FluentCleaner is a system cleaner for Windows that aims to be a transparent, community-powered alternative to CCleaner, built with WinUI 3 and written in C#.
The tool addresses the problem of modern system cleaners becoming bloated with dark patterns, scareware tactics, and unnecessary features. FluentCleaner strips away these elements to focus on actual cleaning functionality. Its approach leverages the winapp2.ini format, a community-maintained signature database, rather than rebuilding cleaners natively. The project includes a parser for this format that reportedly performs faster than the original CCleaner implementation, while the WinUI 3 interface manages to outperform the legacy tool despite the framework's reputation for overhead.
Developers and users frustrated with CCleaner's trajectory toward aggressive monetization and questionable practices should consider FluentCleaner if they want a minimal, straightforward cleaning utility without upsells, fake registry optimization claims, or spyware concerns. The tool is designed for Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems. The README emphasizes downloading only from the official GitHub repository, warning against third-party sites claiming to host FluentCleaner. The project does not make explicit comparisons to other alternatives beyond its positioning as a response to CCleaner's decline.
The maintainer responds to issues and pull requests within a few days. Work in the issue tracker centers on enhancements, documentation, and bug fixes, indicating active development focused on expanding functionality and improving clarity rather than addressing systemic problems.
