macOS · Mac App Store edition
Features missing in the App Store edition
CleanPanda for Mac comes in two editions: one from the Mac App Store and the full edition from this site. This page lists what the App Store edition leaves out, and why.
Why some features are missing
Apple requires apps in the Mac App Store to run in the App Sandbox. A sandboxed app works inside its own container and the folders you allow; it cannot reach system folders, run system tools or ask for an administrator password. Some of what CleanPanda does needs exactly that, so Apple does not allow it there. The full edition from this site is not sandboxed and has everything: it is signed with our Developer ID, notarized by Apple and updates itself.
| Feature | App Store edition | Edition from this site |
|---|---|---|
| Cleanup outside your home folder | LimitedCaches, logs and browser data in your home folder are cleaned. System caches and logs, and the data of other App Store apps, stay closed. | Included |
| Storage: system files, logs and reports, other users | Not availableThis edition can only look inside your home folder. | Included |
| Commands that need your password | Not availableA sandboxed app cannot ask for an administrator password to run a command. | Included |
| Time Machine local snapshots | Not availableListing and removing them needs system tools that the sandbox blocks. | Included |
| Simulator devices and runtimes | Not availableThey are managed with Xcode's command-line tools, which this edition cannot run. Use Xcode instead; Xcode caches in your home folder are still cleaned. | Included |
| Quit simulators when the Mac shuts down | Not availableNeeds the same Xcode tools. | Included |
| Your own login items | LimitedYou can see them and move them to the Trash, but not turn one off without removing it. | Included |
| Login items for all users and system services | Not availableChange these in System Settings > General > Login Items. | Included |
| Displays: brightness, contrast and volume of external monitors | Not availableTalking to a monitor needs hardware access that the sandbox does not allow. Use the monitor's own buttons. | Included |
| Command-line tool (cleanpanda) | Not availableIt comes only with the edition from this site. | Included |
| Built-in updates | Not availableThe Mac App Store updates this edition instead. | Included |
| Disk map of a whole disk or another disk | LimitedMeasures only the folders you allow. | Included |
| Full Disk Access | Not availableGranting it does not open more folders to a sandboxed app. | Included |
| Move to Trash and Undo | LimitedWork for items in the folders you allow. | Included |
| Empty Trash | Not availableEmpty the Trash in Finder. | Included |
| Uninstall apps from the Applications folder | Not availableDrag the app to the Trash in Finder. | Included |
| App leftovers and Reset to defaults | LimitedOnly what is in your home folder; the data of other App Store apps stays closed. | Included |
| Extensions, settings panes and plug-ins | LimitedOnly the ones installed for you, not those installed for all users. | Included |
| Quit and Force Quit other apps | Not availableUse Force Quit in the Apple menu. | Included |
| Maintenance tasks | Not availableThey run system tools, mostly with your password, which the sandbox blocks. | Included |
| Forget Wi-Fi networks | Not availableUse System Settings > Wi-Fi. | Included |
| See which apps may use what | Not availableShown in System Settings > Privacy & Security. | Included |
| Check for known adware | LimitedChecks the places in your home folder only, not those shared by all users. | Included |
| Updates of apps installed with Homebrew | Not availableRun brew outdated in Terminal. | Included |
| Projects: Docker images | Not availableRemove them with Docker Desktop or in Terminal. | Included |
This page is about macOS; the Windows version is not affected. The App Store edition asks once for access to your home folder. “Limited” means the feature works only inside folders you allow.
How to get the full edition
Download CleanPanda from this site. It is the edition with every feature in this table, and it updates itself.
Whether licenses and prices differ between the two editions has not been decided yet.
Go to the download