Is it safe to delete .dart_tool folders?

Files that Dart and Flutter tools generate in each project, such as its package configuration and build caches.

Safe

Its owner recreates it by itself when it needs it, and nothing you made is lost.

~/**/.dart_tool

Only next to pubspec.yaml
Never inside ~/Library, ~/**/packages/flutter_tools

What it is

Dart's tools, including pub, the build system and Flutter, keep generated files for a project in a hidden .dart_tool folder next to its pubspec.yaml file. The folder isn't meant to be kept with your code, and it's created again when the project's dependencies are fetched, which Flutter does on its own when you run or build an app. Flutter's clean command removes the same folder.

If it's removed

The next run or build of the project fetches its dependencies again and takes longer.

How it's removed

Moved to the Trash, where you can restore it.

PRO

The free analyzer finds it and explains it. Removing it is Pro, after a review sheet that lists every move and command. It starts checked in the Cleanup checklist, except inside Documents or Desktop.

Sources

Last checked on 26 Sep 2026. Every entry is written and checked by hand; the app and the command-line tool use the same words.