save-my-c-drive

SaveMyCDrive

Set your C: drive free. Move your data. Keep your workflow. Nothing deleted · One-click migrate · One-click restore

[[图片] Release](https://github.com/suifei/save-my-c-drive/releases/latest) [[图片] CI](https://github.com/suifei/save-my-c-drive/actions/workflows/ci.yml) [图片] Windows 10/11 x64 [[图片] License](#license)

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SaveMyCDrive moves the space-hungry folders under AppData and your home directory to another drive, then leaves a directory junction at the original path. Your apps keep using the path they know while the data lives where you chose. Want it back? Restore it.

Download and use

Get SaveMyCDrive-v -windows-x64.zip from Releases, unzip, and run. No installer and no runtime to install.

In the GUI:

1. Scan. Tick drives and choose Scan selected drives, or Scan a folder…. Scanning is read-only.
2. Select. Each row is a recognized folder with its size, application and status. Nothing starts checked; grayed rows cannot be moved right now. Select a row to see its notes in the log.
3. Choose a destination. Enter a destination root such as D:\Dev, choose Review and run, and check each source → destination and the programs currently using those folders.
4. Restore when needed. Switch the mode to restoring links, scan the drive holding the junctions, check them, and restore.

From the command line:

smcd scan --volumes C: --mode migrate --measure --out scan.json
smcd plan --scan scan.json --select   --destination D:\Dev --out plan.json
smcd apply --plan plan.json
smcd restore --source C:\Users\You\.cache\huggingface
smcd history

smcd --help lists every command; --state PATH keeps transaction records in a folder you choose (portable use).

“I installed my apps on D:. Why is C: full again?”

You picked D: in the installer, keep projects elsewhere, and emptied the Recycle Bin. C: is still red.

An AI tool downloaded another model. Your editor added extensions. A compiler built its cache, and a package manager kept its own copy of everything, all under AppData or hidden folders in your home directory. Then an update fails, a build stops, or a download runs out of room halfway.

Your computer has room. Your tools just keep choosing the same place. If you're new to this, unfamiliar folders are scary to touch. If you're experienced, you can write mklink, but you still have to find folders, check what's using them, move data and remember what went where, every time. SaveMyCDrive puts discovery, review, migration and restoration in one flow.

Move, don't delete: how it compares

Cleaning only buys time: deleted caches grow back, models have to be downloaded again, and session history or extensions can't be deleted at all. SaveMyCDrive deletes nothing; it gives that data a home on another drive.

Some cleaners also offer a "move C: data" feature, but the scope is a vendor list that generally doesn't cover AI coding tools.

Why not just ask an AI to clean up each time?

AI is great for one-off, unfamiliar problems. Freeing C: every few weeks is the opposite: repetitive, and your data is on the line.

• Inconsistent. The same folder can be "safe to delete cache" in one session and "keep" in the next, depending on the model and the prompt.
• Mistaken deletes. .claude\projects sounds like a cache but holds Claude Code's session history. huggingface\hub blobs and snapshots reference each other; deleting "the biggest files" corrupts models and costs tens of GB to re-download. One mistyped path in Remove-Item -Recurse or rm -rf can take out the parent folder.
• Token cost. Every run lists folders, sums sizes and looks things up, often tens of thousands of lines of output; two weeks later C: is full again and you pay again.
• Treats the symptom. Whatever was deleted grows back.

SaveMyCDrive turns those judgments into reviewable rules and a fixed procedure: the same input gives the same result, you preview before anything runs, you can roll back afterwards, and it costs no tokens.

How it works

It relies on the tools Windows already ships:

1. Check. Programs using the folder are listed by product name so you can close them. SaveMyCDrive never ends processes.
2. Copy. The system robocopy copies, multi-threaded, into a staging folder next to the destination; its exit code decides success.
3. Switch. The staged copy takes its place and robocopy /MOVE retires the source. If any file is left behind, SaveMyCDrive stops and keeps the data.
4. Link. The system mklink /J creates the junction at the original path.

Every step is journaled. After a power loss or interruption, Recover interrupted work continues or rolls back from the journal and the actual disk state; each folder's result and the batch result are recorded separately.

Built around the folders that keep growing

A built-in application knowledge pack (124 rules) recognizes folders by location and application markers, not by name alone:

See the directory list (Chinese). Folders marked for review are listed, but you should read their notes first.

Safety

• Scanning is read-only. It never starts a migration, restoration, deletion or repair.
• You decide. Candidates and every optional switch start off; existing destination content is never silently merged or overwritten.
• Uncertainty stops the operation. Failed copies, folders still in use, identity changes or unknown link types keep the data in place and explain why.
• No deleting through links. Cleanup is robocopy /MOVE plus empty-directory removal; never an unverified recursive delete.
• Restore brings back current files, including changes made since migration. Junctions you created by hand are found and restorable too.
• Everything stays local. No telemetry, no network access, no uploads.

FAQ

Do I need administrator rights? Whole-drive fast scanning (NTFS MFT) does; SaveMyCDrive asks via UAC when needed and falls back to a normal scan if you decline. Migrating user folders usually doesn't.

Will every app work after migration? Keeping the original path is the method, not a universal compatibility guarantee. Updaters, permissions and folder contents all matter; known restrictions are shown in the list and log.

Which drives are supported? Local NTFS volumes. Network paths and other filesystems are out of scope. The destination needs enough space and must stay available while apps use the data.

How fast is it? Scanning reads NTFS MFT/USN directly; copying uses robocopy /MT:8. Real time depends on data size and disk speed.

Interface language

Simplified Chinese is the maintained interface language. English, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean and German remain available but are not updated for new text; missing strings fall back to English.

Development

See the requirements, technical design, system command contract, build and validation and implementation status (Chinese). Written in Rust; the CLI and the native Win32 GUI share one core.

If SaveMyCDrive helps, a Star helps the next person with a full C: drive find it.

Contact

• QQ: 410000
• Issues and suggestions: GitHub Issues

License

Licensed under either of MIT or Apache-2.0, at your option. Dependency notices ship with the release archive (third-party-notices/).