HOWTO: Cleaning up all those unnecessary junk files...

[WackToMack]

Hello everyone! So, do you ever get the feeling that your system is being flooded with a bunch of junk files that you can't get rid of? I know I do. Well, I'm going to show you a few ways to get rid of most, if not all, of those annoying junk files. \\:D/

Please note : If doing any of this messes up your system, don't blame me. Everything worked flawlessly on my machine. Everthing should be beer 'n skittles for you if you follow this HOWTO step-by-step. Good luck! :D

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #1 - Getting rid of Residual Config packages - In Synaptic Package Manger, there is a built-in feature that gets rid of old Residual Config packages. Residual Config packages are usually dependency packages that are left behind after you uninstall a package from your machine. To use this feature, go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. On the bottom left hand corner of the window, click the Status button. In the list above the Sections, Status, Search, and Custom buttons, you should see the following text:


Installed
Installed (local or obsolete)
Not installed
Residual config
Click on the "Residual config" text. (If the "Residual config dialogue does not appear, that means you do not have any Residual Config packages on your machine and you can skip down to Tip #2.) Do you see the packages that popped up in the window on the right? Those are the Residual Config packages. To get rid of these pests, click on the box to the left of the package name and select "Mark for Complete Removal". After you have done that for all of the Residual Config packages, look at the top of the Synaptic Package Manger window. Do you see the green check mark with the text "Apply" right under it? Click that button, and you'll flush all those Residual Config packages down the toilet! :KS

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #2 - Getting rid of partial packages - This is yet another built-in feature, but this time it is not used in Synaptic Package Manager. It is used in the Terminal. To access the Terminal, go to Applications > Accessories > Terminal. Now, in the Terminal, key in the following command (or you can just copy and paste from here):


sudo apt-get autoclean
Enter your password when prompted and press Enter. See the package names that appeared in the Terminal? Those were partial packages that have just been deleted. Say goodbye! That's it! This command deletes the not-so-fully-downloaded packages that you acquire when a package that is being downloaded is suddenly cancelled. This is my favorite little trick when it comes to getting rid of junk files. :p

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #3 - Getting rid of unnecessary locale data - For this tip, you need to download the "localepurge" package found in Synaptic Package Manager. "localepurge" is just a simple script to recover diskspace wasted for unneeded locale files and localized man pages. It will automagically be invoked upon completion of any apt installation run.

To open Synaptic Package Manager, follow the instructions in Tip #1. After opening up Synaptic Package Manager, click the Sections button on the bottom left hand corner of the window, if it is not already clicked. Next, at the top of the Synaptic Package Manager window, click the Search button. In the search window, key in the following text :


localepurge

Did the "localepurge" package popup in the package window? It probably did, unless you do not have the correct Repositories. Now, click on the box next to the "localepurge" package name. Click on Mark for Installation. Now click the Apply button at the top of the window and wait for the downloading and installing of the "localepurge" package to finish. Once it is done, a new window should popup that has a bunch of abbreviations on it. for example:


en
fr
po
sp
ka
etc...
You want to select the abbreviation of the language that you speak, or use with Ubuntu, ignoring the capitalized ones. For example, I speak english, so I would select the "en" abbreviation. A french speaker would select the "fr" abbreviation. So on and so forth... Then click next. All done! ;)

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #4 - Getting rid of "orphaned" packages - For this tip, you need to download the "deborphan" package found in Synaptic Package Manager. "deborphan" finds "orphaned" packages on your system. It determines which packages have no other packages depending on their installation, and shows you a list of these packages. It is most useful when finding libraries, but it can be used on packages in all sections...

To open Synaptic Package Manager, follow the instructions in Tip #1. After opening up Synaptic Package Manager, click the Sections button on the bottom left hand corner of the window, if it is not already clicked. Next, at the top of the Synaptic Package Manager window, click the Search button. In the search window, key in the following text :


deborphan
Did the "deborphan" package popup in the package window? It probably did, unless you do not have the correct Repositories. Now, click on the box next to the "deborphan" package name. Click on Mark for Installation. Now click the Apply button at the top of the window and wait for the downloading and installing of the "deborphan" package to finish. Once that is done, open up the Terminal. Instructions for doing that are located in Tip #2. After you have gotten the Terminal open, key in the following command (or copy and paste from here):


sudo deborphan | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge
Enter your password when prompted and press Enter. See the package names that appeared in the Terminal? Those were orphaned packages that have just been deleted. Say goodbye! This is my second favorite way of dealing with junk files. :cool:

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #5 - Adding a "Find orphaned packages" to Synaptic Package Manager - This is not really much of a tip on how to get rid of junk files. It's more like adding a "deborphan" shortcut to Synaptic Package Manager so that you don't have to use the Terminal to find "orphaned" packages.

Please note: You must have the "deborphan" package installed or else this will not work.

To start this out, open up Synaptic Package Manager with the instructions from Tip #1. Now, at the top of the Synaptic Package Manager window, click the Settings button, followed by the Filters button. In the Filters window, on the bottom left hand corner, push the New button. You can name the new Filter if you like, but it is not necessary. I named mine "Orphaned". With your new Filter selected, in the "Status" tab on the right, click the Deselect All button. Next, check the "Orphaned" option under the "Other" category. Then click the OK button.

To use this new filter, click the Custom button on the bottom left hand corner of the Synaptic Package Manager window. You should see the following text, or something similiar :


Broken
Marked Changes
(Whatever you named your "deborphan" Filter)
Package with Debconf
Search Filter
Click on the "(Whatever you named your "deborphan Filter)" text. Do you see the packages that popped up in the window on the right? Those are the "orphaned" packages. To get rid of these buggers, click on the box to the left of the package name and select "Mark for Complete Removal". After you have done that for all of the "orphaned" packages, look at the top of the Synaptic Package Manger window. Do you see the green check mark with the text "Apply" right under it? Click that button, and you'll get rid of all the "orphaned" packages forever (Probably)! :mrgreen:

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Well, I hope all of you enjoyed my HOWTO and found it quite easy to follow. Whew, this thing took me over an hour to make! LOL! If I have made any mistakes, just let me know. Catch you later! :D

[Ferio]

"Autoclean" is not in the Ubuntu repositories, where could I find it?

[alphazero]

Autoclean is an extension of the "apt-get" command.

To use it type this in the terminal:
sudo apt-get autoclean

Great HOWTO WackToMack, I got rid of many unnecessary language files.

[meborc]

thanks man... i really love when someone gives a GIFT to fellow ubuntians... i'll use all of them :mrgreen:

[NMUrugbysteve]

Good howto, however I don't recommend using tip 4 because it may uninstall packages that one actually wants. For instance it tries to remove all of my gstreamer plugins.

[Ferio]

Yes, somebody replied me via private message; I understood that "autoclean" was a package instead of a parameter. But thanks, anyway!

[Sokraates]

Great HOWTO! And a big thumbs up for explaining readers how to use graphical tools instead of telling them to use the terminal.

Still, I recommend to merge tips 4 and 5 and tell users to take a look at their orphaned packages before deleting/purging them. As NMUrugbysteve already stated, people with external repos tend to have orphaned packages they acually need. Also, other packages may depend on an orphaned one.

Better to use Synaptic to select the ones you no longer want. Also you get notified about dependencies to be removed and can reconsider, if need be.

[stalefries]

Great stuf, although localepurge didn't want to configure correctly. Oh well, everything else worked fine.

[Zeroangel]

I rate this a truly excellent guide!

:KS :KS :KS :KS / 5

[e2k]

Thank you very much for this one, ever since I installed ubuntu I've been wondering if there's an equivalent to emerge --dep-clean (gentoo)! \\:D/

[mcwtlg]

Possibly add "apt-get clean" the list as a partner to autoclean?

[henriquemaia]

Cool Tips. Thanks a lot. I normally use aptitude to install packages to avoid leaving things unused on the system, but as I do sometimes use apt-get/synaptic, there are always things left behind.

Thanks again.

[shof2k]

Cool guide. You can also use deborphan with a GUI by installing GTKorphan.

[xyz]

Hi,
Thanks for the guide. It's great.
Would you guys have an explanation for this:

I go Custom > Orphaned (the name I gave it) and I get lots of stuff supposed to be removed. The pbm is when I righ-click on them I can't remove anything

I only get: "Mark for installation".

I'm a noob and I wonder:

What's all this stuff doing in my "Orphaned"?
Should I intall them and then remove them? (no doubt this is stupid).

Thanks for any help you give me.

[missmoondog]

nice little how to.

quick question about tip#3. when selecting language, it pre-selected all the "en" in the list. i clicked next, and let it go. is that ok? if not, what do i need to do to correct it? remove and re-install?

also, the localepurge failed to configure correctly, but is installed. this has happened on 2 out of 5 systems. what's that mean? i see there is another posting on page 1 of this thread, about that doing the same on their system.

another also. when i try to remove the residual nvidia-glx, i get an error code 2 or 10 on those same 2 systems.

thanks

[uantuzri]

What's all this stuff doing in my "Orphaned"?
Should I intall them and then remove them? (no doubt this is stupid).


Of course, that's not a good idea. I supose that the filter is not working well. Check in Settings>Filters, and Selecting Orphaned (the name you gave) that the only option checked is "orphaned"

Anyway, having this filter just makes things easier, but you can always use the command on Tip #4.

[dcstar]

If you want to reduce the risk of your system filling up with log files, install the following packages:

logrotate
anacron (for machines not left running 24/7)

You can also edit /etc/default/rcS and set:

TMPTIME=1
to only keep files in /tmp for one day (then a cron job should get rid of them).

[xyz]

Of course, that's not a good idea. I supose that the filter is not working well. Check in Settings>Filters, and Selecting Orphaned (the name you gave) that the only option checked is "orphaned"

Anyway, having this filter just makes things easier, but you can always use the command on Tip #4.


Check in Settings>Filters, and Selecting Orphaned (the name you gave) that the only option checked is "orphaned"

That was it! Thanks a lot for pointing it out to me.

[Mishal]

Another place we probably will overlook:
Trash folder in the Home directory.

I just found that 3.4GB of waste in that folder was eating my HD for months.

[elemental666]

nice, good tips... good job showing the gui tools too, however, I can see tips 1,2 & 4 being something to do regularly, or at least repeatedly. So how about the command line equivalents for these? Might could make a script and setup a cron job for it.

so:

TIP #1 - Residual Config Packages

dunno, looking it up, if you know it or find it before me please post.

[Norradj]

What about "Installed (local or obsolete)" in synaptic?
In a clean install this section is empty.
I think lots of the packages could be uninstalled.
(except sun-j2re1.5, win32codecs and flashplayer-mozilla and other "real" local install)
So how do I figure out which packages could be uninstalled?
For instance, I got a big bunch of python2.3 packages there as well as what I think outdated lib-packages.
Not essential, but when we talk about cleaning........

[lapega]

Hi, good tutorial, but....

I do the localepurge and all right, but now I opened mysql-query-browser and when I try to make a modification it exits and says:

"requested widget 'charset_combo' with the wrong type"

How can I put the locales back???

Thanx

PS: sorry about my bad english

[Gr4v3]

great job man, nice how to

[pcolamar]

WackToMack - Thanks a lot

Great stuff, well needed for a 8GB HD

[PingunZ]

Great guide but its a little to difficult to follow













JK :KS

Grtz PingunZ

[metaltailz]

Thanks, I didn't get rid of much; but then again I did just install this.

Since I'm running Xubuntu, I give it the Xubuntu OK!:D

[jikanter]

Excellent, been looking for something distro-specific like this for a while.... Now just to bundle a couple of them using a perl script.....

[iGama]

thanks for the guide , really helpfull.

Just one question, do you mind if i translate it to portuguese? ;)

[drtpw]

Thank you. I am new to the Linux/Ubuntu thing and am elated to find something besides the "other 2". I really appreciate your thoughtful, concise, yet thorough and easy-to-follow tips. I understand how experienced users don't like some of the 'newbie' questions but I also don't like thoughtless, flippant, replies that don't work. Well done.

[beameup]

So should I heed the warning for localpurge????


Automagically remove unnecessary locale data
This is just a simple script to recover diskspace wasted for unneeded
locale files and localized man pages. It will automagically be invoked
upon completion of any apt installation run.

Please note, that this tool is a hack which is *not* integrated with
Debian's package management system and therefore is not for the faint
of heart. This program interferes with the Debian package management
and does provoke strange, but usually harmless, behaviour of programs
related with apt/dpkg like dpkg-repack, debsums, reportbug, etc.
Responsibility for its usage and possible breakage of your system
therefore lies in the sysadmin's (your) hands.

Please definitely do abstain from reporting any such bugs blaming
localepurge if you break your system by using it. If you don't know
what you are doing and can't handle any resulting breakage on your own
then please simply don't use this package.

[ounas]

Thanks WackToMack

-Ounas:D

[Epperly]

Thanks, I freed up a whole .1 gigs from steps 1-3.

[nu2this]

=D> Thank you x10 =D>

[alyson]

If you like GUI tools, and want to see a visual representation of your HD space, Filelight, a program that can be installed from Synaptic, might prove useful. I use it regularly to make sure that directories (like hidden trash cans) aren't filling up with stuff.

[sapo]

Nice Howto!

very very usefull :)

[pennyminstrel]

Thanks for this. Having only had ubuntu for about 2 weeks I keep getting this feeling I might be accumulating all sorts of rubbish but don't know where to look for it so I feel much better now.

And thanks for the really clear step by step instructions that I think event the newest user could cope with.

[snooze]

Thanks for the easy-to-follow tips.
I removed almost 2 gigs.

[rjz35]

Thanks for this perfect how to, realy liked it, i can use ubuntu only because of these kinds of posts. thanks again.

[Koori23]

I think this is the same thing as the gui method for clearing the old .deb packages out of synatic. I use it often.

sudo rm -f /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb

[xyz]

I think this is the same thing as the gui method for clearing the old .deb packages out of synatic. I use it often.

sudo rm -f /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb

Yes me too! I go in there (/var/cache/apt/archives) quite often...but thanks again for the howto.

The first time I used WackToMac's how to I ran


sudo deborphan | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge

as indicated in Tip #4 but never did dare again ever since because, as I recall, it messed things up for me.

[hikaricore]

localepurge: Disk space freed in /usr/share/locale: 50116K

/me hugs localepurge

[d3v1ant_0n3]

Lovely:D Ran 1-3, cleared out a ton of space:D :D Thank you!

[civilian]

Great guide, I removed a bunch of things I wasn't used, it freed 300mb of space. Thanks!

[hady]

Thanks great guide...

[Enzo386]

Great guide, it really helped me out. Thanks!

[esaym]

Good howto, however I don't recommend using tip 4 because it may uninstall packages that one actually wants. For instance it tries to remove all of my gstreamer plugins.
so now how do I get gstreamer back:???:

[baalthazar]

some1 should compile a script or a program to make this automatic

[rodrigo666]

Great how to, thanks for sharing all of this tips!

[swigrid]

something wrong with my dapper 6.06...

i cant use apt-get autoremove


apt-get autoremove
E: Invalid operation autoremove

](*,)

[wildnr1]

Deborphan has a graphical friend in Synaptic
quote:

A graphical tool to find and remove orphaned libraries
GtkOrphan is a graphical tool which scans your debian system, looking for
orphaned libraries. It implements a GUI front-end to deborphan, but adds the
package removal capability.
A detailed documentation on the program can be found at:
http://www.marzocca.net/linux/gtkorphan.html.

[raintheory]

something wrong with my dapper 6.06...

i cant use apt-get autoremove


apt-get autoremove
E: Invalid operation autoremove

](*,)

sudo apt-get autoremove

[swigrid]

m8 thanx for your replay, but I use su - for system operation (installing, removing, upgrading and everything). there isn't problem with sudo. There is problem ,that dapper hasn't got autoremove option. It has just ubuntu edge 6.10.

[carla]

deborphan--don't forget its super-helpful cousin, debfoster. :)

localepurge--how do you manage that shell GUI it uses for configuration? I cannot seem to successfully choose my language. Is it a right-click trick, something I should type in the chosen boxes...?

[carla]

Yes me too! I go in there (/var/cache/apt/archives) quite often...but thanks again for the howto.

The first time I used WackToMac's how to I ran


sudo deborphan | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purgeas indicated in Tip #4 but never did dare again ever since because, as I recall, it messed things up for me.

I'd suggest installing deborphan's companion, debfoster, because it tells you what each package is keeping installed, and inquires individually about each package's deletion.


sudo apt-get install debfoster
sudo debfoster

Then just slow down, read each inquiry, and answer each question with yes or no. The script does the rest of the work, confirms what it's about to delete before it continues with its Final Solution :), and lets you know how much diskspace you've saved.

[HolyJoe]

that is a great guide for me.
thanks.

[silentsunami]

nice guide. you rocks dude

[BLTicklemonster]

deborphan--don't forget its super-helpful cousin, debfoster. :)

localepurge--how do you manage that shell GUI it uses for configuration? I cannot seem to successfully choose my language. Is it a right-click trick, something I should type in the chosen boxes...?

Me, too. I can't get past that. I can't believe that you aren't given a clue in the text, either.


*edit: for what it's worth: http://bluev.wordpress.com/2005/12/27/how-to-use-localepurge/

[ksryno]

push space to select locales- I would keep all US and generic loacles if I were you.

[Tundro Walker]

Someone asked for a quickie script to "automate" some of this command-line stuff, so I thought I'd post the one I made for personal use. I'm still new to Linux / Ubuntu, so I may have tossed in some unnecessary command-line switches or what-not, but it works for me.

GET IT...

We'll start with installing what he talked about...(run from terminal)


sudo apt-get install deborphan localepurgeDeborphan is a silent install...you don't have to give any feedback. (I'll go into more detail about it further down).

Localepurge, on initial install, will prompt you for your languages to KEEP (everything you don't check will get bumped off). After that, localpurge will fire off after any other apt-get (Synaptic, Aptitude, Adept, etc) sessions, bumping off new locale / language stuff that isn't for the language you want to keep (EG: man pages in another language). With a GUI, like Synaptic, you won't see it in action, but if you use command-line apt-get, you'll notice it show up at the end stating how much room it just freed up by purging locale files. Sometimes an insignificant amount, sometimes quite a bit. Pennies turn into dollars, though, so every little bit NOT purged can add up over time. However, as others have stated, it may cause problems with other things. When picking the language, be sure to pick the basic (EG: en for English), as well as your locale (EG: en_US for United States English). This may help alleviate some problems.

USE IT...

Next, we'll chain together some apt-get commands for a quick update, upgrade and clutter control script


sudo apt-get update && apt-get -y dist-upgrade && apt-get remove --purge && apt-get -y autoremove --purge && apt-get clean --purge && apt-get autoclean --purgeNote, instead of normal "upgrade" we use "dist-upgrade" which is the "smart upgrade". Normal upgrade will just look for new versions of packages and update them. Dist-Upgrade checks if those newer versions have any new dependancies, and installs necessary packages for them.

EDIT (4/14/2007):

I modified the apt-get refresh script to also purge the /tmp directory when it's done...


sudo apt-get update; apt-get dist-upgrade; apt-get remove; apt-get autoremove; apt-get clean; apt-get autoclean; rm -r /tmp/*In chaining the commands together, I used ";" instead of "&&" just to make it cleaner looking. The...


rm -r /tmp/*...at the end of the script uses the rm with the -r (recursive) switch to purge files and sub-folders from the /tmp directory. If you want to run just the rm part by itself, you'll need to put "sudo" in front of it, or else you'll get errors saying rm can't remove stuff (because you don't have the admin rights to do so...only root/sudo does).

I also wanted to mention, running this script is like the "System Update" function in Ubuntu That feature is basically a CRON / ANACRON scheduled task that periodically checks for updates, notifying you via your "notifications" section on your panel if any are found. You click on it, and a GUI pops up showing you what's going to update.

If you run this script, or, if you check and update through Synaptic, Adept, Aptitude, etc, the System Updater won't find anything very often, since you're already updating everything yourself. I guess this script does a bit more (a little more cleanup and purging the /tmp folder), and does it a bit faster since you don't have the GUI overhead slowing it down. You can schedule it as a CRON / ANACRON job, but if you do, I don't see a point in keeping the System Updater running to check for updates, too.

For folks paranoid of the terminal, or are just more comfortable doing things through GUI, I recommend sticking with Synaptic and System Updater. IE: On your own computer, you can be as much of a svelt Linux-geek power-user as you want, but don't set up this script on your dear Grand-ma'ma's computer, and expect her to click it occasionally (because she won't). And don't set it up as a CRON / ANACRON job, because it'll fire off a terminal asking for "Password" to which she'll call you up while you're in the middle of doing something important with lots of questions thinking someone's trying to hack into her computer. Let her use Synaptic, and keep the System Updater running on her computer, since it's more user-friendly.

Side note, in Synaptic, you can get it to do some cleanup work by going into "Settings > Preferences > Files (Tab)". Under the "Temporary Files" heading, click the option "Delete downloaded packages after installation". This will help cleanup the binaries after they install. For windows folks, you can think of it as deleting the executable installation file after you've ran it to install the software. For folks on dial-up with large hard-drives, you may want to keep them, just in case you want to re-install the package, but don't want to wait forever for it to download again. I personally haven't had any problems with things I've gotten from the repo's, so I choose to purge the install packages. If I did have a problem with something, not only would I uninstall it, but I'd purge the install binaries, too (LOL!)


PRACTICAL USE...

Ok, you've got this faboo script, but it's a pain to open the terminal and run when you want, especially since you'll forget (seriously, we have more important things to worry about). Someone mentioned setting it up as a CRON job, letting it periodically auto-run. I haven't used CRON, and personally I get a little paranoid of auto-running things, especially something like this. So, I just tossed the script in an .sh file, and created a desktop launcher / shortcut to run it. Since it's on my desktop, I remember to do it every so often.

1) Open your fav text editor (mousepad, gedit, kate, vim, nano, whatever...)

2) Copy/paste the script text in

3) Save the file to wherever you want to stash it and call it whatever you want...I tossed mine in my home directory ... /home/tw1/apt-get_refresh.sh

4) Go to your desktop

5) Right-click and select to create a new launcher (in Ubnuntu-GNOME, I left mine as "Application" launcher, named "Apt-Get Refresh")

6) For the "command", fill in "sudo sh <path to file>/<name of file>". For instance, on my comp it was...


sudo sh /home/tw1/apt-get_refresh.sh7) Pick an icon then "OK", and you have a new clutter control tool


IS AUTO-RUNNING THIS STUFF SAFE?...

Heck no, it's reckless and dumb, but you're only young and stupid once in life, so who cares.

Actually, I haven't had any problems; you're basically doing stuff you do in Synaptic, just through the command-line...faster...and all at once (hehe). Auto-updating your repositories (sudo apt-get update) is very safe. All it's doing is pinging the repositories to refresh the catalog of pacakges (this lets you know if anything new or updated has shown up).

Of all the commands, the auto-upgrading (apt-get dist-upgrade) probably has the most potential to mess things up. The Ubuntu MOTU go to great pains to make sure stuff in the Ubuntu repo's are stable and safe (and if it's not, they put big red flags on it like "devel...used for development" or "test only...unstable" or "warning, will slap your wife and kick your dog, use at own risk". So it's safe to avoid breakers there. But, you never know what folks running non-Ubuntu repo's are doing, so you may end up with an occasional breaker (package that breaks).

Don't fret. It can happen through Synaptic "Mark All Upgrades" as well, so who cares. If something breaks, you just use Synaptic's broken package filter, click to fix/reinstall them, and/or roll-back to stable versions (Synaptic > Help > Contents > Managing Packages > 3.11. To Force the Installation of a Specific Version...)

Everything else -- clean, remove, etc -- is safe. You're just removing excess junk left behind by the uninstall, which, in the past when space was at a premium, was necessary to leave behind as programs were swapped in and out of computers. But these days, folks know what they want, and don't want anything left from what they don't. Hard drives are so huge you don't have to worry about swapping programs in and out, because you're hurting for space.


DEBORPHAN...USE CAUTION...

We installed it, but haven't gotten around to using it yet. Why? Because one poster said DebOrphan bumped off some gstreamer plugins he wanted to keep. Yes, this can happen. The command the original poster gave...


sudo deborphan | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge....basically runs deborphan, and then passes whatever shows up in its list to apt-get for automatic removal/purging (-y auto-yes'es it all).

Before diving into that and finding out it just purged all your useful plugins and such that Automatic2 or EasyUbuntu installed (that it thought were worthless), I'd recommend just starting with...


sudo deborphanThis provides a list of what it thinks are useless packages. You can then open Synaptic and hunt down specific ones you feel are useless, and keep the ones that aren't. Deporphan also has a "keep" list, where you can maintain a list of packages it should never recommend getting rid of. You can read up about that in the deborphan man page...


man deborphanHowever, since I only use deborphan to "recommend" potentially useless stuff, then hunt for it in Synaptic, I prefer to use his Synaptic "Orphaned" custom filter idea instead (didn't know about it until I read his post, and it's pretty cool!). I'm already in Synaptic killing things off, so it's just easier hunting for Human-Decision-Required orphans, too.

I don't recommend automating deborphan to auto-purge stuff, since it may be stuff you want to keep, but, if you insist you can chain it together with the apt-get script as follows....


sudo apt-get update && apt-get -y dist-upgrade && apt-get remove --purge && apt-get autoremove --purge && apt-get clean --purge && apt-get autoclean --purge && deborphan | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge...that'll run through the apt-get obstacle course, then wipe out deborphan's at the end, too.

Note that in purging orphans, either through DebOrphan or Synaptic, you may want to have a couple goes at it. I found that once I bumped off some junk, other packages turn up as junk / orphaned since they were dependancies of previous junk / orphans. Not sure if I'm correct on this, just noticed that after I removed some useless Palm Pilot stuff orphans from Synaptic, a few more showed up, which I bumped off, too.


NOTES...

"OMG! What is all that cryptic command-line stuff and what's it doing to my computer?!"

&&... This is a basic Linux command-line function that lets you chain commands together, to be done one after the other. So, for the apt-get script, we're literally just running the gambit of apt-get commands, starting with updating your repositories, upgrading anything necessary, then cleaning/removing leftover junk....all ran one after the other from just one command-line execution.

(APT-GET) --PURGE... The apt-get "--purge" command-line switch forces apt-get to (you guessed it) purge any clutter along with the main package...config files mostly. I can understand the purpose of keeping config files around -- in case you ever install the package again and don't want to hassle with setting it up --, but a lot of folks moving to Ubuntu from Windows are pretty sure that when they get rid of something, it's for good (probably because they were trying something out and didn't like it, so what's the point of keeping config files for it). MS Windows was (still is?) really bad about this kind of stuff. You'd uninstall things and old .ini and such were left around, leaving you to play garbage man by hunting down folders and such to manually delete after install. Top that off with RegClean'ing, Defragging, virus-scanning, adware / spyware scanning...sheesh. You could literally waste an entire afternoon cleaning up after MS Windows. Sure, you could do some crappy DOS batch files to automate a little bit of it, but seriously those don't have the robust scripting capability of the Linux command-line. And if you tried to use WinScript (MS's answer to more robust command-line scripting), you'd get a migraine and quit in frustration before doing anything useful. At least with Linux, you can just run a little script periodically and let it do the work.

(APT-GET) -Y... The apt-get -y command-line switch auto-yes'es any Y/N prompts that come up with apt-get. I usually only use it for things I know I want to "Y" to, like remove / autoremove.


POST-SCRIPT ... FRESH INSTALL CLEANUP?...

I created this as occasional clutter control script, but got curious about using it during fresh installs. I like Ubuntu, but don't use some of the software pre-installed with it. So, in Synaptic, I remove the "unbuntu-desktop" meta package (as recommended by others), which removes the dependancy of a lot of the other software (Open Office, Ekiga, etc), letting me remove it as needed. I only remove main packages, not libraries, since the apt-get script will find and remove those for me. After I remove what I don't need, I run the apt-get script to clean up.

Now, anyone who's done an install / update will know where I'm going with this... If I fresh install, then pre-purge all kinds of stuff and run the clutter control script, I could save time with the mass-update afterward since it's less stuff to check/update. However, I'm paranoid that if I don't let Ubuntu do a full update after install, it may bork something up with my pre-purging a lot of things before letting the update run.

It's up to you if you want to try pre-purging stuff or not. Caveat Emptor...

[brennydoogles]

Someone asked for a quickie script to "automate" some of this command-line stuff, so I thought I'd post the one I made for personal use. I'm still new to Linux / Ubuntu, so I may have tossed in some unnecessary command-line switches or what-not, but it works for me..
Caveat Emptor...

Great Update Thanks!

[Copperblade]

Ok... but which apt-get command does the "remove residual config" from synaptic? I'm sure I have packages that have been removed but the configs were left behind.

[c@rc@ss]

excellent, thanks to you I cleaned over 44 MB of junk.

I recommend using orphaned a few times as deleting orphans also creates more orphans.

:guitar:

[volksolwagen57]

awesome!! i gor rid of a lot of junk!

[vsandz]

Sweeet guide mate! Got rid of loads of unwanted stuff ... thanks.

I have a couple of questions though:

1. What would this do 'sudo apt-get autoremove' ? Is it recommended?

2. I installed Amarok (on Gnome) and then uninstalled it via Synaptic ... It installed like 100+MB of stuff n I'm sure it hasnt removed all of it and the methods here ... well i'm not 100% sure it has removed all of the junk ... pls help!

Cheerio!!!

[Ghost|BTFH]

Another place we probably will overlook:
Trash folder in the Home directory.

I just found that 3.4GB of waste in that folder was eating my HD for months.

You actually use "remove to trash" for an option??? o_O

I just delete with confirmation, saves me the extra step of emptying my trashcan every time. ;)

Cheers,
Ghost|BTFH

[Contrast]

Excellent guide; it's much appreciated. I have one question though. I followed all the steps in the tutorial, and upon looking through the hidden files in my home folder, there are still config files, logs, and folders for programs which I've uninstalled. Is there any way to quickly and easily get rid of all of these in one or two steps, or do I have to manually inspect my home folder every time I uninstall something just to make sure it's not leaving junk behind?

[Contrast]

Sweeet guide mate! Got rid of loads of unwanted stuff ... thanks.

I have a couple of questions though:

1. What would this do 'sudo apt-get autoremove' ? Is it recommended?

2. I installed Amarok (on Gnome) and then uninstalled it via Synaptic ... It installed like 100+MB of stuff n I'm sure it hasnt removed all of it and the methods here ... well i'm not 100% sure it has removed all of the junk ... pls help!

Cheerio!!!

"sudo apt-get autoremove --purge" should get rid of all of those packages that were installed along with Amarok (assuming you don't have any other applications that depend on them; e.g., if you have any other KDE applications installed, it won't get rid of the essential KDE libraries). That command is for getting rid of all of the automatically installed packages (those in the list of packages to be installed when Synaptic asks, "Mark additional changes?") that are no longer necessary on your system.

To save yourself from this step, you can always use the terminal to remove packages you no longer want, assuming you know their name (or at least the first few characters, given tab-completion). Just do "sudo apt-get autoremove --purge nameofpackage" and it will also remove the packages that were installed with that one, assuming they're no longer needed.

[waggygee]

Cool! Thanks

[tombiz]

I found this guide through Lifehacker. Worked great on my Ubuntu 7.04.

[tL0z]

The "Find orphaned packages" listed some important packages (such as "add user"). Isn't it a bit dangerous to use it?

[Kobalt]

It can be... adventurous I'd say, since it is unlikely to remove vital packages and break your system, but it can remove such things as video/audio codecs.
You should use this feature with precaution indeed.

[mrwasabi]

Sweet, I just made the switch to Ubuntu from winblows and had no clue how to maintain my system's health, thanks very much for sharing this!!!!!!!!!!!!!:KS

[chris_504]

Thanks for some much needed cleaning advice..i thought in linux, cleaning was in autopliot mode.

[huygens]

i thought in linux, cleaning was in autopliot mode.

With Linux you are in power of your system, so you tell him what to do or not :-) but at least it does not do things in your back that you weren't expected.
In addition, with such cleaning you can upgrade from an Ubuntu release to another and have your system almost clean like a fresh install (I say almost, because some of your configuration files in your home directory might not be "clean").

[ankush]

This Is an Excellent HOWTO

[BugoK]

A very helpful howto.
Many thanks.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Seriously, there is no GUI to handle all this? A single application that can do all of those steps from a single place? I don't want to run around just to maintain packages, going from Synaptic to localepurge to apt-get clean.

I am guessing there isn't.

[Shpongled303]

Excellent HOWTO, I will be using this very soon. I have had a few partially-downloaded packages that I cancelled for one reason or another.

This site is wonderful, very helpful, thanks for taking the time to write this and share your knowledge with us!

[Tuan Tran]

wow thx soo much. my ubuntu system is running alot smoother without the junk in the trunk :)

[likemindead]

Score.

8-)

Thanks.

[5h4rk]

Wow, thanks for the guide, now I feel, well, my Ubuntu feels like it has lost a couple of kilos... :)

[NOOBYNOOB]

Bookmarked :-)

What's the difference between deborphan and KleanSweep?

It appears (to mee) that KleanSweep tracks more orphaned files than deborphan, or?

[gOLdenHaWK3D]

Quite impressive. :)

[Deepak K]

Absolutely Fantastic and Great.

[maestrobwh1]

Good howto, however I don't recommend using tip 4 because it may uninstall packages that one actually wants. For instance it tries to remove all of my gstreamer plugins.

Install GTKorphan, which is a frontend for deborphan and you can see and select what orphaned packages to delete.

If someone already mentioned this in this thread, sorry.

Peace

[likemindead]

Has any of this changed for Gutsy?

[tyfn]

this gide excellent thank you...

[KhaaL]

the OP seems to be inactive, but there's two things that's not covered in this guide, and that is apt-get can now remove unused packages by itself (sudo apt-get autoremove). But there's still hidden folders with configurations that will clutter the home folder from various programs, if there was only a tool to autoremove them too...

[Tankerdog2002]

Thank You WacktoMack.

It's a heartfelt relief to see easy to use instructions such as these.

So often in these forums us newbies are run through the fodder mill and lambasted. Or...we're given a slew of scripted gobblley-gook and told to make the best of it.

Kudos to you sir!

It's people like you that will draw people to LINUX in lieu of ******* them off or scaring them away.

Keep up the great work! (Woo-Hoo)

[kahrn]

Not sure if anyone has covered this before, but it is also possible to remove locale data from .desktop files, which are used for shortcuts in the applications menu.

I made a little script to make it easy which on a default install can clear anything up to 200kb of data, and more if you have installed new applications.

You can find the script at http://kahrn.pastebin.com/f1bf15aba.

[Cariboo1938]

I just read through this very interesting thread and I have one question before I try to use the Howto.
What is the difference between

" sudo apt-get autoclean " and
" sudo apt-get autoremove"

???:confused:

[smartboyathome]

I think Autoclean just cleans up files you don't need, while autoremove deletes unneded files..

[Cariboo1938]

I think Autoclean just cleans up files you don't need, while autoremove deletes unneded files..
Thanks for the response...you are right...see HERE! (http://ubuntu-tutorials.com/2007/01/04/package-management-with-apt-ubuntu-all-versions/)
:)

[prosper927]

thank you so much for this!!! keep it up bro! :guitar:

[jake3988]

To continue the 'junk files' discussion (GREAT How-To by the way!)... look for .core files in your home directory.

If you run programs in beta or just have programs that like to crash, sometimes they'll leave a .core file that you can use to parse through to debug it. However, it's really only useful to programmers.

Not only that, they're ENOURMOUS. Once in freebsd mozilla left some core files. Turns out, they totalled over a gigabyte. Yes, an entire gigabyte.

So, look for those.

Also /apt/cache/archives/ (I probably got that wrong, I'm in a lab right now on windows). That contains all the downloaded packages that sudo apt-get autoclean removes (Just for reference). You can manually cd and delete all the packages from there using rm * in that directory as well.

This also is the response to the different between 'autoclean' and 'autoremove'. Autoclean cleans up the downloaded archives (.gz or .tar) files used to install things. Autoremove cleans libraries that are no longer needed.

[PRoPAiN!]

Also /apt/cache/archives/ (I probably got that wrong, I'm in a lab right now on windows).

It's /var/cache/apt/archives/ . And thanks for the tip/reminder: I freed up another 36MB!

[BobSongs]

Listen: Since Breezy Badger I've wondered about this. Not that it's kept me up at night. But Ubuntu was a decision because I felt I had more control of this system. But unnecessary files were a niggling question.

I haven't finished your set of instructions and each one removes only so many files (I've come to know some of the shortcuts before hand). But I thought I'd stop and say: Thanks.

[bred]

thank you very much for the tips, works really great guys!!!
way to go boys!

[Jose Catre-Vandis]

I think Autoclean just cleans up files you don't need, while autoremove deletes unneded files..

and the difference between
unneeded files and
files you don't need is? :lolflag:

[ellalan]

Hi
It is a brilliant tutorial and very useful, Thanks a lot.

[fetisha]

Very useful. Thanks for all the tips.

[Exonimus]

Great tutorial! I removed over 250 packages with the first command =) I was busy selecting them all until I realized I could, of course, just use the shift key and do it all in two clicks.. :D
Also freed another 100mb of space.. not bad. not bad at all! :)
Also, the system feel more responsive somehow

[Aliby]

something wrong with my dapper 6.06...

i cant use apt-get autoremove


apt-get autoremove
E: Invalid operation autoremove

](*,)

Firstly you need sudo permision and the package you want to remove (uninstall)

Note:
This is to remove a package AND all the packages it is dependant on (if they are not used anymore). eg.

sudo apt-get autoremove winedev
will also remove the following if they are not needed else where.

wine
libc6-dev


You may be wanting (note the addition of sudo)

sudo apt-get autoclean

This removes all the packages downloaded in the archive that are no longer in the repository lists (i.e they're gone or there is a newer version)

[Aliby]

I think this is the same thing as the gui method for clearing the old .deb packages out of synatic. I use it often.

sudo rm -f /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb

This is basically the same as the following:

sudo apt-get clean

Except that in the latter case apt knows

where the configured archives folder is (it may not be the default linux location)
the files are now gone. In any case it will simply download them again if necessary.

[Aliby]

Does anyone know how the "Temporary Files" settings under Synaptic | Settings | Preferences work?

http://avbaty.myweb.absamail.co.za/Synaptic_Prefs.png
Screen shot of the "Synaptic | Preferences" (http://avbaty.myweb.absamail.co.za/Synaptic_Prefs.png)

I was hoping that it automates the "cleaning" processes in varying degrees:



"Does Nothing"

sudo apt-get clean

sudo apt-get autoclean


However, I don't know how to "trigger" the action?
:confused:

[Aliby]

Better AutoClean
:KS
Another "valuable to me" trick I found was to remove the "CD-Rom/DVD" repositories from the sources lists before doing:

sudo apt-get autoclean

You can do it by unticking them in Synaptic

autoclean seems to look at what is in the package lists and delete was is not there and the CD's often have old versions.

I then "check" them again to add these repos so I don't have to download anything that current and is on them already.

I have posted it as a "Wishlist" in Launchpad
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt/+bug/200536


I actually can't think of a reason to keep ANY packages in the archive that are listed on a CD-ROM/DVD repository?

It would be great to have the default, or an option/ flag, to ignore CD-ROM/DVD repositories when performing "apt-get autoclean"

WHY?
1. I autoclean to keep delete old packages to reduce storage space
2. These packages are available on the CD anyway (I don't have to keep them on the hard drive)
3. It seems apt-get sees the "old" files in the CD-ROM lists thus does not delete them.
4. Most of the time online REPOS are also included, which have the latest packages listed anyway. (One option would be to ingore the CD-ROM repos, unless they are the only repos?)

I thought it would delete ALL old versions, but it deletes unlisted versions. So I currently achieve the above by:
* Temporarily removing the "CD-ROM/DVD" repositories from the lists
* Then doing a "apt-get autoclean". Older versions are now deleted from the archive (they no longer appear in active package lists)
* Adding the "CD-ROM/DVD" repositories again so new installs can access these packages if they are the latest versions and doesn't need to download them - saving bandwidth.

------------
Ubuntu-Studio 7.10 _Gutsy Gibbon_ - Release i386 (20071015)
apt 0.7.6ubuntu14 0

We'll see whether anything comes of it

[takmsdsm]

Well. this program has officially pissed me off. I ran it, it found a couple orphaned files ~40ish. I have it clean out the files. Not only did it clean out those files, it also cleaned out and deleted conky, figlet, a couple of my games, envy, and a couple other programs that i didnt tell it to do.


hell, conky was even running at the time!

:unamused:

the best part? it deleted its own GUI out when it was all finished.

[juky]

Thanks for this HOWTO, everything went fine with me!

[nebu]

thnx a lot..... a very helpful howto...

[cor2y]

Thank you for the Helpful how to

[ghindo]

Great, great How-To. Thanks, OP!

[Ejas12]

Thanks It was very helpfull.

[meazz1]

Great work!!

Thanks

[BlueSkyNIS]

Thanks!

This was very useful. =D>

[5735guy]

Thanks for this. Tidied things up nicely :)

[prabath_fun]

Thanks and great and useful Thread.

[Liv3dN8as]

Awesome! I did them all!! Thanks!!!

[jm101dm]

Thanks, very helpful.
Jeff

[blackmachine]

excellent tutorial WackToMack!
saves me lots of disk space \\:D/

[ebutton]

Wow! Your HOWTO is still going strong! I just recovered 1.5 Gigabytes using it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

EdB

http://ubuntuforums.org/images/smilies/eusa_dance.gif

[Foster Grant]

Good howto, however I don't recommend using tip 4 because it may uninstall packages that one actually wants. For instance it tries to remove all of my gstreamer plugins.

This bug continues to exist. When I opened an MP4 video clip as a test, I had to reinstall the Mediubuntu-sourced Gstreamer plug-in.

[Nullack]

I dont have residual config as a list under status? :confused::confused:

[M4rotku]

Tyvm Wack for this amazing thread. I've been looking for a way to get rid of those junk packages.

Also, that "sudo apt-get cow" line was HILARIOUS!!

[M4rotku]

I did this a few days ago and now when I try to install something, I get the following error from either gdeb or the add/remove app:

Could not download all repository indexes


Archive directory /var/cache/apt/archives/partial is missing.

How would I go about fixing this?

[Bob66]

Thank you! everything worked Great.

[DonnieP]

This "How To" is pitifully in need of updating to explain (without having to fish through the comments) that gstreamer plugins, etc. are going to be deleted if you follow the thing "step by step". Shame on 'Tutorial of the Week' for not pointing this out.

[RavUn]

This tutorial is great. It cleaned up a lot of files I didn't know about.

I agree, though, that the section about orphaned packages should be updated. Luckily, it didn't remove any plugins for me, but it'd be a good update. Maybe take out section #4 and just have #5.

[milky2313]

gtkorphan is a graphical interface for using deborphan to find and remove orphaned packages. It's a little easier to use than the method in tip #4 in that you can look over all of the orphaned packages that it finds, and then simply check the ones that you want to remove...

[Ingenue]

This was justs what I was looking for, Thanks OP.

[arturieto]

thanks for the howtos. i did all the tips. but how do i know the effect of this cleaning. does my ubuntu works faster? what do those junks have in effect to the system? slow down. if so, then i did the right move.


art
/home/art/Desktop/Ubuntu User

[estebandido]

Very helpful. Better than Google, in fact!

[InfinityCircuit]

FYI the first command can be much shortened:

sudo apt-get remove --purge -y $(dpkg -l | grep ^rc | awk '{print $2}' | xargs)

[lik2writ]

everything worked fine, thank you!

[Uchiha_madara]

very nice guide thanks a lot

[mrreality13]

Nice How
To thank You
:popcorn:

[Therion]

Nice guide!

Personally I find it easier to simply use QuickStart (http://www.howtoforge.com/quickstart-the-swiss-army-knife-for-ubuntu-8.04-desktop) though.

[defri]

Thanks for the tips. It's also work flawlessly dor me! I can't wait for your next tips!

[lisati]

Unashamed plug: for a couple of Windows tools (e.g. for when you're preparing Windows for a dual boot system) check here (http://geocities.com/rjv_soft/ssc.html). The "more information" link is possibly incorrect, it should point here (http://www.geocities.com/rjv_soft/sc32.txt).

[martin91]

Thanks, tons of packages were removed... more free space now:popcorn:

[winterblues]

Just came across this thread. Very useful guide. Thanks!

[dlfreem]

Thanks for the info. I just crossed over from Windows XP and had no idea how to clean my computer. These tools were very helpful.

d-free

[Mrs]

thank you, this was very helpful

[Cariboo1938]

My Installation is:
Ubuntu 8.04.1 Codename: hardy

After the last update the system runs under :
Linux kernel 2.6.24-22-generic #1 SMP Mon Nov 24 19:35:06 UTC 2008 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Synaptic Package Manager shows that a few "linux 2.6.24-21 - packages" (linux-headers, linux-image, linux-restricted-modules)
are still installed and I wonder what they are needed for and if I could un-install them to save space
on the 4 GB partition I have left for the Ubuntu OS. :confused:

[sheepdogj15]

I know this is an old howto, but I had some suggestions for additions.

you can remove .deb files that are left over from installs. you only want to keep these around for if you need to reinstall, and even then apt/synaptic can re-download them.


sudo rm -v /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb

after a while this directory gets full of stuff. i think at one time i had over 300 MB in package files.


you can also remove old log files. logrotate (installed by default in Ubuntu) archives log files as gunzip files. you might want to keep these in case you need to do some deep troubleshooting. I've never needed them though.


sudo rm -v /var/log/*.gz


/tmp and /var/tmp can regularly be cleaned out. I'd be careful about /var/tmp though, if Gnome/KDE is running and you clear out that directory, crazy things can happen. Maybe on every reboot?

[sheepdogj15]

My Installation is:
Ubuntu 8.04.1 Codename: hardy

After the last update the system runs under :
Linux kernel 2.6.24-22-generic #1 SMP Mon Nov 24 19:35:06 UTC 2008 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Synaptic Package Manager shows that a few "linux 2.6.24-21 - packages" (linux-headers, linux-image, linux-restricted-modules)
are still installed and I wonder what they are needed for and if I could un-install them to save space
on the 4 GB partition I have left for the Ubuntu OS. :confused:

if 22 runs fine, you are safe to remove any old kernels and related packages. you only want them if there is something wrong with the newest kernel.

i've done this before. i used to have a 100MB /boot drive, which kept getting filled up. you'd be surprised how much space 3 or 4 kernels take up.

[Stamat]

Awesome tutorial! Thy!

Never use
sudo apt-get autoremove lol!

[sheepdogj15]

"sudo apt-get autoclean" is safe though

for that matter autoremove is safe, just pay attention to the output and read *everything* before you confirm.

[sheepdogj15]

one more tip, anything you want to run everytime ubntu boots up can be put in /etc/rc.local

[ttoolin]

Thaank you for the very helpful information!

[zivley]

If you want to be even more sure, you can run any "apt-get" command predeccesed by the "-s" (simulate) switch, this way aptitude will tell you exactly what it's going to do, but won't do it for real, only simulate it.
You can run

sudo apt-get -s autoremove
Nothing will happen, but you'll get the chance of seeing what exactly will be done if you don't use "-s"

[Col-1023]

Thank you, a very useful tutorial.

[lsd]

Have you tried installing "fslint"? It has a nice GUI.

[Raynman37]

Awesome how-to! Wish I saw it before instead of wasting space in Absolute Beginners with a thread asking about everything you answered here!

[rrob]

I dont read whole discusion but i use apt-get clean too. It clean lot of space. Im using ubuntu on eee with 4GB ssd, i need each bite.

sudo apt-get clean
---
Have you tried his apt-get moo ? Try this apt-get install sl && sl .)

[brookie]

Thanks. I cleaned some stuff up and also installed fslint and kleansweep and compared the two apps.
The problem is that both apps find so many things I don't know which files are safe to delete. I cannot find too much help for either.

In fslint the options are:
Duplicates
Installed packages
Bad names
Name clashes
Temp files
Bad symlinks
Bad IDs
Empty directories
Non stripped binaries
Redundant Whitespace

Any help on this would be great. Thanks, brook

[BilliShere]

there is a program called bleach bit that works very much like crapcleaner / ccleaner for windows...

http://freshmeat.net/projects/bleachbit/?branch_id=77067&release_id=291152

[lsd]

Things that fslint must and must NOT do:

Duplicates (safe for deleting)
Installed packages (DON'T REMOVE THIS!)
Bad names (non UTF8 compliant names, usually from fat32)
Name clashes (no idea)
Temp files (safe for deleting)
Bad symlinks (DON'T REMOVE THIS! a lot of icons use them)
Bad IDs (no idea)
Empty directories (they doesn't oversize our disk)
Non stripped binaries (no idea)
Redundant Whitespace (safe for deleting)

Be careful with bleachbit, it has more options (and so more insecure ones).

[brookie]

Thanks lsd! :)

[-jay-]

thank you for the tips :)

[johnamberg70]

To know and not to do is not yet to know-Zen proverb. Thanks for the info!

[emnii]

Thanks for this!

[RedSingularity]

Thanks! Just what i needed!

[mmck]

thanks,for your patience in explaining step by step, in a quite simple way... very usefull... aprreciated...

[thor790]

Worked great! thanks.

[casmok]

"localpurge" is not showing up when I key it into search in synaptic package manager. How do I find it??
Thanks

[derklempner]

Thanks for the tips, although I do have one question: how does one re-add locales to their system?

I ran localepurge and am now realizing that I didn't want to remove all the other locales. I need to add German language support to my system again. Please help!

[derklempner]

Thanks for the tips, although I do have one question: how does one re-add locales to their system?

I ran localepurge and am now realizing that I didn't want to remove all the other locales. I need to add German language support to my system again. Please help!

Ah, I found the answer in another thread:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure localepurge

[k3lt01]

"localpurge" is not showing up when I key it into search in synaptic package manager. How do I find it??
ThanksThats cause its "localepurge"

[WOOHOOHOO]

great help, thanks

[ranch hand]

I ran across this thread when hunting space saving ideas. Just installed 8.10 on an old HP pavilion w/10Gb HDD.

This has freed up a little space. A little space is GREAT.

Thanks a bunch.

[spike_naples]

Love this!:popcorn:

[icejack_outlaw]

thanks alot bro

[Grievous]

I was just wondering about how to remove some unnecessary files from my computer then I came across this article. Thanks!

[j8a]

I think that whether you install or upgrade packages is usefull write:
apt-get autoclean
apt-get autoremove
apt-get purge *

Then, you could maintain the system clean.
Also, you can run synaptic before and uninstall older linux-headers, etc.

[markitoxs]

thank you for the guide.

[spike_naples]

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

[goldblattster]

A note-for the remove orphaned packages thing to work, you need to close Synaptic. Great how-to!

[rpwdh]

Thanks!

YOU ROCK!!!:guitar:

[k3lt01]

A note-for the remove orphaned packages thing to work, you need to close Synaptic.Actually you don't, it will refresh itself and show even more Orphaned packages if they occur without closing it.

[owl1]

Thank-you, Mr. Awesome!

[ceciliaFX]

I know this is an old howto, but I had some suggestions for additions.

you can remove .deb files that are left over from installs. you only want to keep these around for if you need to reinstall, and even then apt/synaptic can re-download them.


sudo rm -v /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb

after a while this directory gets full of stuff. i think at one time i had over 300 MB in package files.


you can also remove old log files. logrotate (installed by default in Ubuntu) archives log files as gunzip files. you might want to keep these in case you need to do some deep troubleshooting. I've never needed them though.


sudo rm -v /var/log/*.gz


/tmp and /var/tmp can regularly be cleaned out. I'd be careful about /var/tmp though, if Gnome/KDE is running and you clear out that directory, crazy things can happen. Maybe on every reboot?
thank you!

[meazz1]

Very helpful thread.
Thanks

[floydv]

Great thread very helpful in keeping the computer clean, thanks for all the good reading here I am a newbie to this so I have been reading quite a bit and so far I do like this better than windows, not to mention Ubuntu has some of the best forums out there.:D

[Mightylink]

Hello WackToMack, I know this thread is old but I wanted to provide my thanks for helping my get every megabyte of free space for my system. I have had a bit of bad luck lately and my 400gig drive has just fried, I have installed ubuntu on an old 4gig drive now and your tutorial has given me enough to at least watch videos and listen to music wile my replacement drive is being shipped to me.

Thank you for the great tutorial for getting more free space out of ubuntu, all your tips helped me very much.

[Murdoc_of_puts]

Just a quick question. I was wondering if I had some funky setup or something, or if there was a way that I didn't know of to automatically get rid of all the extra linux headers, and old kernels without manually going in through synaptic and removing them? I thought Something in here would have done that, but it didn't. Either I did something wrong or I missed something. Thanks.

[ceciliaFX]

is this for linux?? and not just for windows??

link and more details please

[kevinguillorytraining]

I rate this a truly excellent guide!

:KS :KS :KS :KS :KS :KS :KS :KS / 10

[nooblot]

> After installing anything with apt-get install, localepurge will remove all translation files and translated manpages in languages you cannot read.


so how to purge (for me) EXISTING non-EN files ?

edit: never mind, figured out:

nooblot@ubuntu:/$ sudo localepurge
localepurge: Disk space freed in /usr/share/locale: 40124K
localepurge: Disk space freed in /usr/share/man: 2880K

Total disk space freed by localepurge: 43004K

[nooblot]

> Originally Posted by sheepdogj15: sudo rm -v /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb

thank you!

well that is what "apt-get clean" is for.....

[ceciliaFX]

> After installing anything with apt-get install, localepurge will remove all translation files and translated manpages in languages you cannot read.


so how to purge (for me) EXISTING non-EN files ?

edit: never mind, figured out:

nooblot@ubuntu:/$ sudo localepurge
localepurge: Disk space freed in /usr/share/locale: 40124K
localepurge: Disk space freed in /usr/share/man: 2880K

Total disk space freed by localepurge: 43004K
I tried that and i got

sudo: localepurge: command not found

[nooblot]

I tried that and i got

sudo: localepurge: command not found

install it



sudo apt-get install localepurge

[ssulaco]

Ive had real good luck with Bleachbit.....mainly use Fslint for dups
read instructions for Bleachbit "carefully", Don't "check" (places) under "firefox"or you will nuke your bookmarks

[ceciliaFX]

install it



sudo apt-get install localepurge


thanks

ok, so if i understand this I pick "en" from this huge list (for what I imagine is English) and that means everything else is deleted?

don't want to risk deleting until I know what I'm doing :)

[k3lt01]

thanks

ok, so if i understand this I pick "en" from this huge list (for what I imagine is English) and that means everything else is deleted?

don't want to risk deleting until I know what I'm doing :)Yes thats it, if you tick "en" only the various English translations are kept on your machine. Everything else like French, Spanish, Swahili etc are deleted.

[ssulaco]

Murdoc,You can use startup manager to limit the number of Kernels to keep..recommend keeping at least 2.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/StartUpManager

[mtub]

I found this (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/StartUpManager)regarding StartUp-Manager.

Limit the number of kernels / Number of kernels to keep:
"This setting does not change the number of kernels kept on the system - only the number displayed."

[ssulaco]

"This setting does not change the number of kernels kept on the system - only the number displayed."
you are correct,mtub,my mistake.verify the kernel you want to dump and run

sudo apt-get remove --purge 9.6.28-XX-*
where XX is the kernel you want to remove.
make sure as to not remove the 2 most current kernels

[johnnybirdman]

you are correct,mtub,my mistake.verify the kernel you want to dump and run

sudo apt-get remove --purge 9.6.28-XX-*
where XX is the kernel you want to remove.
make sure as to not remove the 2 most current kernels

I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to do but if you want to remove old kernels there is a script that can make it easy for you, i've been using it for a while without problems.
Check out this post here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=8039958&postcount=7).
Run the script, then run just 'rmkernel' and it will take care of the rest.

J.

[BlastXng]

Worked really well!
:popcorn:

Excellent!

[ravisghosh]

Tip #4 - Getting rid of "orphaned" packages

With this tip, I removed lot of packages using Synaptic. Then I ran the upgrade using aptitude and it installed all the packages that I had removed previously. Does that mean "orphaned" packages are not really orphaned?

Also, "Installed (local and obsolete)" sections shows googleearth which I do use. Why it is in Obsolete?

[k3lt01]

Also, "Installed (local and obsolete)" sections shows googleearth which I do use. Why it is in Obsolete?It's not "Obsolete", it's "Local" because it's from the Medibuntu repository.

[samijildeh]

"Autoclean" is not in the Ubuntu repositories, where could I find it?


just type "sudo apt-get autoclean" (withput "") , and it's autoclean not Autoclean [small letters].

[Cabs21]

This is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks I needed help with this and will def try it soon.

[cabby2litre]

Thank you for this thread!!!! Very helpful for a newbie like myself!!

[daasdingo]

thanks for the tutorial,
always wondered how to get rid of the config files

[shafin]

Thanks a lot.
BTW, can you please update the tutorial with reference to Computer Janitor?

[tommark]

Thank you! And to think that I was just beginning to learn all those languages just so I could use their language files.

[linxuser14]

Thanks for this very useful info. I'd installed a OEM image and ended up having to delete languages galore. ;)

[freegeeky]

I tried the steps here: http://panupongsk.blogspot.com/2010/03/once-in-while-you-may-want-to-do-some.html and cleared a little over a gig.

Yet, I am still at 87% capacity ... is this the reason for the occasional freezes?

[rcktsingh]

Thank you so much. I was looking for one like this. Awesome tut.:guitar:

[HoKaze]

Thanks for the howto.
I decided that these tasks were important enough to do on a semi-regular basis and that newbies may benefit from having it all in a GUI, so I wrote a script for it, which can be found here (http://gtk-apps.org/content/show.php/filecleaner+script?content=124401).
It requires zenity to run (so sudo apt-get install zenity) and allows you to do everything mentioned in this howto except deal with orphaned files (I may add that later). It also includes apt-get clean for cleaning apt's cache.

[zl1ogx]

Hi

Thanks for this one, I use a eeepc with only 4gb of main h/d space with a 8gb SD card for data, so keeping the main partitions clean helped me clear nearly a 1gb.

Thnaks again

[krogmank]

Wow. Fast, simple cleanup for Ubuntu. Better than the method I had been using.

Thanks for this,

Karl

[waynemeat]

Just what I was looking for. Awesome thank you.:KS

[rcktsingh]

I am not sure if the following link has been posted before in this thread, but I feel its worthy enough to put it again:


https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Diet%20Ubuntu

Nice stuffs about cleaning your system.

Enjoy:guitar:

[jfbooth]

Thanks for the howto.
I decided that these tasks were important enough to do on a semi-regular basis and that newbies may benefit from having it all in a GUI, so I wrote a script for it, which can be found here (http://gtk-apps.org/content/show.php/filecleaner+script?content=124401).
It requires zenity to run (so sudo apt-get install zenity) and allows you to do everything mentioned in this howto except deal with orphaned files (I may add that later). It also includes apt-get clean for cleaning apt's cache.

Very considerate. I assume part of your intent was to help out noobs .. so you might give execution instructions and dependencies (ZENITY)at your link:

http://gtk-apps.org/content/show.php/filecleaner+script?content=124401

Being a noob myself, took me hours to find out how to execute the script .. emphasis NOOB. I was told ./filename would do it, though have not tried it yet. JUST A SUGGESTION.

[jschmeau]

I recommend UbuntuTweak.
You can download and install the .deb from the website. Google 'ubuntutweak'.
Among the numerous useful features, it includes a package cleaner that will clean unneeded packages, package cache, confg files, and old kernels.
I've been using it for over a year and have never had any issues. It's a "must-have".

[k3lt01]

I recommend UbuntuTweak.
You can download and install the .deb from the website. Google 'ubuntutweak'.
Among the numerous useful features, it includes a package cleaner that will clean unneeded packages, package cache, confg files, and old kernels.
I've been using it for over a year and have never had any issues. It's a "must-have".Unfortunately I have seen a few noobs break their system with UT simply because they don't understand, and the people who are recommending it on the forum don't explain, how to use it. It is like any tool, it has its uses but if you don't know what your doing you can cause yourself problems.

I recommend using the tools Ubuntu comes with Ubuntu and that are in the Repositories. Learn how to use them properly by using tutorials such as this one then move onto other things like UT.

Nothing is a "must have". If you feel like recommending something please explain how to use it. Better still start your own thread giving a detailed explanation of it just like the OP has done on this thread.

[jschmeau]

Unfortunately I have seen a few noobs break their system with UT simply because they don't understand, and the people who are recommending it on the forum don't explain, how to use it. It is like any tool, it has its uses but if you don't know what your doing you can cause yourself problems.

I recommend using the tools Ubuntu comes with Ubuntu and that are in the Repositories. Learn how to use them properly by using tutorials such as this one then move onto other things like UT.

Nothing is a "must have". If you feel like recommending something please explain how to use it. Better still start your own thread giving a detailed explanation of it just like the OP has done on this thread.

Thanks for the advice. I posted what I considered to be information that was useful and in accordance with the thread title and the original post. I did not just enter some random thread and suggest UbuntuTweak as your post seems to imply. Furthermore... Surely you can't be serious about posting instructions on using UbuntuTweak???? I'll do that when you post instructions on how to use linux.:p Anyone can go to the UT website. There you can view instructions on its proper usage and installation. True, like any tool it could cause trouble in the wrong hands, but so can synaptic, apt, gparted, and a host of others. I would say it is at least as safe if not safer for a noob than directly removing packages from synaptic or apt.

Also, in the spirit of the above poster, all users of this forum should recognize that the information presented here comes as-is, without warranty, buyer beware. In that regard we agree... be careful what you sudo :-)

[k3lt01]

Thanks for the advice. I posted what I considered to be information that was useful and in accordance with the thread title and the original post. I did not just enter some random thread and suggest UbuntuTweak as your post seems to imply. Furthermore... Surely you can't be serious about posting instructions on using UbuntuTweak???? I'll do that when you post instructions on how to use linux.:p Anyone can go to the UT website. There you can view instructions on its proper usage and installation. True, like any tool it could cause trouble in the wrong hands, but so can synaptic, apt, gparted, and a host of others. I would say it is at least as safe if not safer for a noob than directly removing packages from synaptic or apt.

Also, in the spirit of the above poster, all users of this forum should recognize that the information presented here comes as-is, without warranty, buyer beware. In that regard we agree... be careful what you sudo :-)
Hmmmm. Did you not say "It's a "must-have"? This is something I really doubt to be true as I don't use it and many people I know don't use it as they are happy with the tools Ubuntu installs as standard. This is the Official Ubuntu forum, it isn't the UT forum. If UT is the "must-have" that you say it is then why isn't it part of a standard install?

Read Eight Fatal Mistakes (http://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/fatalmistakes) to see just a couple of the issues UT can cause if people don't understand what they are doing.

[jschmeau]

Hmmmm. Did you not say "It's a "must-have"? This is something I really doubt to be true as I don't use it and many people I know don't use it as they are happy with the tools Ubuntu installs as standard. This is the Official Ubuntu forum, it isn't the UT forum. If UT is the "must-have" that you say it is then why isn't it part of a standard install?

Read Eight Fatal Mistakes (http://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/fatalmistakes) to see just a couple of the issues UT can cause if people don't understand what they are doing.

Ok. You're right. People should definitely understand what they are doing before they do it. Hard to disagree with that. I regret saying it is a "must-have", although I DID put it in qoutes. :-) I honestly don't quite understand your hostility towards a perfectly fine third-party app though. All applications should be used with caution. Any file browser with sudo priveledges can allow you to damage your system. Do you have a list of the fatal mistakes that can be caused by not understanding what your keyboard can do?

So to hopefully put an end to this discussion that is now completely off topic...
now that I've been educated, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT NO ONE EVER USE ANY SOFTWARE THAT IS NOT IN THE REPOSITORIES.

In the future, I would also recommend NOT talking down to people when responding to another's post... don't let your arrogance seep through the keyboard.

Cheers!

[k3lt01]

I realise I seem arrogant but having said that alot of things are how we perceive the other person to be reacting.

I'm not hostile towards UT, I have used it and find it to be a decent application if the person using it understands what it can do. I no longer us it because I have slowly become more proficient with the terminal and actually find it more rewarding because I am learning the insides of my favourite OS in the process.

Anywhoooooo, have a great day my friend :)

[cpcpcp]

Thanks worked well with my version 10.04.

I would add that after seeing the warning with the localepurge routine I ran it and then then un-installed it afterwards.
good stuff

chris

[cpcpcp]

Very considerate. I assume part of your intent was to help out noobs .. so you might give execution instructions and dependencies (ZENITY)at your link:

http://gtk-apps.org/content/show.php/filecleaner+script?content=124401

Being a noob myself, took me hours to find out how to execute the script .. emphasis NOOB. I was told ./filename would do it, though have not tried it yet. JUST A SUGGESTION.

As they did not give this help and you have spent hours on it have you the answer to share or should I too just blunder around trying to get it to work?

I do like the idea of a simple script although following the instructions one by one was easy enough - a good clear "how to"

Chris

[Denis Krajnc]

Thank you very much!

[ParadoxBlue]

I realise I seem arrogant but having said that alot of things are how we perceive the other person to be reacting.

I'm not hostile towards UT, I have used it and find it to be a decent application if the person using it understands what it can do. I no longer us it because I have slowly become more proficient with the terminal and actually find it more rewarding because I am learning the insides of my favourite OS in the process.

Anywhoooooo, have a great day my friend :)
Good posts by all and I personally I agree on erring on the side of caution. I'm new to Linux/Ubuntu but have been using Windows for close to 20 years although I'm Windows-free now and I have yet to miss it. I appreciate the link to the 8 Fatal Mistakes. I do have Tweak installed on my system but only to see what all it can do and then figure out how to do it for myself. The Applications section of Tweak is particularly useless as everything can be done through Ubuntu without the use of any 3rd party program. As far as I can tell pretty much anything Tweak does can be accomplished with the software included with Ubuntu. A lot of it is just a matter of fiddling with Gconf and Compiz or other settings.

I've just had Ubuntu 9.10 installed on my system since May 29th although I ran it from the LiveCD for about 6 weeks before committing to it. And speaking of being cautious I believe I've figured out my upgrade routine for new Ubuntu releases. Upgrade to the most current release about 2-4 weeks before the next release comes out. That means I'll be upgrading to Lucid Lynx 10.04 by the end of this month and hey maybe this coming March or so I might just give Meerkat a shot.

[AlexanderDGreat]

I read the 8 fatal mistakes it says,


In System - Administration - Software Sources - tab "Other Software", you can enable the ubuntu lucid partner repository (it's not enabled by default). This gives you access to certain software from companies (the partners) that have entered into an agreement with Canonical.

BUT it is Enabled By Default when I installed my Ubuntu. So do I need to uncheck this?

[asavik]

Any thoughts on all the files that are automatically added to /usr/share/doc?

The must be a gazillion changelogs and copyright files there. Do any of them serve any practical purpose whatsoever? I've never accessed one of them, and I tinker around a lot with my system.

[Eskobar]

Worked flawlessly on 10.04, thank you kindly!

[asavik]

To answer my own question about the changelog et al. files. They serve no purpose (except, of course if want to read them, which you don't), so you can safely remove them.

I removed 2,000 folders with 10,000 files that way...

[aliceinchains]

Thank you ! Excellent post and very well written.

[nanogopi]

Thank You so much., It was a really helpful How-to., Long live the spirit of linux community.,:guitar:

[baraka607]

Hey <sudo apt-get autoclean> works great for me. thanks

[mp5shooter]

To answer my own question about the changelog et al. files. They serve no purpose (except, of course if want to read them, which you don't), so you can safely remove them.

I removed 2,000 folders with 10,000 files that way...

That sounds like a good idea actually, thanks!

[Thras0]

thank you for all this useful tips.i love having a clean system :)

[shubhamearth]

well in my computer it ai'nt showing any option of residual config in the status tab:confused:

[sairam2000]

as said in #1, i removed two entries in uninstalled (residual config) and it uninstalled vlc player and many other softwares. oh my God!

[k3lt01]

Another item that is probably not needed by everyone is ALL the xserver-xorg-video-xxxxx (xxxx being the name of the driver) driver modules.

To find out what one you need, and therefor what ones you don't need, run


lspciin a teminal. It should come up with an output like this

root@michael-laptop:/home/michael# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82852/82855 GM/GME/PM/GMV Processor to I/O Controller (rev 02)
00:00.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation 82852/82855 GM/GME/PM/GMV Processor to I/O Controller (rev 02)
00:00.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation 82852/82855 GM/GME/PM/GMV Processor to I/O Controller (rev 02)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82852/855GM Integrated Graphics Device (rev 02)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation 82852/855GM Integrated Graphics Device (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-M) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 03)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 83)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801DBM (ICH4-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 03)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801DBM (ICH4-M) IDE Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) SMBus Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.6 Modem: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 03)
02:02.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401 100Base-T (rev 01)
02:04.0 Ethernet controller: InProComm Inc. IPN 2220 802.11g
02:06.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCIxx21/x515 Cardbus Controller
root@michael-laptop:/home/michael#
Taking note of the line I have highlighted it tells me I have an 82852/855GM Integrated Graphics Device so I look at the xserver.xorg entries in synaptic and carefully uninstall (meaning I look to make sure it doesn't uninstall things I do still need) any entries that are not Intel.

This does not free up much space in comparison to other hints in the OP but once you have done the OP and want to make your machine leaner this is another option.

[OrionCristopher]

Great Post!! Instant Bookmark.. Ubuntu is proving to be very user friendly and the community is great...

[batharoy]

This is the code I use to clean it all at once.
Cleans out the download cache, autoremove files and leftover config files, it then prints it into the terminal as it runs and a text file in your home folder.


sudo apt-get clean && sudo apt-get autoremove --purge -y $(dpkg -l | grep '^rc' | awk '{print $2}') >remove.txt

And heres a sample of the printout.


Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
The following packages will be REMOVED:
liblinebreak1* libzlcore-data* libzlcore0.10* libzltext-data* libzltext0.10*
libzlui-qt4*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 6 to remove and 3 not upgraded.
After this operation, 3,502kB disk space will be freed.
(Reading database ...
(Reading database ... 5%
(Reading database ... 10%
(Reading database ... 15%
(Reading database ... 20%
(Reading database ... 25%
(Reading database ... 30%
(Reading database ... 35%
(Reading database ... 40%
(Reading database ... 45%
(Reading database ... 50%
(Reading database ... 55%
(Reading database ... 60%
(Reading database ... 65%
(Reading database ... 70%
(Reading database ... 75%
(Reading database ... 80%
(Reading database ... 85%
(Reading database ... 90%
(Reading database ... 95%
(Reading database ... 100%
(Reading database ... 133714 files and directories currently installed.)

Removing libzltext0.10 ...

Purging configuration files for libzltext0.10 ...

Removing liblinebreak1 ...

Purging configuration files for liblinebreak1 ...

Removing libzlui-qt4 ...

Removing libzlcore0.10 ...

Purging configuration files for libzlcore0.10 ...

Removing libzlcore-data ...

Removing libzltext-data ...

Processing triggers for libc-bin ...

ldconfig deferred processing now taking place

[donniezazen]

This is a really old post. Is this still relevant for natty? What do you guys think of bleachbit?

[rvchari]

Hello everyone! So, do you ever get the feeling that your system is being flooded with a bunch of junk files that you can't get rid of? I know I do. Well, I'm going to show you a few ways to get rid of most, if not all, of those annoying junk files. \\:D/

Please note : If doing any of this messes up your system, don't blame me. Everything worked flawlessly on my machine. Everthing should be beer 'n skittles for you if you follow this HOWTO step-by-step. Good luck! :D

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #1 - Getting rid of Residual Config packages - In Synaptic Package Manger, there is a built-in feature that gets rid of old Residual Config packages. Residual Config packages are usually dependency packages that are left behind after you uninstall a package from your machine. To use this feature, go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. On the bottom left hand corner of the window, click the Status button. In the list above the Sections, Status, Search, and Custom buttons, you should see the following text:


Click on the "Residual config" text. (If the "Residual config dialogue does not appear, that means you do not have any Residual Config packages on your machine and you can skip down to Tip #2.) Do you see the packages that popped up in the window on the right? Those are the Residual Config packages. To get rid of these pests, click on the box to the left of the package name and select "Mark for Complete Removal". After you have done that for all of the Residual Config packages, look at the top of the Synaptic Package Manger window. Do you see the green check mark with the text "Apply" right under it? Click that button, and you'll flush all those Residual Config packages down the toilet! :KS

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #2 - Getting rid of partial packages - This is yet another built-in feature, but this time it is not used in Synaptic Package Manager. It is used in the Terminal. To access the Terminal, go to Applications > Accessories > Terminal. Now, in the Terminal, key in the following command (or you can just copy and paste from here):


sudo apt-get autoclean
Enter your password when prompted and press Enter. See the package names that appeared in the Terminal? Those were partial packages that have just been deleted. Say goodbye! That's it! This command deletes the not-so-fully-downloaded packages that you acquire when a package that is being downloaded is suddenly cancelled. This is my favorite little trick when it comes to getting rid of junk files. :p

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #3 - Getting rid of unnecessary locale data - For this tip, you need to download the "localepurge" package found in Synaptic Package Manager. "localepurge" is just a simple script to recover diskspace wasted for unneeded locale files and localized man pages. It will automagically be invoked upon completion of any apt installation run.

To open Synaptic Package Manager, follow the instructions in Tip #1. After opening up Synaptic Package Manager, click the Sections button on the bottom left hand corner of the window, if it is not already clicked. Next, at the top of the Synaptic Package Manager window, click the Search button. In the search window, key in the following text :



Did the "localepurge" package popup in the package window? It probably did, unless you do not have the correct Repositories. Now, click on the box next to the "localepurge" package name. Click on Mark for Installation. Now click the Apply button at the top of the window and wait for the downloading and installing of the "localepurge" package to finish. Once it is done, a new window should popup that has a bunch of abbreviations on it. for example:


You want to select the abbreviation of the language that you speak, or use with Ubuntu, ignoring the capitalized ones. For example, I speak english, so I would select the "en" abbreviation. A french speaker would select the "fr" abbreviation. So on and so forth... Then click next. All done! ;)

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #4 - Getting rid of "orphaned" packages - For this tip, you need to download the "deborphan" package found in Synaptic Package Manager. "deborphan" finds "orphaned" packages on your system. It determines which packages have no other packages depending on their installation, and shows you a list of these packages. It is most useful when finding libraries, but it can be used on packages in all sections...

To open Synaptic Package Manager, follow the instructions in Tip #1. After opening up Synaptic Package Manager, click the Sections button on the bottom left hand corner of the window, if it is not already clicked. Next, at the top of the Synaptic Package Manager window, click the Search button. In the search window, key in the following text :


Did the "deborphan" package popup in the package window? It probably did, unless you do not have the correct Repositories. Now, click on the box next to the "deborphan" package name. Click on Mark for Installation. Now click the Apply button at the top of the window and wait for the downloading and installing of the "deborphan" package to finish. Once that is done, open up the Terminal. Instructions for doing that are located in Tip #2. After you have gotten the Terminal open, key in the following command (or copy and paste from here):


sudo deborphan | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge
Enter your password when prompted and press Enter. See the package names that appeared in the Terminal? Those were orphaned packages that have just been deleted. Say goodbye! This is my second favorite way of dealing with junk files. :cool:

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Tip #5 - Adding a "Find orphaned packages" to Synaptic Package Manager - This is not really much of a tip on how to get rid of junk files. It's more like adding a "deborphan" shortcut to Synaptic Package Manager so that you don't have to use the Terminal to find "orphaned" packages.

Please note: You must have the "deborphan" package installed or else this will not work.

To start this out, open up Synaptic Package Manager with the instructions from Tip #1. Now, at the top of the Synaptic Package Manager window, click the Settings button, followed by the Filters button. In the Filters window, on the bottom left hand corner, push the New button. You can name the new Filter if you like, but it is not necessary. I named mine "Orphaned". With your new Filter selected, in the "Status" tab on the right, click the Deselect All button. Next, check the "Orphaned" option under the "Other" category. Then click the OK button.

To use this new filter, click the Custom button on the bottom left hand corner of the Synaptic Package Manager window. You should see the following text, or something similiar :


Click on the "(Whatever you named your "deborphan Filter)" text. Do you see the packages that popped up in the window on the right? Those are the "orphaned" packages. To get rid of these buggers, click on the box to the left of the package name and select "Mark for Complete Removal". After you have done that for all of the "orphaned" packages, look at the top of the Synaptic Package Manger window. Do you see the green check mark with the text "Apply" right under it? Click that button, and you'll get rid of all the "orphaned" packages forever (Probably)! :mrgreen:

================================================== ================================================== ====================

Well, I hope all of you enjoyed my HOWTO and found it quite easy to follow. Whew, this thing took me over an hour to make! LOL! If I have made any mistakes, just let me know. Catch you later! :D

i think package "AILURUS" takes care of all this with interactive gui interface, it also removes old unused kernel images and headers on one go

[VMC]

This is a really old post. Is this still relevant for natty? What do you guys think of bleachbit?

bleachbit is all I use. Natty, Lucid, Mint, etc.

[k3lt01]

This is a really old post. Is this still relevant for natty? What do you guys think of bleachbit?It is relevant for Linux in general thats the beauty of Linux.

Bleachbit has its purpose and so does this method. This method cleans up Linux in general, bleachbit will clean everything you tell it to including Firefox etc. Just be aware that ticking every box on bleachbit can destroy information you may want later so you really need to know and understand each and every feature that bleachbit offers before you go ahead and use it.

[jfbooth]

This is the code I use to clean it all at once.
Cleans out the download cache, autoremove files and leftover config files, it then prints it into the terminal as it runs and a text file in your home folder.


sudo apt-get clean && sudo apt-get autoremove --purge -y $(dpkg -l | grep '^rc' | awk '{print $2}') >remove.txt

And heres a sample of the printout.

Did not work for me. Ran the code from terminal .. no output .. just a new prompt. No file saved in HOME folder. No output displayed in terminal.

Xubuntu 10.10, Maverick Meerkat

Edit: OOOOPS .. remove.txt appeared on Desktop. Here is its content:

Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

[KoRnKloWn]

For a simpler way to delete orphaned packages, in the Ubuntu repository there is a program called gtkorphan, or in the Software Center simply "Remove Orphaned Packages", it gives you the choice to just view the orphaned packages in the libraries folders so that you don't have a huge list of programs that aren't required by the OS.

[lifetonjoyu]

nice one buddy....its v.cumbersome to remove such packges for new users......this command helps.....

[ByTheNine]

Help! Tip #1 isn't working for me! It will not let me click "apply". I can click on packages for removal and all that, but the "apply" button is unclickable. This JUST happened after I upgraded from 10.10 to 11.04.

[hackedhacker]

nice share man...
But somehow, it seems like when I do tip #1 to tip #4, only tip #1 did remove some unused package for me...
Maybe coz I'm still new in Ubuntu, n haven't tried everything yet...

By the way, Like ur sig WackToMack...
:guitar:

[unadulterated]

I am using NATTY and facing the same problem with Tip # 1.. there are lot of entries in the list of residual config.. but after selecting all the apply button is not working?? any ideas?