System Cleaner or not?

[Dannyboy53]

I'm new to the Linux operating system. Do I need to use a cleaner as I did with Windows, if so I would prefer something mild, like CCleaner!

[Moem]

No, you don't. Linux-based OSses do not get the same clutter that Windows gets.

[Pjotr]

No, you don't need such a software wrecking ball. This is how to clean safely:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/4

[trytip]

linux gets just as cluttered if not worse than windows not sure why i hear different. try installing a snap package like tmnationsforever and after about a month or two use locate tmnationsforever or any other snap and you'll see how it spawns new versions updates which are mounted at boot. the older versions do not get removed from system but accumulates incrementally.

you also have /var/cache/apt/archives which stored the downloaded updates or software .deb packages. you also accumulate hundreds of translation files and not to mention all the developer packages you might have laying around that will never be put to use but maybe once.

what about all the orphaned packages that debian and ubuntu still haven't figured out a safe way of uninstalling.

why do people insist on saying that linux doesn't need cleaning? just because we now have terabytes of space doesn't mean linux needs to be this sloppy on removing useless leftovers.

[gm10]

linux gets just as cluttered if not worse than windows not sure why i hear different. try installing a snap package like tmnationsforever and after about a month or two use locate tmnationsforever or any other snap and you'll see how it spawns new versions updates which are mounted at boot. the older versions do not get removed from system but accumulates incrementally.

you also have /var/cache/apt/archives which stored the downloaded updates or software .deb packages. you also accumulate hundreds of translation files and not to mention all the developer packages you might have laying around that will never be put to use but maybe once.

what about all the orphaned packages that debian and ubuntu still haven't figured out a safe way of uninstalling.

why do people insist on saying that linux doesn't need cleaning? just because we now have terabytes of space doesn't mean linux needs to be this sloppy on removing useless leftovers.

Hmm, I don't know what you guys are doing with your systems but I never had to clean out either Windows or Linux.

How do you generate "all the orphaned packages" that cannot safely be removed? Never seen such a thing.

The snapd you're using comes with automatic garbage collection, you should have at most 2 versions of each snap on your system unless you disabled that feature. Otherwise file a bug report,

The apt-daily.service takes care of apt cache management for me, although I can't say right now whether Mint's default configuration has that enabled.

Last but not least, if you install -dev packages that you don't need that's your own choice, what do you expect Linux to do about it?

[Executioner]

I asked the same question using BleachBit: viewtopic.php?f=90&t=275333&p=1510386#p1510386

[vansloneker]

... you also accumulate hundreds of translation files ...

I agree on that but they are just a waste of space. I always remove them as much as possible because of that.

On a multilingual Windows it is weird that you only once can select the language during install, yet all the hundreds and maybe even thousands of language packages and translations remain on the system wasting lots of space. Since I copy and clone my installations removing all unused files adds up to saving many gigs. Also take in account the slack the files bring.

[gm10]

On a multilingual Windows it is weird that you only once can select the language during install, yet all the hundreds and maybe even thousands of language packages and translations remain on the system wasting lots of space. Since I copy and clone my installations removing all unused files adds up to saving many gigs. Also take in account the slack the files bring.

It's not weird, on a multi-lingual install every user can choose their own language in the regional settings, that's why the translation files are present. Just do a single-language install if you don't want that, your license includes both versions, you're free to download the one you want.

[thx-1138]

Hmm, I don't know what you guys are doing with your systems but I never had to clean out either Windows or Linux.

...so all those millions of 'guys', and the gazillions of posts / complaints in the net during the last 20 yrs...
in regards to Windows bloat & useless leftovers, are...wrong, plain & simple?

[gm10]

Hmm, I don't know what you guys are doing with your systems but I never had to clean out either Windows or Linux.

...so all those millions of 'guys', and the gazillions of posts / complaints in the net during the last 20 yrs...
in regards to Windows bloat & useless leftovers, are...wrong, plain & simple?

I didn't say you were wrong, I said I didn't know what you were doing to cause the problem. Clearly your use case is different from mine if you experience a problem and I do not.

PS: I noticed you put 'guys' in quotes. If there was a problem with the expression 'you guys' please do send me a PM and explain. I'm not a native speaker, I welcome all corrections.

[smurphos]

I'm not a native speaker, I welcome all corrections.

Your doing fine gm10 - guy is masculine, guys is generally accepted as gender neutral, although some would argue that it's use as a gender-neutral collective is sexist. Personally to avoid offence and project an image of quaintness I like 'folks'. The alternative gender neutral 'you people' would sound like you are trying to pick a fight.

To keep the post on topic - I used to clean windows because windows get dirty. It's in the name...

Other than clearing out old kernels, the occasional apt auto-remove, an occasional manual review and clear out of . files in home and use of browser specific tools for dealing with browser clutter I don't need to clean my Mint installs.

[catweazel]

Your doing fine gm10 - guy is masculine, guys is generally accepted as gender neutral,

+1

1 b guys : person - used in plural to refer to the members of a group regardless of sex.

[gm10]

The alternative gender neutral 'you people' would sound like you are trying to pick a fight.
[...]
Other than clearing out old kernels, the occasional apt auto-remove, an occasional manual review and clear out of . files in home and use of browser specific tools for dealing with browser clutter I don't need to clean my Mint installs.

Y'all?

Agreed on the kernels, hadn't counted them as clutter since I usually make a very deliberate decision on which to use, but sure, for the average user it will fill up the system. I think it's something the Update Manager should address actually, include an option to automatically remove old kernels if more than a certain number are installed.

I always use apt autoremove --purge to remove packages (I actually added a purgeall command to my apt as a shortcut), so that leaves nothing behind on the system partition itself - I'd have to look up how Software Manager (which I never use) handles this, does it leave dependencies behind? The rest is application specific.

[thx-1138]

...i used the term 'guys' in quotes because i had in mind my wife to be honest, as she still uses Windows 7...
never 'persisted' on anyone close to me to switch to the 'other side'...

Ie. nothing to do with semantics / linguistics etc..as i'm not a native speaker either,
i'm not really in a position to argue for what is the correct use or not. Not even sure why such was interpreted in that way...

Anyway - back to topic...

Her last installation was in April 2017...all she ever does is:
1) Edit texts in Libreoffice...
2) Tweak photos in an older Photoshop version...
3) Browse the web for news / stuff related to her work (naturally)...

SSD 128gb, around 119gb usable due to provisioning, with Windows Auto-updating enabled:
less than a year later, and I was able to shave off approx 6gb of absolutely useless data from WinSxS & other locations...
It was quite annoying (for me) having to read online what kind of stuff Windows currently does or does not delete & why...
as having to re-install it in case i broke it would have been even more annoying

So i'm really curious how you've managed to never ever have to clean a Windows system...

[catweazel]

So i'm really curious how you've managed to never ever have to clean a Windows system...

He's probably never used it

[Pjotr]

Your doing fine gm10 - guy is masculine, guys is generally accepted as gender neutral, although some would argue that it's use as a gender-neutral collective is sexist.

OMG. Please don't lure the ghastly SJW ghouls in....

On topic: indeed the number of old kernels can become a problem in Linux. I use a script that I've forked from byobu for cleaning those out myself, but it would of course be preferable if such a feature would be included in mintupdate (Update Manager).

Now I don't have the necessary coding skills for modifying mintupdate myself, but *cough* I know that at least one participant in this thread does....

[gm10]

So i'm really curious how you've managed to never ever have to clean a Windows system...

I think we just have a different definition of the term. You seem to be talking about minimizing Windows disk space usage, I thought it was about Windows growing over time.

I haven't re-installed Windows on my desktop at home in many years, the last time was for Win7, currently it's on a Win10 that it was upgraded to. My system is strictly partitioned between system, programs and user data (which Win10 started making a pain to maintain but that's another story) so I have a very good overview over how much space each of those take. I can tell you the system partition isn't growing. The only thing that adds to space requirements in there are cached updates to allow for rollbacks/uninstalls, but they get automatically removed eventually.

Is there some stuff that I could carve out of the Windows folder if I was counting bytes? Likely. But as long as the size remains stable I see no reason to. And stable it is.

[HaveaMint]

When my windows get messed up I use windex and paper towels.

[srq2625]

Y'all?

At the risk of taking this WAY off-topic: In the American South, Y'all is singular and All Y'all is plural.

[gm10]

At the risk of taking this WAY off-topic: In the American South, Y'all is singular and All Y'all is plural.

Awesome, I thank you very much for I did not know that!