# Clean generated output

From the project root or one of its subdirectories, run `docinsight clean` to remove output files owned by previous builds of the selected targets:

shell

    docinsight clean

Cleaning removes build output, not source documentation. DocInsight uses private output state written by earlier builds to remove owned files and empty generated directories. It does not recursively delete the output root or files that are not recorded as generated output.

Warning

Do not edit generated output. `clean` removes owned files even when their contents have changed since the last build.

## Clean an overridden output

If a target was built with an output path override, pass the same override to clean the files owned at that location:

shell

    docinsight clean --target site=Z:/docs/mylibrary

A selected target without an override uses the path configured in the manifest and does not clean an alternate build location.

## Review files before cleaning

Use `--dry-run` to simulate cleaning without deleting files:

shell

    docinsight clean --dry-run

The `clean` command supports `docinsight.json` manifests. It does not support legacy `.diproj` manifests.

## Related topics

- Select a project manifest

- Select output targets

- `clean` command reference