How can we help?

GameSweep reads your Steam library and helps you decide which games to uninstall when a drive is full. Tell it how much space you need, and it picks the games you're least likely to miss, with the reason for each one.

It never deletes anything itself. Steam does every uninstall and every move, and asks you to confirm each uninstall. GameSweep isn't a general PC cleaner, a mod manager or a Steam editor.

• Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.
• Mac (beta): macOS 11 or later. One app for both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
• Linux and Steam Deck (beta): an AppImage that runs on most 64-bit distributions, and on Steam Deck in Desktop Mode.

It works the same way on every system: Steam does every uninstall and every move.

• Windows: download the installer from the download section and run it. An MSI is on the releases page too.
• Mac: open the .dmg and move GameSweep into Applications. The first time you open it, macOS asks you to allow it (see how).
• Linux and Steam Deck: download the AppImage, make it executable (in most file managers: Properties › Permissions, or chmod +x), then open it. On a Steam Deck, switch to Desktop Mode first.

GameSweep finds Steam by itself. After the first scan, a short walkthrough shows your easy wins and how the planner works.

Windows shows this for apps that aren't code-signed yet, and GameSweep isn't. Select More info, then Run anyway.

To double-check the file, compare it with SHA256SUMS.txt on the releases page.

Smart App Control blocks every unsigned app, and it has no exceptions for single apps. On current Windows 11 builds you can turn it off, and back on later, in Windows Security › App & browser control. On older builds, turning it back on means resetting Windows. A signed version of GameSweep is planned.

GameSweep for Mac isn't notarised by Apple yet. Try to open it once, then go to System Settings › Privacy & Security and select Open Anyway. You only need to do this once.

GameSweep looks for Steam where it's normally installed. If yours is somewhere else, select Choose Steam folder and pick Steam's main folder, the one with the steamapps folder inside.

• Mac: usually ~/Library/Application Support/Steam.
• Linux: usually ~/.steam/steam. The Flatpak and Snap versions of Steam are found too.

You can change the folder later in Settings › Steam installation.

Open Settings (Ctrl + ,, or ⌘ + , on a Mac) and select Show walkthrough under Help and troubleshooting.

1. On Clean up, type how much space you need under “How much space do you need?”, or pick 25, 50, 100 or 200 GB. When a drive is below 15% free, there's also “Get C: to 15% free”, named after that drive.
2. Choose the drive to free, or all drives.
3. Select Build my plan.

The plan shows the total, how close it gets you and each drive's free space before and after. If your library can't reach the target, it says how far short it is. Clear plan starts again.

Each game gets a score from 0 to 100. The higher it is, the more space you get back for the least regret.

Scores of 80 or more are strong candidates, 60 or more good candidates, 40 or more “consider” and 20 or more “probably keep”. Easy wins are games that score 60 or more. Select Why this score? on any game to see its own numbers.

• The game you're playing right now.
• Games you've marked Protected, Snoozed or Hidden, and modded setups.
• Steamworks Common Redistributables, Proton and the Steam Linux Runtime. They're hidden by default because Steam reinstalls them whenever a game needs them. To see them again, open Library › Hidden.

Select the game's status badge and choose:

• Protected: never suggest it.
• Snoozed: leave it out for 30 days.
• Hidden: leave it out of GameSweep's lists. Its size still counts in storage totals.
• Friends play this or Favourite friends play this: lowers its priority, or lowers it a lot.
• Modded setup: protects it and helps delay Steam updates (more).

You can undo each change straight away. Hidden games come back from Settings › Hidden games and ignored drives › Show again.

It's how long a game would take to download again if you want it back. Set your speed in Settings › Internet download speed: type it in Mbps, or pick 50, 100, 250, 500 or 1000.

The slower your connection, the less likely big games are to be suggested.

Yes. Choose that drive in the planner, select Plan a cleanup on its card in Storage, or select the drive in the side panel's drive list. When a drive drops below 10% free, Clean up shows a reminder you can dismiss.

To leave a drive out of suggestions, plans and low-space reminders, select Ignore drive in Storage. It still counts in storage totals. Settings › Hidden games and ignored drives › Include again brings it back.

GameSweep hands the uninstall to Steam, and Steam asks you to confirm it, just as if you'd selected Uninstall in Steam. GameSweep then watches for the game to go and updates by itself.

The space counts as freed only once a full rescan, with every library drive available, shows the game is gone. In a plan, Uninstall first and then Uninstall next take you through the games one at a time. GameSweep keeps watching even if you close it and open it again.

No. Uninstalling keeps the game in your Steam library, and Steam Cloud saves aren't affected. A few older games keep their saves inside the install folder, so back those up first if you're not sure.

• Steam is still uninstalling. Activity lists it under Waiting for Steam until it's done.
• A library drive is unplugged or offline. Confirming waits until every Steam library can be read again.
• You cancelled in Steam. Select Cancelled? next to it in Activity to stop waiting for it.

Yes, if another Steam library has room. Select Move to … on the game (it names the drive), then Open in Steam. Steam opens the game's Properties: choose Installed Files › Move install folder, pick the drive and select Move.

A small guide window stays on top with Steam's copy progress, and closes when the move is confirmed. If Properties doesn't open, use Open Steam Storage instead. Steam does the move; GameSweep only watches.

Mark it Modded setup in its status menu. GameSweep keeps it out of cleanup and offers Steam update guard: in Steam, open the game's Properties › Updates and choose “Only update this game when I launch it”, then rescan in GameSweep to check it's set.

Steam can delay updates, but not freeze them for good. Launching through Steam can still install a waiting update, so back up version-critical mods first.

Workshop items can stay on your drive after a game is uninstalled, so GameSweep lists them separately and never counts them towards a plan. Storage › Workshop content shows them largest first, and flags folders left behind by games that aren't installed. Manage Workshop items in Steam.

Space that Steam holds outside your installed games, listed in Storage. GameSweep only reads names, sizes and dates, and never deletes anything: check each item before you remove it yourself. A folder that belongs to a game in any of your libraries is never listed. Open folder shows it on your computer.

GameSweep asks your system whether a drive is an SSD or an HDD. When the system doesn't say, GameSweep shows Unknown rather than guessing. On Linux, USB drives and SD cards always show Unknown, because they don't report it reliably.

One free-space reading per drive per day, kept on your computer for 180 days. It starts the first day you use GameSweep, so open it again on another day to see the trend, including the space your cleanups recover.

Library lists every installed game with its size, last played, playtime, drive and status. Sort by any column, filter, or search with Ctrl + F or /. Select several games, then Add to plan. Hidden games are under Hidden.

The uninstalls you asked Steam for through GameSweep, which ones a rescan has confirmed, the space freed each month, and anything still waiting for Steam.

To empty it, use Settings › Privacy and local data › Clear cleanup activity. It can't be restored, and it doesn't change your games or Steam.

On a Mac, use ⌘ instead of Ctrl.

No. GameSweep works fully without one. It only contacts Lab43 if you sign in, or if you choose to send a crash report or feedback (2.0 or later). You only need an account to buy Remove ads (2.0 or later).

A Lab43 account is one sign-in for GameSweep, MC Planner and every Lab43 app. To sign in, use the sidebar or Settings › Lab43 account: enter your email, then the code Lab43 emails you (check your spam folder if it hasn't arrived). A new address gets a free account. Manage account opens auth.lab43.dev, and Sign out is next to it. Nothing about your computer or Steam library is sent.

GameSweep is free. Its side panel shows one labelled ad and one sponsor, which help pay for development. They're downloaded from gamesweep.app at most once a day. GameSweep sends back only how many times each was shown per day, and clicks go through a gamesweep.app link that counts them, with nothing about you. Some ads are affiliate links (the privacy policy explains).

You can also support GameSweep on Ko-fi, or advertise on GameSweep.

Remove ads is a one-time purchase of €4.99 on your Lab43 account, not a subscription. Stripe's payment page shows the exact price before you pay.

1. Select Remove ads in the side panel or in Settings.
2. Select Sign in or create account, if you're not signed in yet.
3. Select Buy. Stripe's payment page opens in your browser.
4. Pay, then switch back to GameSweep. The ad and the sponsor go within seconds.

Remove ads belongs to your account, so the ads stay hidden on every computer where you're signed in. Sign out and they come back. If they haven't gone after paying, select Remove ads again, then Check now.

Yes. Ask within 14 days of paying and you get the full amount back within 14 days, no questions asked. Email hello@lab43.dev, or contact Link support (Link, LLC, Stripe's merchant of record, sells Remove ads for us and sends your receipt).

After a full refund, the ad and the sponsor come back the next time GameSweep checks your account. The terms have the details.

Your Steam library never leaves your computer, and there are no analytics. GameSweep only goes online for:

• an update check with GitHub, at most once a day (you can turn it off);
• the list of ads and sponsors from gamesweep.app, and how often each was shown, at most once a day (not with Remove ads);
• a game's cover from Steam's public image service, if it isn't in Steam's local cache;
• links you select, which open in your browser;
• a crash report, only when you press Send to Lab43 (2.0 or later);
• feedback you send from Settings, only when you send it (2.0 or later);
• your Lab43 account, and Remove ads (2.0 or later), only if you sign in.

The privacy policy has the details.

GameSweep checks GitHub once a day and tells you when there's a new version. Nothing installs until you choose Update now in the side panel, or Update to … in Settings; GameSweep then opens again on the new version, with your settings and Activity kept.

Settings › Updates has Check now and the “Check once a day” switch. Updates work the same way on Windows, Mac and Linux.

It's free. One labelled ad and one sponsor help pay for development. GameSweep is an independent app by Lab43, and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.

1. Rescan: press F5, or select Rescan now in Settings › Steam installation.
2. Open Settings › Help and troubleshooting › Diagnostics report…. You see the whole report, and can copy or save it. It leaves out your user name, Steam account IDs and game IDs, and has no game names. From 2.0 you can also send it with Send to Lab43.
3. Report the problem on GitHub (posts there are public, so leave out personal details) or on the feedback board.

When Steam's files don't say something, such as playtime or when you last played, GameSweep shows Unknown instead of guessing.

If some of Steam's files couldn't be read, Settings › Steam installation says how many; every other game is still shown. A library on a drive that's unplugged shows as unavailable until the drive is back.

GameSweep shows a recovery screen with the whole crash report. Press Send to Lab43 to send it, with an optional note about what you were doing. Nothing is sent without that click.

User names, game names and folders, IDs, email addresses and IP addresses are removed before you see it. If GameSweep closes because of a crash, it offers the report the next time it starts. Only Lab43 reads crash reports, and they're deleted after 90 days.

• Feedback board: post ideas and problems on GameSweep's board, with or without an account. Lab43 reads every post before it shows, and voting needs a free Lab43 account.
• In GameSweep (2.0 or later): Settings › Help and troubleshooting › Send feedback, with or without an account. Only the version, your system and the page you're on go with it; if you're signed in, it's posted under your Lab43 name.
• GitHub: GameSweep's issues, for bugs. Everything there is public.

• Windows: Settings › Apps, then GameSweep › Uninstall.
• Mac: move GameSweep from Applications to the Bin.
• Linux: delete the AppImage.

Your games and Steam aren't affected.