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Can you delete iOS DeviceSupport?

Yes. Each folder holds symbols Xcode copied from one device model and OS version, often 3 to 7 GB, and Xcode copies them again when that device next connects.

By Ivan Stepanok Updated Tested on macOS 27.0 and Xcode 27.0
A row of teal frosted glass tiles, the oldest ones at the back fading away
Short answerYes. Each folder holds the system symbols Xcode copied from one device model and OS version, often 3 to 7 GB, and Xcode copies them again the next time that device connects. Keep the versions you still debug or symbolicate crash reports for.

What's in iOS DeviceSupport

"Xcode automatically copies operating system binaries that contain symbols from each device you connect" (Apple documentation). They go to ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport, one folder per device model and OS build, with names like iPhone17,1 26.4.1 (23E254). Watches, Apple TVs and Vision Pro get their own watchOS, tvOS and visionOS DeviceSupport folders.

One iPhone on iOS 27 left a 6.4 GB folder on the Mac these guides were tested on. Update your phone a few times a year and you collect one of those per update.

What deleting costs

The next time you connect a device on that version, Xcode copies the symbols again, which takes a few minutes. You can do it ahead of time, with the device's UDID from xcrun xctrace list devices in place of DEVICE_UDID:

xcodebuild -prepareDeviceSupport -destination "id=DEVICE_UDID"

Xcode also uses these symbols to show system function names in crash reports from that OS version (Apple documentation). If you symbolicate crashes for an iOS version, keep its folder or be ready to copy it again.

Which ones to delete

  • Older OS versions of a device you've since updated. The newest folder per model is the one Xcode uses for that device today.
  • Devices you no longer have.
  • Folders for OS versions your app no longer supports.
du -sh "$HOME/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport"/* | sort -h

Remove a folder by its full name, in quotes because of the spaces:

rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport/iPhone17,1 26.4.1 (23E254)"

With SimCleaner

The Device support tab on the Xcode caches page lists each folder by OS version and device model, and marks the ones with a newer version for the same device as suggested.

Questions

Will my device stop working with Xcode?

No. Xcode prepares the device again when you connect it; it just takes a few minutes the first time.

Why are there folders with only a version number?

Older Xcode versions named folders by OS version and build without the device model, like 17.0 (21A329). They're the same kind of data and just as safe to remove.