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Fusion keeps every update it ever installed: the webdeploy folder, and what is safe to clear

Fusion updates itself often, and older builds can stay behind in a hidden folder. How to see how many it kept, and the cleanest way to get the space back.

5 min read

Fusion installs and updates itself through a small launcher, not the App Store. Each update arrives as a complete new build in a folder named with a long random string, inside ~/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/webdeploy. It is supposed to remove the old ones. Users on Autodesk's own forums have reported for years that it does not always do so.

Look at it

du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Autodesk/webdeploy
ls -lt ~/Library/Application\ Support/Autodesk/webdeploy/production/
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Autodesk/webdeploy/production/* | sort -h

The production folder normally holds the current build plus a small folder of launcher files. If there are several large folders with different dates, the older ones are builds Fusion no longer runs.

The cleanest way back

Autodesk's support guidance is that hand deleting inside webdeploy is risky, and the safe route is the uninstaller followed by a fresh install. Your designs are stored in Autodesk's cloud, so a reinstall does not touch them, as long as everything has finished syncing.

  1. Open Fusion and check the Data Panel shows nothing waiting to upload.
  2. Quit Fusion.
  3. Run Autodesk's uninstall tool for Fusion (it is in the Fusion app bundle and on Autodesk's site).
  4. Download and install Fusion again. You get one build.

The faster route, with care

Users who have done it by hand report this works: start Fusion once and quit it, so the current build is the most recently used. Then move only the older large folders in production to the Trash, keeping the newest large one and the small launcher folder. Start Fusion again before emptying the Trash. If it starts normally, empty it. If anything is wrong, put the folders back.

The other folder: cached designs

Fusion also keeps local copies of designs you have opened, under ~/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/Autodesk Fusion 360/. It is a cache of cloud data, so it refills as you open designs. Check its size with du -sh, and only clear it once everything is synced.

Architects and designers with several large tools installed should read Mac storage for architects, and uninstalling apps properly if you are removing Fusion for good.

Common questions

What is the webdeploy folder on a Mac?

It is where Autodesk Fusion keeps the builds its launcher installs, at ~/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/webdeploy. Each update is a full build in its own folder, and older ones sometimes stay behind.

Is it safe to delete old Fusion 360 versions in webdeploy?

Autodesk's safe route is uninstalling and reinstalling. Removing only older builds by hand has worked for many users, but keep the newest build and the launcher folder, and use the Trash so you can undo it.

Will reinstalling Fusion delete my designs?

No. Designs are stored in Autodesk's cloud. Make sure nothing is waiting to upload in the Data Panel before you uninstall.

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