Keeping things clean

[Dwood]

In windows it is necessary from time to time to delete various files that build up, such as temporary files, log files, internet cache etc. to stop you hard disk getting filled up.

Is it necessary to do this with Linux?
If so what files should I be cleaning up and is there a safe way to do so?

I am sure I read somewhere that there is an 'autoclean' command for apt-get as it caches all the programmes that are downloaded and they stay there even if deleted from the system.

[proxima_centauri]

sudo apt-get clean will remove all of the downloaded packages used by apt-get/synaptic to install programs. these are perfectly safe to remove since you presumable won't have to install whatever again, but even if you did, its just another download away.
sudo apt-get autoclean will remove any partially downloaded packages used by apt-get/synaptic, also safe to remove.
you can manually see these files in /var/cache/apt/archives/, you can also delete them from that location manually as root.

also in synaptic if you click on the status bar it should split up packages into installed, installed (local or obsolute)
, installed (auto removable), not installed, and residual config.
residual config and installed (auto removable) are generally safe to remove, but don't deleted installed (local or obsolute) because I know i have a couple stuff in there which I would not remove.
For a more detailed response go here http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=140920
And read some of the following posts concerning steps 4&5 which should only be attempted if you know what you're doing.

[muskratmx]

You can also set your browser to cleanup after it's self each time you shut down the browser.

There is some other programs that build up. one is photo viewers have a tendency to build up a lot of thumb nails. I've found it necessary to delete these some times.

[jbaerbock]

Been using Mint and Linux for a long time and never knew this, thanks loads. Yet another good thing about Linux hehehehe.

[MagnusB]

sudo apt-get clean will remove all of the downloaded packages used by apt-get/synaptic to install programs. these are perfectly safe to remove since you presumable won't have to install whatever again, but even if you did, its just another download away.
sudo apt-get autoclean will remove any partially downloaded packages used by apt-get/synaptic, also safe to remove.

1. apt-get autoclean also removes dated package (if you have a newer installed, then it delete the oldest package). It might be a good idea to keep a local repository if you have a slow internet connection though. Autoclean would be the way to go then.
also look at apt-get autoremove, which removes unneeded packages (I use aptitude to avoid this issue though).
Also, look at /var/cache and /home/user/.thumbnails have a tendency to take up space. I could dig up a post were I helped with similar issues.

[Dwood]

also look at apt-get autoremove, which removes unneeded packages (I use aptitude to avoid this issue though).

What is the difference between apt-get and aptitude?

[MagnusB]

aptitude handles dependencies better, this is especially noticed when removing packages.

[Dwood]

So when I use synaptic package manager, does that use apt-get or aptitude?

[MagnusB]

apt-get, I think..

[Texas_Mike]

When I ran pure Debian, I only used Aptitude for package management. Aptitude is the Debian preferred way of package management. If you go this route, the very first command you should enter is sudo aptitude keep-all.

I would also suggest downloading deborphan if not already installed. Then by using aptitude purge $(deborphan) will remove any orphaned packages lying around.

Also, run sudo updatedb from time to time.

[boilertech]

I run a program called KleanSweep. It is made for KDE but runs just fine in my Gnome machine.

KleanSweep allows you to reclaim disk space by finding unneeded files. It can search for files basing on several criterias; you can seek for:

* empty files
* empty directories
* backup files
* broken symbolic links
* broken executables (executables with missing libraries)
* dead menu entries (.desktop files pointing to non-existing executables)
* duplicated files
* orphaned files -- files not found in RPM (for rpm-based distros, e.g. Fedora Core, Suse) or DPKG (for dpkg based distros, e.g. Debian and Ubuntu) database
* obsolete thumbnails (thumbnails conforming to freedesktop.org standard, pointing to non-existing images)

Download here. http://linux.bydg.org/~yogin/# Just be careful and stick with your home directory.