# Can I delete Homebrew’s Cellar folder on Mac?

- URL: https://moreroom.app/folders/homebrew-cellar
- Item: Homebrew packages
- Location: `/opt/homebrew/Cellar`
- Verdict: Review first — Might hold something you care about. Look inside before removing it.
- Comes back on its own: yes
- Official command: `brew cleanup --prune=all`
- Source: MoreRoom rules catalogue (2026-10-17), by Yando Pte. Ltd.

## What is it?

`/opt/homebrew/Cellar` (on Apple silicon) is where Homebrew installs every formula, one folder per package and version; Intel Macs use `/usr/local/Cellar`. The commands you run are links into these folders, so this is installed software you use, not a cache. Old versions stay next to new ones until a cleanup runs.

## What happens if you delete it?

Packages removed with Homebrew can be installed again with `brew install`, but nothing reinstalls them automatically, and anything that depended on them stops working until you do.

## How to remove it properly

Never move Cellar folders to the Trash by hand, as that breaks Homebrew’s links. To shrink it, run `brew cleanup --prune=all` to remove old versions, `brew autoremove` to remove dependencies nothing needs, and `brew leaves` to see packages you installed yourself before removing unwanted ones with `brew uninstall <name>`.

## Before you delete it

Check with `brew uses --installed <name>` whether other packages depend on a formula before uninstalling it.