# Is it safe to delete the ~/.colima folder?

- URL: https://moreroom.app/folders/colima-vms
- Item: Colima virtual machines
- Location: `~/.colima`
- Verdict: Review first — Might hold something you care about. Look inside before removing it.
- Comes back on its own: no
- Typical size: 5–100 GB
- Official command: `colima prune`
- Source: MoreRoom rules catalogue (2026-10-17), by Yando Pte. Ltd.

## What is it?

Colima runs Docker (or containerd) inside a Lima virtual machine on macOS. `~/.colima` holds each Colima profile’s settings and virtual machine disk, with every image, container and volume you use through it. Typically several GB to tens of GB.

## What happens if you delete it?

Not as it was: deleting a profile’s data loses its containers, images and volumes. Colima creates a fresh, empty VM the next time you run `colima start`.

## How to remove it properly

First prune from inside Docker with `docker system prune` while Colima is running. `colima prune --force` clears Colima’s cached downloads (such as VM images), permanently. To remove a whole profile you no longer use, run `colima delete` (add `--profile <name>` for others).

## Before you delete it

Do not move `~/.colima` to the Trash while Colima is running, and keep the profiles your projects still use.