Free up space - Delete install files?

[ahaslam]

Hi,

Ive noticed that if I download & install something with apt-get or Synaptic, then remove the application(s), it doesn't require downloading again if I choose to reinstall it.

I would like to know where these install files are stored and whether it's safe to remove them? I would also like to know if it's possible to automatically remove such files once an installation is complete?

I have a decent internet connection and don't mind re-downloading, if it means freeing up a significant amount of disk space.

Thank you,

Tony.

[23meg]

They're kept in the apt cache, in /var/cache/apt. It's safe to remove them. You can adjust cache preferences in Synaptic's preferences under the "Files" tab.

[thunderduck3141]

well that all depends
i think they are stored in var, not sure
but if you have a big harddrive, lets say more than 80gigs, then dont bother, i keep everything (and i install A LOT) and it only takes up about 7 gigs

[ahaslam]

They're kept in the apt cache, in /var/cache/apt. It's safe to remove them. You can adjust cache preferences in Synaptic's preferences under the "Files" tab.
Thank you very much :D

[ahaslam]

well that all depends
i think they are stored in var, not sure
but if you have a big harddrive, lets say more than 80gigs, then dont bother, i keep everything (and i install A LOT) and it only takes up about 7 gigs
I've used 20Gigs of a total 40, so don't really want to keep these files, as I'm constantly adding to the disk.

Thanks for your view though,

Tony.

[zhoux]

the manual code to clean is "sudo apt-get autoclean" and "sudo apt-get clean"...also i think that once the installed files take up a certain percentage of your harddrive space, apt-get automatically cleans it...

[ahaslam]

the manual code to clean is "sudo apt-get autoclean" and "sudo apt-get clean"...also i think that once the installed files take up a certain percentage of your harddrive space, apt-get automatically cleans it...
Thank you,

What's the difference between them? Does the 'autoclean' set it automatically delete the installation files after an install?

Thanks again,

Tony.

[zhoux]

i'm not too clear on the differences between autoclean and clean....but i know 'clean' command clean more stuff....

and...no...autoclean doesn't mean automatic cleaning....

though that would be nice :)

Edit: according to this thread (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=140920&highlight=sudo+apt-get+autoclean)
sudo autoclean cleans partial packages....
so sudo clean would clean everything....

23meg's explanation is much better...

thanx

[23meg]

What's the difference between them? Does the 'autoclean' set it automatically delete the installation files after an install?


The following is from the manpage for apt-get, which you can access with man apt-get

clean
clean clears out the local repository of retrieved package
files. It removes everything but the lock file from
/var/cache/apt/archives/ and /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/.
When APT is used as a dselect(8) method, clean is run automati‐
cally. Those who do not use dselect will likely want to run
apt-get clean from time to time to free up disk space.

autoclean
Like clean, autoclean clears out the local repository of re‐
trieved package files. The difference is that it only removes
package files that can no longer be downloaded, and are largely
useless. This allows a cache to be maintained over a long period
without it growing out of control. The configuration option
APT::Clean-Installed will prevent installed packages from being
erased if it is set to off.

[ahaslam]

Thank you both for clearing thing up. I will run 'sudo apt-get clean' later.

Thanks again,

Tony.

[ahaslam]

I looked in /var/cache/apt/ - there was 387MB worth of stuff.
I ran "sudo apt-get clean" - it's all gone!
I have set Synaptic to delete the files after installation.

My sincere thanks,

Tony.