diff --git a/pyclean/cli.py b/pyclean/cli.py
index 242943d..1e78a81 100644
--- a/pyclean/cli.py
+++ b/pyclean/cli.py
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ def parse_arguments():
     if args.yes and not args.erase and not args.git_clean:
         parser.error('Specifying --yes only makes sense with --erase or --git-clean.')
 
+    args.debris_without_topics = 'debris' in args and not args.debris
     if 'debris' in args:
         if 'all' in args.debris:
             args.debris = debris_default_topics + debris_optional_topics
diff --git a/pyclean/debris.py b/pyclean/debris.py
index c16cd08..d6f4882 100644
--- a/pyclean/debris.py
+++ b/pyclean/debris.py
@@ -149,3 +149,25 @@ def suggest_debris_option(args):
             'Hint: Use --debris to also clean up build artifacts '
             'from common Python development tools.',
         )
+
+
+def suggest_optional_debris_topics(args):
+    """Suggest optional topics when --debris was used without topic arguments."""
+    detected_topics = set()
+    for dir_name in args.directory:
+        dir_path = Path(dir_name)
+        if dir_path.exists():
+            detected_topics.update(detect_debris_in_directory(dir_path))
+
+    optional_detected = sorted(detected_topics - set(args.debris))
+    if optional_detected:
+        log.info(
+            'Hint: Use --debris all or specify optional topics to clean up '
+            'more aggressively. Detected: %s',
+            ' '.join(optional_detected),
+        )
+    else:
+        log.info(
+            'Hint: Use --debris all or specify optional topics to clean up '
+            'more aggressively.',
+        )
diff --git a/pyclean/main.py b/pyclean/main.py
index cfd3be7..e094a1f 100644
--- a/pyclean/main.py
+++ b/pyclean/main.py
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from .bytecode import BYTECODE_DIRS, BYTECODE_FILES
-from .debris import remove_debris_for, suggest_debris_option
+from .debris import (
+    remove_debris_for,
+    suggest_debris_option,
+    suggest_optional_debris_topics,
+)
 from .erase import remove_freeform_targets
 from .folders import remove_empty_directories
 from .gitclean import execute_git_clean
@@ -67,3 +71,5 @@ def pyclean(args):
 
     if not args.debris:
         suggest_debris_option(args)
+    elif getattr(args, 'debris_without_topics', False):
+        suggest_optional_debris_topics(args)
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 8333663..73ca526 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ def test_debris_default_args():
         args = pyclean.cli.parse_arguments()
 
     assert args.debris == ['cache', 'coverage', 'package', 'pytest', 'ruff']
+    assert args.debris_without_topics
 
 
 def test_debris_optional_args():
@@ -192,6 +193,7 @@ def test_debris_explicit_args():
         args = pyclean.cli.parse_arguments()
 
     assert args.debris == ['package', 'pytest']
+    assert not args.debris_without_topics
 
 
 def test_debris_invalid_args():
diff --git a/tests/test_debris.py b/tests/test_debris.py
index 5baa565..af2e8a0 100644
--- a/tests/test_debris.py
+++ b/tests/test_debris.py
@@ -184,14 +184,59 @@ def test_suggest_debris_with_artifacts(mock_descend, mock_log):
 @patch('pyclean.main.descend_and_clean')
 def test_no_suggest_debris_when_used(mock_descend, mock_log):
     """
-    Does pyclean NOT suggest --debris when it's already used?
+    Does pyclean avoid suggesting the base --debris option when it's already used?
     """
     with TemporaryDirectory() as tmp, ArgvContext('pyclean', tmp, '--debris'):
         pyclean.cli.main()
 
-    # Check that the suggestion was NOT logged
+    # The base hint is replaced by the optional-topics hint.
     log_info_calls = [str(call) for call in mock_log.info.call_args_list]
-    assert not any('Hint: Use --debris' in msg for msg in log_info_calls)
+    assert not any(
+        'Hint: Use --debris to also clean up' in msg for msg in log_info_calls
+    )
+    assert any('Hint: Use --debris all' in msg for msg in log_info_calls)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('option', ['-d', '--debris'])
+@patch('pyclean.debris.log')
+def test_suggest_optional_debris_topics(mock_log, option):
+    """Does bare --debris identify optional topics left behind?"""
+    with TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+        directory = Path(tmp)
+        (directory / '.ipynb_checkpoints').mkdir()
+        (directory / '.mypy_cache').mkdir()
+        (directory / '.pytest_cache').mkdir()
+
+        with ArgvContext('pyclean', tmp, option):
+            pyclean.cli.main()
+
+    mock_log.info.assert_called_once_with(
+        'Hint: Use --debris all or specify optional topics to clean up '
+        'more aggressively. Detected: %s',
+        'jupyter mypy',
+    )
+
+
+@patch('pyclean.debris.log')
+def test_suggest_optional_debris_topics_without_artifacts(mock_log):
+    """Does bare --debris still explain how to include optional topics?"""
+    with TemporaryDirectory() as tmp, ArgvContext('pyclean', tmp, '--debris'):
+        pyclean.cli.main()
+
+    mock_log.info.assert_called_once_with(
+        'Hint: Use --debris all or specify optional topics to clean up '
+        'more aggressively.',
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('topic', ['mypy', 'all'])
+@patch('pyclean.debris.log')
+def test_no_optional_hint_with_explicit_debris_topics(mock_log, topic):
+    """Does an explicit choice suppress the optional topic hint?"""
+    with TemporaryDirectory() as tmp, ArgvContext('pyclean', tmp, '-d', topic):
+        pyclean.cli.main()
+
+    mock_log.info.assert_not_called()
 
 
 def test_ignore_with_debris_cleanup():