Prunable · Support

Setting up and getting help

New to Prunable? The user guide walks through every page, menu and shortcut. This page is for setup, limits and when something goes wrong.

Supported devices

• iPhone. Scanning, real sizes, delete warnings, the reinstall list and the Home Screen view work with iPhones running a current version of iOS. That includes the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max.
• iPad. The same features, including the Home Screen view, which is drawn at the iPad's own proportions.
• iPhone Duo. Scanning, sizes, warnings and the reinstall list work the same way. The Home Screen view adapts to the screen sizes and grid the Duo reports, and a note on that page says when the picture is approximate.

Layouts Prunable hasn't seen. If a device arranges its Home Screen in a way Prunable doesn't recognize, the Home Screen page opens read-only: you can look but not change anything, and nothing is written to the device. Every other feature keeps working. If that happens on a new device, tell us the model so it can be added.

First connection

1. Open Prunable and plug the iPhone or iPad into the Mac with a cable.
2. Unlock the device. If it asks whether to trust this computer, tap Trust and enter the passcode.
3. Prunable scans on its own: names first, then sizes, then App Store details. A 170-app phone takes about a minute.

Over Wi-Fi

Once a device has been plugged in and trusted, turn on Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi in Finder (select the device, General tab). From then on Prunable finds it whenever both are on the same network and the device is awake. Scans are slower over Wi-Fi, and a cable is used whenever one is plugged in. If a device you expect isn't listed, click Look for Devices at the bottom of the sidebar, or wake the device.

Bluetooth isn't possible: iOS doesn't manage apps over Bluetooth, for any Mac app.

What Prunable can't do, and why

• Show app use from before you started. Prunable reads the usage report your phone writes each day, from the day it first connects; older use stays on the phone (Settings › General › iPhone Storage). If the App use card stays empty for a couple of days, turn on Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Share iPhone Analytics.
• Install apps. Apple removed app downloads from iTunes in 2017 and gives no Mac a way to install App Store apps. The reinstall list gets you to each app's Get button instead.
• Clear an app's cache. Only apps that share their files expose anything to a Mac. For the rest, use the app's own settings; Prunable can ask an AI assistant exactly where that control is.
• Start an iCloud backup. Backups are started on the device (Settings › your name › iCloud › iCloud Backup › Back Up Now). Prunable shows how old your backups are so you know before deleting.
• Remove Apple's built-in apps. Those are managed on the device itself.

Deleting safely

Deleting an app removes everything it stored on the device, exactly as deleting it on the phone would. Prunable warns before apps that would lock you out of something (authenticators, password managers, wallets, carrier and banking apps), flags apps the App Store no longer lists, and shows the age of your last backup in every confirmation. There is no undo; there is the App Store and your backup.

Updates

Prunable › Check for Updates… checks our update feed and installs updates with your say-so (Sparkle).

1.0.0 · 17 October 2026

First release. Inventory with real sizes and today's App Store details, safety warnings, the Home Screen view and editing, document export and pruning for file-sharing apps, insights and saved scans, the reinstall list with sharing and a QR code, device history, USB and Wi-Fi.

Pro and licenses

Scanning, the Home Screen view, warnings, exporting an app's files and deleting one app at a time are free. Pro adds batch deletion, saved scans with what changed, filters, CSV export, rearranging the Home Screen and deleting files inside an app, as a one-time purchase. Your license key arrives by email; enter it under Prunable › Enter License…. One license covers two Macs; deactivate on one to move it.

Something's wrong

• "Trust This Mac" stays up: unplug, unlock the device, plug it back in, tap Trust.
• "Can't reach" over Wi-Fi: wake the device, check it's on the same network, or plug it in.
• Sizes show n/a: the size pass was interrupted; click Scan again.
• Store details missing: the Mac is offline or Apple's lookup is busy; they fill in on the next scan.

Anything else: feedback@erratici.com. Say which macOS and iOS versions you're on; Prunable sends nothing on its own, so we only know what you tell us.