VS Code's remote server is well-known for filling up disk space over time. Each update leaves behind old server binaries, session logs accumulate, extension caches grow, and duplicate extension versions pile up. On shared servers this quietly kills the root partition.
This extension runs quietly in the background and keeps it all in check.
| Target | Default |
|---|---|
Old VS Code server binaries (~/.vscode-server/bin/) |
✅ enabled |
Old CLI server installs (~/.vscode-server/cli/servers/) |
✅ enabled |
| Session log directories older than N days | ✅ 7 days |
| Cached extension VSIX downloads | ✅ enabled |
| Orphaned workspace storage (workspace folder deleted) | ✅ enabled |
Stale VS Code entries in /tmp |
✅ enabled |
| Duplicate extension versions (keeps newest only) | ✅ enabled |
The currently running server version is always preserved. Nothing safety-critical is touched.
- Auto-cleanup on startup — runs 10 seconds after VS Code finishes loading
- Scheduled cleanup — repeats every 24 hours by default
- Status bar — shows live
~/.vscode-serverdisk usage; click to run cleanup immediately - Disk alert — pops a warning when usage exceeds a configurable threshold (default 2 GB)
- Dry-run mode — logs what would be deleted without removing anything
- Disk usage report — per-directory breakdown via the command palette
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and search for Bloat Cleaner:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Bloat Cleaner: Run Cleanup Now |
Run all cleanup tasks immediately |
Bloat Cleaner: Show Disk Usage Report |
Show a breakdown of ~/.vscode-server disk usage |
Bloat Cleaner: Open Settings |
Jump to extension settings |
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
bloatCleaner.autoCleanOnStartup |
true |
Run cleanup when VS Code starts |
bloatCleaner.autoCleanIntervalHours |
24 |
Hours between scheduled cleanups (0 = disabled) |
bloatCleaner.keepServerVersions |
1 |
Extra server versions to keep beyond the running one |
bloatCleaner.logRetentionDays |
7 |
Delete session logs older than this many days |
bloatCleaner.cleanCachedVsix |
true |
Delete cached extension VSIX files |
bloatCleaner.cleanWorkspaceStorage |
true |
Delete storage for workspaces that no longer exist |
bloatCleaner.cleanTmpFiles |
true |
Delete stale VS Code entries in /tmp |
bloatCleaner.cleanDuplicateExtensions |
true |
Remove older installs of the same extension |
bloatCleaner.diskAlertThresholdGB |
2 |
Warn when ~/.vscode-server exceeds this size (GB) |
bloatCleaner.showStatusBar |
true |
Show disk usage in the status bar |
bloatCleaner.dryRun |
false |
Preview deletions without removing anything |
- Designed for remote/server environments (SSH, Tunnel, WSL). Works locally too but the gains are most significant on servers where VS Code updates frequently and old versions are never manually removed.
- The extension only touches files inside
~/.vscode-serverand VS Code-prefixed entries in/tmp. It does not touch your project files. - Output from every cleanup run is logged to the Bloat Cleaner output channel for review.
MIT © SilverServers