full clean python mono repo

18 Mar, 2026

Clean Your Python Repo in One Line

If your Python project starts feeling cluttered with cache files and build artifacts, here’s a simple one-liner to clean it up fast:

find . -type d -name __pycache__ -exec rm -rf {} + \
  && find . -type f -name '*.pyc' -delete \
  && find . -type f -name '*.pyo' -delete \
  && find . -type d -name '.pytest_cache' -exec rm -rf {} + \
  && find . -type d -name '.mypy_cache' -exec rm -rf {} + \
  && find . -type d -name '.ruff_cache' -exec rm -rf {} + \
  && find . -type d -name '*.egg-info' -exec rm -rf {} + \
  && find . -type d -name '.eggs' -exec rm -rf {} + \
  && find . -type d -empty -delete

What it removes

Pattern	Description
`__pycache__/`	Python bytecode cache directories
`.pyc`, `.pyo`	Compiled Python files
`.pytest_cache/`	Pytest cache
`.mypy_cache/`	Mypy type-check cache
`.ruff_cache/`	Ruff linter cache
`*.egg-info/`, `.eggs/`	Packaging/build artifacts
empty dirs	Any leftover empty directories

Optional: Remove build outputs

If you also want to delete packaging output directories:

&& find . -type d -name 'dist' -exec rm -rf {} + \
&& find . -type d -name 'build' -exec rm -rf {} +

Tips

Run this from the root of your repository.
Want to be extra safe? Add:
```
-not -path './.git/*'
```
to each find command to avoid touching anything inside .git.

This is the kind of command you keep in your muscle memory—or better yet, drop into a Makefile or script so your repo stays clean without thinking about it.