Mole

Deep clean and optimize your Windows.

Warning

Experimental Status: The Windows version is currently not mature. If your computer is critical or contains important data, please do not use this tool.

Features

• All-in-one toolkit: CCleaner, IObit Uninstaller, WinDirStat, and Task Manager combined into a single PowerShell toolkit
• Deep cleaning: Scans and removes temp files, caches, and browser leftovers to reclaim gigabytes of space
• Smart uninstaller: Thoroughly removes apps along with AppData, preferences, and hidden remnants
• Disk insights: Visualizes usage, manages large files, and refreshes system services
• Live monitoring: Real-time stats for CPU, memory, disk, and network to diagnose performance issues
• Source channel updates: Install from the windows branch and refresh to the latest source with mo update

Platform Support

Mole is designed for Windows 10/11. This is the native Windows version ported from the macOS original. For macOS users, please visit the main branch for the native macOS version.

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• PowerShell 5.1 or later (pre-installed on Windows 10/11)
• Git (required for source-channel install and mo update)
• Go 1.24+ (optional, only needed when building TUI tools locally)

Quick Start

Quick Install (One-Liner)

Recommended: Run this single command in PowerShell:

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tw93/Mole/windows/quick-install.ps1 | iex

This will clone the latest windows branch into your install directory and configure PATH.

Manual Installation

If you prefer to review the code first or customize the installation:

# Clone the windows branch into your install directory
$installDir = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Mole"
git clone --branch windows https://github.com/tw93/Mole.git $installDir
cd $installDir

# Run the installer in place (keeps .git for mo update)
.\install.ps1 -InstallDir $installDir -AddToPath

# Optional: Create Start Menu shortcut
.\install.ps1 -InstallDir $installDir -AddToPath -CreateShortcut

Run:

mo                       # Interactive menu
mo clean                 # Deep cleanup
mo uninstall             # Remove apps + leftovers
mo optimize              # Refresh caches & services
mo analyze               # Visual disk explorer
mo status                # Live system health dashboard
mo update                # Pull the latest windows source
mo remove                # Remove Mole from this system
mo purge                 # Clean project build artifacts

mo --help                # Show help
mo --version             # Show installed version

mo clean --dry-run       # Preview the cleanup plan
mo clean --whitelist     # Manage protected caches
mo clean --dry-run --debug # Detailed preview with risk levels

mo optimize --dry-run    # Preview optimization actions
mo optimize --debug      # Run with detailed operation logs
mo purge --paths         # Configure project scan directories

Source-channel installs can later be refreshed with:

mo update

If a matching Windows prerelease exists for the installed version, Mole will reuse/download prebuilt analyze and status binaries before falling back to a local Go build.

macOS Parity

Windows is closest to macOS on these commands:

• clean
• uninstall
• optimize
• analyze
• status
• purge
• update
• remove

Still missing or intentionally platform-specific compared with main:

• installer: no dedicated Windows installer-file cleanup command yet
• completion: no PowerShell completion setup command yet
• touchid: macOS-only, not applicable on Windows
• Release channels: Windows currently uses a git source channel, not Homebrew/stable release installs
• Update options: mo update --nightly is not implemented on Windows
• Optimization controls: mo optimize --whitelist is not implemented on Windows
• Some UI depth: macOS status and analyze expose richer device-specific details than Windows today
• Windows prereleases use Vx.y.z-windows tags so they stay isolated from the macOS stable release channel

Tips

• Safety: Built with strict protections. Preview changes with mo clean --dry-run.
• Be Careful: Although safe by design, file deletion is permanent. Please review operations carefully.
• Debug Mode: Use --debug for detailed logs (e.g., mo clean --debug). Combine with --dry-run for comprehensive preview including risk levels and file details.
• Navigation: Supports arrow keys for TUI navigation.
• Configuration: Use mo clean --whitelist to manage protected paths, mo purge --paths to configure scan directories.

Features in Detail

Deep System Cleanup

mo clean

Scanning cache directories...

  ✓ User temp files                              12.3GB
  ✓ Browser cache (Chrome, Edge, Firefox)         8.5GB
  ✓ Developer tools (Node.js, npm, Python)       15.2GB
  ✓ Windows logs and temp files                   4.1GB
  ✓ App-specific cache (Spotify, Slack, VS Code)  6.8GB
  ✓ Recycle Bin                                    9.2GB

====================================================================
Space freed: 56.1GB | Free space now: 180.3GB
====================================================================

Smart App Uninstaller

mo uninstall

Select Apps to Remove
═══════════════════════════
▶ ☑ Adobe Photoshop 2024     (4.2GB) | Old
  ☐ IntelliJ IDEA             (2.8GB) | Recent
  ☐ Premiere Pro              (3.4GB) | Recent

Uninstalling: Adobe Photoshop 2024

  ✓ Removed application
  ✓ Cleaned 52 related files across 8 locations
    - AppData, Caches, Preferences
    - Logs, Registry entries
    - Extensions, Plugins

====================================================================
Space freed: 4.8GB
====================================================================

System Optimization

mo optimize

System: 12/32 GB RAM | 280/460 GB Disk (61%) | Uptime 6d

  ✓ Clear Windows Update cache
  ✓ Reset DNS cache
  ✓ Clean event logs and diagnostic reports
  ✓ Refresh Windows Search index
  ✓ Clear thumbnail cache
  ✓ Optimize startup programs
  ✓ System repairs (Font/Icon/Store/Search)

====================================================================
System optimization completed
====================================================================

Disk Space Analyzer

mo analyze

Analyze Disk  C:\Users\YourName\Documents  |  Total: 156.8GB

 ▶  1. ███████████████████  48.2%  |  📁 Downloads           75.4GB  >6mo
    2. ██████████░░░░░░░░░  22.1%  |  📁 Videos              34.6GB
    3. ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  14.3%  |  📁 Pictures            22.4GB
    4. ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  10.8%  |  📁 Documents           16.9GB
    5. ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   5.2%  |  📄 backup_2023.zip      8.2GB

  ↑↓←→ Navigate  |  O Open  |  F Show  |  Del Delete  |  L Large files  |  Q Quit

Live System Status

Real-time dashboard with system health score, hardware info, and performance metrics.

mo status

Mole Status  Health ● 92  Desktop PC · Intel i7 · 32GB · Windows 11

⚙ CPU                                    ▦ Memory
Total   ████████████░░░░░░░ 45.2%       Used    ███████████░░░░░░░  58.4%
Load    0.82 / 1.05 / 1.23 (8 cores)    Total   18.7 / 32.0 GB
Core 1  ███████████████░░░░  78.3%      Free    ████████░░░░░░░░░░  41.6%
Core 2  ████████████░░░░░░░  62.1%      Avail   13.3 GB

▤ Disk                                   ⚡ Power
Used    █████████████░░░░░░  67.2%      Status  AC Power
Free    156.3 GB                         Temp    58°C
Read    ▮▯▯▯▯  2.1 MB/s
Write   ▮▮▮▯▯  18.3 MB/s

⇅ Network                                ▶ Processes
Down    ▮▮▯▯▯  3.2 MB/s                 Code       ▮▮▮▮▯  42.1%
Up      ▮▯▯▯▯  0.8 MB/s                 Chrome     ▮▮▮▯▯  28.3%

Health score based on CPU, memory, disk, temperature, and I/O load. Color-coded by range.

Project Artifact Purge

Clean old build artifacts (node_modules, target, build, dist, etc.) from your projects to free up disk space.

mo purge

Select Categories to Clean - 18.5GB (8 selected)

➤ ● my-react-app      3.2GB | node_modules
  ● old-project       2.8GB | node_modules
  ● rust-app          4.1GB | target
  ● next-blog         1.9GB | node_modules
  ○ current-work      856MB | node_modules  | Recent
  ● django-api        2.3GB | venv
  ● vue-dashboard     1.7GB | node_modules
  ● backend-service   2.5GB | node_modules

Use with caution: This will permanently delete selected artifacts. Review carefully before confirming. Recent projects — less than 7 days old — are marked and unselected by default.

Custom scan paths can be configured with mo purge --paths.

Installation Options

Manual Installation

# Install to custom location from a cloned windows branch
.\install.ps1 -InstallDir C:\Tools\Mole -AddToPath

# Create Start Menu shortcut
.\install.ps1 -InstallDir C:\Tools\Mole -AddToPath -CreateShortcut

# Refresh the source channel later
mo update

Uninstall

.\install.ps1 -Uninstall

Configuration

Mole stores its configuration in:

• Config: ~\.config\mole\
• Cache: ~\.cache\mole\
• Whitelist: ~\.config\mole\whitelist.txt
• Purge paths: ~\.config\mole\purge_paths.txt

Directory Structure

mole/ (windows branch)
├── mole.ps1          # Main CLI entry point
├── install.ps1       # Windows installer
├── Makefile          # Build automation for Go tools
├── go.mod            # Go module definition
├── go.sum            # Go dependencies
├── bin/
│   ├── clean.ps1     # Deep cleanup orchestrator
│   ├── uninstall.ps1 # Interactive app uninstaller
│   ├── optimize.ps1  # System optimization
│   ├── purge.ps1     # Project artifact cleanup
│   ├── analyze.ps1   # Disk analyzer wrapper
│   ├── status.ps1    # Status monitor wrapper
│   ├── update.ps1    # Source channel updater
│   └── remove.ps1    # Self-uninstall wrapper
├── cmd/
│   ├── analyze/      # Disk analyzer (Go TUI)
│   │   └── main.go
│   └── status/       # System status (Go TUI)
│       └── main.go
└── lib/
    ├── core/
    │   ├── base.ps1      # Core definitions and utilities
    │   ├── common.ps1    # Common functions loader
    │   ├── file_ops.ps1  # Safe file operations
    │   ├── log.ps1       # Logging functions
    │   ├── tui_binaries.ps1 # TUI binary restore/build helpers
    │   └── ui.ps1        # Interactive UI components
    └── clean/
        ├── user.ps1      # User cleanup (temp, downloads, etc.)
        ├── caches.ps1    # Browser and app caches
        ├── dev.ps1       # Developer tool caches
        ├── apps.ps1      # Application leftovers
        └── system.ps1    # System cleanup (requires admin)

Building TUI Tools

Install Go if you want to build the analyze and status tools locally:

# From the repository root

# Build both tools
make build

# Or build individually
go build -o bin/analyze.exe ./cmd/analyze/
go build -o bin/status.exe ./cmd/status/

# The wrapper scripts try bin/ first, then Windows prerelease assets,
# then auto-build if Go is available

Support

• If Mole saved you disk space, consider starring the repo or sharing it with friends.
• Have ideas or fixes? Check our Contributing Guide, then open an issue or PR to help shape Mole's future.
• Love Mole? Buy Tw93 an ice-cold Coke to keep the project alive and kicking! 🥤

Community Love

Phase 1: Core Infrastructure ✅

• install.ps1 - Windows installer
• mole.ps1 - Main CLI entry point
• lib/core/* - Core utility libraries

Phase 2: Cleanup Features ✅

• bin/clean.ps1 - Deep cleanup orchestrator
• bin/uninstall.ps1 - App removal with leftover detection
• bin/optimize.ps1 - System optimization
• bin/purge.ps1 - Project artifact cleanup
• lib/clean/* - Cleanup modules

Phase 3: TUI Tools ✅

• cmd/analyze/ - Disk usage analyzer (Go)
• cmd/status/ - Real-time system monitor (Go)
• bin/analyze.ps1 - Analyzer wrapper
• bin/status.ps1 - Status wrapper
• bin/update.ps1 - Source channel updater
• bin/remove.ps1 - Self-uninstall wrapper

Phase 4: Testing & CI (Planned)

• tests/ - Pester tests
• GitHub Actions workflows
• scripts/build.ps1 - Build automation

Mole wouldn't be possible without these amazing contributors. They've built countless features that make Mole what it is today. Go follow them! ❤️

Join thousands of users worldwide who trust Mole to keep their systems clean and optimized.

License

MIT License — feel free to enjoy and participate in open source.