Can I delete everything in the /tmp directory?

BajaNick · 07-02-2004, 11:57 PM

Can I delete everything in the /tmp directory including the subdirectories.

Ive noticed that mozilla stores copies of downloaded files there and I have to delete them manually and if I dont the download manager gets overwhelmed and mozilla starts to save files really slow.

jschiwal · 07-03-2004, 12:16 AM

There may be an option to clear /tmp when rebooting. Some locks are set up there after you start x-windows that you need for the current session, but nothing is needed between reboots.

BajaNick · 07-04-2004, 02:52 AM

It should clear out itself with a reboot or cron but I guess it does not but is there anything in there that is needed? Ive got all these scrollkeeper files in /tmp that have something to do withg gnome but I dont use gnome.

JazzMastaJim · 07-04-2004, 03:34 AM

I have cleared out my /tmp directory from time to time (SuSE 8.1) without any problems. As long as you don't have any apps running and you reboot or shut down the computer immediately after emptying the directory, everything should be OK. For the greatest safety, do it from a text console without X running.

MBH · 07-04-2004, 11:48 AM

For best results, do it when rebooting or shutting down .. cuz some progs might stick some lock files during shell-start-up ...

I just forgot about /tmp, until I saw your article again ^_^ I checked it, it's 10MB, screw it

Vookimedlo · 07-04-2004, 01:35 PM

You can try: tmpwatch

Specify deletion time and use option -s to see if a file is already open before removing it. This should be the safest way IMHO to delete all unnecessary files in /tmp directory.