual full-screen app (views call core, not cli)
├── core/ # the engine: junk, disk, apps, updates, cleanup,
│ │ # startup, services, organize, checkup, history, …
│ └── safety.py # ★ protected paths, dry-run guard, trash(), audit log
├── windows/ # OS primitives: winget, registry, UAC, Recycle Bin, DISM
├── ai/ # Ollama client, advisor prompts, agentic tool loop
└── infra/ # TOML config + rotating diagnostics log
Frontends depend on core; core depends on windows/infra; nothing
imports upward. A GUI could call the same engine functions (junk.scan,
disk.find_duplicates, checkup.run_checkup) without a rewrite. See
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for the design rationale.
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pytest -q # 160+ tests, ~20 sThe safety guardrails are the most heavily tested code in the repo; the Windows environment is mocked so the suite also runs on CI. See CONTRIBUTING.md to get involved.
MIT © Amine Zouaoui