Keeps VS Code server disk usage in check by automatically cleaning old server versions, duplicate extensions, logs, caches, and orphaned workspace storage.
Installation
Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.
VS Code's remote server is well-known for filling up disk space over time. Each update leaves behind old server binaries, session logs accumulate, extension caches grow, and duplicate extension versions pile up. On shared servers this quietly kills the root partition.
This extension runs quietly in the background and keeps it all in check.
What it cleans
Target
Default
Old VS Code server binaries (~/.vscode-server/bin/)
✅ enabled
Old CLI server installs (~/.vscode-server/cli/servers/)
The currently running server version is always preserved. Nothing safety-critical is touched.
Features
Auto-cleanup on startup — runs 10 seconds after VS Code finishes loading
Scheduled cleanup — repeats every 24 hours by default
Status bar — shows live ~/.vscode-server disk usage; click to run cleanup immediately
Disk alert — pops a warning when usage exceeds a configurable threshold (default 2 GB)
Dry-run mode — logs what would be deleted without removing anything
Disk usage report — per-directory breakdown via the command palette
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and search for Bloat Cleaner:
Command
Description
Bloat Cleaner: Run Cleanup Now
Run all cleanup tasks immediately
Bloat Cleaner: Show Disk Usage Report
Show a breakdown of ~/.vscode-server disk usage
Bloat Cleaner: Open Settings
Jump to extension settings
Settings
Setting
Default
Description
bloatCleaner.autoCleanOnStartup
true
Run cleanup when VS Code starts
bloatCleaner.autoCleanIntervalHours
24
Hours between scheduled cleanups (0 = disabled)
bloatCleaner.keepServerVersions
1
Extra server versions to keep beyond the running one
bloatCleaner.logRetentionDays
7
Delete session logs older than this many days
bloatCleaner.cleanCachedVsix
true
Delete cached extension VSIX files
bloatCleaner.cleanWorkspaceStorage
true
Delete storage for workspaces that no longer exist
bloatCleaner.cleanTmpFiles
true
Delete stale VS Code entries in /tmp
bloatCleaner.cleanDuplicateExtensions
true
Remove older installs of the same extension
bloatCleaner.diskAlertThresholdGB
2
Warn when ~/.vscode-server exceeds this size (GB)
bloatCleaner.showStatusBar
true
Show disk usage in the status bar
bloatCleaner.dryRun
false
Preview deletions without removing anything
Notes
Designed for remote/server environments (SSH, Tunnel, WSL). Works locally too but the gains are most significant on servers where VS Code updates frequently and old versions are never manually removed.
The extension only touches files inside ~/.vscode-server and VS Code-prefixed entries in /tmp. It does not touch your project files.
Output from every cleanup run is logged to the Bloat Cleaner output channel for review.
