Troubleshooting

Something not working? Start with the symptom below. Most problems have a quick fix once you know what to look for.

Scan won't start or shows no results#

If scan-dependent views (My CC, Diagnostics, Save Dependencies, Export) show nothing, a scan either hasn't run yet or didn't complete.

Hit Scan or Scan Now from the home screen to kick one off. Once a scan finishes, everything else should populate.

Wrong or missing folder paths#

Open Settings > Advanced and check the Mods, Tray, Saves, and Game install paths. If any are wrong:

• Use Change Sims 4 folder to pick the Sims 4 directory manually.
• Use Change Mods folder to override the Mods path.
• Use Reset to auto-detect to clear any manual overrides and let SimSweep find the folders itself.

On macOS the default paths differ from Windows. If SimSweep can't find your folders after a fresh install, use the manual path picker to point it in the right direction.

Used/unused looks wrong#

The most common reason: save files weren't included in the scan.

Turn on Include save files in scan in Settings > Scanning, then run a fresh scan. CAS CC detection is reliable when save data is present. Without it, SimSweep can only guess based on Tray files, which isn't enough.

A few categories (Build/Buy, Presets, Animations) are handled cautiously by design. SimSweep won't mark these as unused just because no save usage was found, because absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence. Don't mass-delete from those categories without verifying manually first.

Game Link won't connect#

Game Link requires Decrypt access and the companion mod installed and running.

1. Confirm Decrypt is active in Settings > Access.
2. Install or update the companion mod via Creator Shelf > SYVR Core.
3. Launch The Sims 4 and load into a lot (Game Link connects at the lot level, not the main menu).
4. Make sure port 27220 is not blocked by your firewall.

If you see a file bridge error, SimSweep couldn't create or watch the .simsweep/companion folder under your Sims 4 directory. Check that SimSweep has write access to that location.

Quarantine looks empty but files should be there#

If the quarantine manifest gets corrupted or unreadable, SimSweep may show an empty list while the files are still on disk. Use the quarantine folder action to open the folder directly and inspect what's there. The files are not gone.

A theme is previewing but locked#

This is expected behavior. Any Decrypt theme can be previewed live before you unlock it. A banner appears at the top of the app:

• Unlock with Patreon takes you to the Patreon connection flow.
• Already a member? lets you reconnect if your access isn't showing up.

To exit the preview without unlocking, use the banner controls to go back to your current theme.

Decrypt or key access isn't unlocking features#

Try reconnecting. Go to Settings > Access and use Connect Patreon again, or re-enter your key with Activate.

If reconnecting doesn't help, make sure your Patreon pledge is active and not paused or declined on the Patreon side.

Folder sorting is unavailable#

The Organize Folder control is visible in Settings > Advanced, but auto-sort is temporarily disabled while it's being reworked. The app will say so directly. No data is lost; the feature will return in a future update.

Error toast appeared#

Tap Show details on the toast to see the full error context (code, action, cause, hint). This is the fastest way to understand what went wrong. Use Dismiss when you're done reading.

If an issue keeps coming back, go to Settings > Advanced and generate a Diagnostic report, then copy it to clipboard before reaching out for help.

Crash report banner on startup (Windows)#

If SimSweep didn't close cleanly last time, it shows a banner on the next launch. You can view recent crash records under Settings > Diagnostics. If there's nothing useful there, the Diagnostic report in Advanced is your best starting point for getting help.

OneDrive or cloud-synced Mods folder#

If your Mods folder lives inside a OneDrive or iCloud-synced directory, file watching may miss changes or report path errors. The safest setup is a Mods folder outside of any cloud sync directory. If you can't move it, manual scans (rather than auto-scan) tend to be more reliable.

Next up#

FAQ covers the most common questions about how SimSweep works, what's safe to delete, and how paid access works.