cargo clean - The Cargo Book

# cargo clean

## NAME

cargo-clean - Remove generated artifacts

## SYNOPSIS

`cargo clean [OPTIONS]`

## DESCRIPTION

Remove artifacts from the target directory that Cargo has generated in the past.

With no options, `cargo clean` will delete the entire target directory.

## OPTIONS

### Package Selection

When no packages are selected, all packages and all dependencies in the workspace are cleaned.

-p SPEC…​
--package SPEC…​

  Clean only the specified packages. This flag may be specified multiple times. See cargo-pkgid(1) for the SPEC format.

### Clean Options

--doc

  This option will cause `cargo clean` to remove only the `doc` directory in the target directory.

--release

  Clean all artifacts that were built with the `release` or `bench` profiles.

--target-dir DIRECTORY

  Directory for all generated artifacts and intermediate files. May also be specified with the `CARGO_TARGET_DIR` environment variable, or the `build.target-dir` config value. Defaults to `target` in the root of the workspace.

--target TRIPLE

  Clean for the given architecture. The default is the host architecture. The general format of the triple is `<arch><sub>-<vendor>-<sys>-<abi>`. Run `rustc --print target-list` for a list of supported targets.

  This may also be specified with the `build.target` config value.

  Note that specifying this flag makes Cargo run in a different mode where the target artifacts are placed in a separate directory. See the build cache documentation for more details.

### Display Options

-v
--verbose

  Use verbose output. May be specified twice for "very verbose" output which includes extra output such as dependency warnings and build script output. May also be specified with the `term.verbose` config value.

-q
--quiet

  No output printed to stdout.

--color WHEN

  Control when colored output is used. Valid values:

  - `auto` (default): Automatically detect if color support is available on the terminal.

  - `always`: Always display colors.

  - `never`: Never display colors.

  May also be specified with the `term.color` config value.

### Manifest Options

--manifest-path PATH

  Path to the `Cargo.toml` file. By default, Cargo searches for the `Cargo.toml` file in the current directory or any parent directory.

--frozen
--locked

  Either of these flags requires that the `Cargo.lock` file is up-to-date. If the lock file is missing, or it needs to be updated, Cargo will exit with an error. The `--frozen` flag also prevents Cargo from attempting to access the network to determine if it is out-of-date.

  These may be used in environments where you want to assert that the `Cargo.lock` file is up-to-date (such as a CI build) or want to avoid network access.

--offline

  Prevents Cargo from accessing the network for any reason. Without this flag, Cargo will stop with an error if it needs to access the network and the network is not available. With this flag, Cargo will attempt to proceed without the network if possible.

  Beware that this may result in different dependency resolution than online mode. Cargo will restrict itself to crates that are downloaded locally, even if there might be a newer version as indicated in the local copy of the index. See the cargo-fetch(1) command to download dependencies before going offline.

  May also be specified with the `net.offline` config value.

### Common Options

+TOOLCHAIN

  If Cargo has been installed with rustup, and the first argument to `cargo` begins with `+`, it will be interpreted as a rustup toolchain name (such as `+stable` or `+nightly`). See the rustup documentation for more information about how toolchain overrides work.

-h
--help

  Prints help information.

-Z FLAG…​

  Unstable (nightly-only) flags to Cargo. Run `cargo -Z help` for details.

## ENVIRONMENT

See the reference for details on environment variables that Cargo reads.

## Exit Status

0

  Cargo succeeded.

101

  Cargo failed to complete.

## EXAMPLES

1. Remove the entire target directory:

       cargo clean

2. Remove only the release artifacts:

       cargo clean --release

## SEE ALSO

cargo(1), cargo-build(1)