# Show HN: Sifty – Windows cleanup CLI/TUI with local-only AI > Source: > Published: 2026-06-12 17:29:02+00:00 Clean junk, analyze disks, find duplicates, manage apps and startup programs, apply updates, prune dev artifacts and git worktrees, and organize files — from a scriptable CLI or a full-screen terminal UI. The optional AI assistant runs **locally** via [Ollama](https://ollama.com): nothing leaves your machine, and it only ever sees file *metadata* (names, sizes, paths), never file contents. Sifty deletes files and changes system state, so it is built to be hard to misuse: **Dry-run by default**— every destructive command previews what it would do. Real changes need an explicit`--apply` .**Recycle Bin, never permanent delete**— all removals go through one`trash()` function backed by Send2Trash.`sifty undo` restores the last clean.**Protected paths**—`C:\Windows` ,`Program Files` ,`ProgramData` , the drive root and your profile root are refused even with`--apply --yes` .**Audit log**— every applied deletion is recorded in`%APPDATA%\sifty\audit.log` .**The AI never deletes anything**— it is advisory; high-risk tool calls always require your approval. | Feature | Sifty | CCleaner | Revo Uninstaller | WinDirStat | |---|---|---|---|---| | Junk / cache cleaning | ✅ 11+ categories | ✅ | ➖ | ❌ | | Disk usage analysis | ✅ top-N + volumes | ➖ | ❌ | ✅ treemap | | Duplicate finder | ✅ SHA-256, NTFS-aware | ✅ (paid) | ❌ | ❌ | | App uninstall + leftover scan | ✅ winget + leftovers | ✅ | ✅ + leftovers | ❌ | | App updates | ✅ via winget | ✅ (paid) | ❌ | ❌ | | Startup manager | ✅ reversible | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | | Dev artifact purge (node_modules, …) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Git worktree / WSL2 VHD cleanup | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Local AI assistant | ✅ Ollama | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Scriptable (JSON output) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Recycle Bin + undo for everything | ✅ | ➖ | ➖ | n/a | | Price | Free, MIT | Freemium | Freemium | Free | Sifty is built **developer-first**: everything is scriptable, the engine is a reusable Python library, and it cleans the things developer machines actually accumulate (build artifacts, orphaned worktrees, bloated WSL2 disks). ``` pipx install sifty # recommended (isolated); or: pip install sifty scoop bucket add sifty https://github.com/Vortrix5/scoop-bucket; scoop install sifty winget install Vortrix5.Sifty # once the winget-pkgs PR is merged sifty doctor # check admin rights, winget, Ollama ``` Prefer no Python install? Download the standalone `sifty.exe` from the [latest release](https://github.com/Vortrix5/sifty/releases/latest). For development: ``` python -m venv .venv .\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -e ".[dev]" .\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pytest -q sifty checkup # one read-only scan of everything: junk, updates, # orphans, stale files, disk space, startup sifty tui # the full-screen interactive app # Junk sifty junk scan # show reclaimable space per category sifty junk clean # preview removal (dry-run) sifty junk clean --apply # send junk to the Recycle Bin (asks first) # Disk sifty disk volumes # used/free/total per volume sifty disk analyze C:\Users # biggest folders/files under a path sifty disk duplicates D:\ # find duplicate files and wasted space # Apps & updates sifty apps list --by-size # installed apps, largest first sifty apps orphans # broken uninstall entries in the registry sifty apps uninstall "App" # uninstall via winget (preview, then --apply) sifty apps leftovers "App" # what the uninstaller left behind (then --apply) sifty update check # available updates (winget) sifty update apply # upgrade everything (asks first) # Developer cleanup sifty purge clean # node_modules, dist, __pycache__, target, … sifty cleanup duplicates D:\Photos # de-duplicate (keeps one copy each) sifty cleanup large C:\Users\you # biggest files under a path sifty cleanup stale --days 180 # old items in Downloads # Startup & services sifty startup list # startup programs (enabled/disabled) sifty startup disable "Spotify" # reversible (sifty startup enable …) sifty services list # curated optional services + state sifty --admin services disable DiagTrack # toggle one (needs admin) # History & undo sifty history # what was cleaned + total space reclaimed sifty undo # restore the most recent clean from the Recycle Bin # Organize files sifty organize preview C:\Users\you\Downloads --by type sifty organize apply C:\Users\you\Downloads --by date sifty organize undo # put the last organize's files back # Configuration sifty config # all settings + which ones you've overridden sifty config set ai.model "llama3.2:3b" sifty config edit # open config.toml in your editor # AI (requires Ollama running) sifty ai status sifty ai ask "what can I safely delete on my C drive?" --path C:\ # Scripting — JSON output on read-only commands (auto-enabled when piped) sifty --json checkup sifty --json disk volumes sifty --json apps list --by-size ``` Some operations (Windows temp, update cache, certain uninstalls) need an **Administrator** terminal — `sifty doctor` tells you if you're elevated, and `sifty --admin ` relaunches elevated via UAC. `sifty tui` opens a full-screen app with a seven-section sidebar — Home, Clean, Disk, Apps, Monitor, Reports, AI: **Home**— volume gauges and a** Run checkup**button that scans everything at once; findings come with buttons that fix them right there (clean junk, clean stale downloads, apply updates — each behind a confirm).**Clean**— Junk / Purge / Optimize / Smart cleanup under one roof (tabs).** Apps**— Installed / Updates / Startup / Services, with fuzzy filter, sorting, bulk uninstall, and an automatic leftover scan after uninstalling.**AI**— an agentic chat: tool runs it proposes show** Run/Skip buttons inline in the conversation**, and scan results carry follow-up action buttons. Press **Ctrl+P** for the command palette (jump to any screen), **F2** to elevate, **Space** to mark rows for bulk actions. The **Reports** screen shows space reclaimed over time with an **Undo last clean** button. - Install [Ollama](https://ollama.com)and start it. - Pull the configured model: `ollama pull qwen2.5:3b` . `sifty ai status` should report "running". Configure everything with the `sifty config` command — no need to hand-edit files: ``` sifty config # show all settings + your overrides sifty config set ai.model "llama3.2:3b" # use a different local model sifty config set ai.host "http://localhost:11434" sifty config set safety.extra_protected_paths '["D:\\Important"]' sifty config set junk.include_downloads_installers true sifty config edit # or open config.toml in your editor ``` Settings live in `%APPDATA%\sifty\config.toml` ; `sifty config set` only writes the keys you change, so defaults keep flowing through on upgrades. Layered — thin frontends over a reusable engine, OS specifics quarantined: ``` src/sifty/ ├── cli/ # Typer entry point + one thin command module per group ├── tui/ # Textual full-screen app (views call core, not cli) ├── core/ # the engine: junk, disk, apps, updates, cleanup, │ │ # startup, services, organize, checkup, history, … │ └── safety.py # ★ protected paths, dry-run guard, trash(), audit log ├── windows/ # OS primitives: winget, registry, UAC, Recycle Bin, DISM ├── ai/ # Ollama client, advisor prompts, agentic tool loop └── infra/ # TOML config + rotating diagnostics log ``` Frontends depend on `core` ; `core` depends on `windows` /`infra` ; nothing imports upward. A GUI could call the same engine functions (`junk.scan` , `disk.find_duplicates` , `checkup.run_checkup` ) without a rewrite. See [docs/ARCHITECTURE.md](/Vortrix5/sifty/blob/main/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) for the design rationale. ``` .\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pytest -q # 160+ tests, ~20 s ``` The safety guardrails are the most heavily tested code in the repo; the Windows environment is mocked so the suite also runs on CI. See [CONTRIBUTING.md](/Vortrix5/sifty/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) to get involved. [MIT](/Vortrix5/sifty/blob/main/LICENSE) © Amine Zouaoui