Clean temporary files and directories in Windows..
All about this program and project.
What is this?
This is a console tool for the Windows command line environment that deletes temporary files and directories in %SYSTEMROOT%\temp (System) and %TEMP% (User). Great for use as a scheduled task (Task Scheduler). This works in cmd or PowerShell.
Why did I write this?
This helps me automate cleaning my temporary folders. I've been writing scripts to do this for years, this just makes it a tad bit easier; more portable.
Download or build.
You can fork this repository and build yourself or you can download it at the current Releases page.
Changes and fixes in 1.1.0.1683399661082 (1.1.0.0)
- Fixed the wait prompt for
skip_prompt. - Fixed exception throwing when indexing directories without administrative privileges.
- Fixed the console mode to correctly display console color.
Where and how to use this program.
Where do I use this?
Like any cli tool (or any executable for that matter) this can be used in any available command line program/emulator in Windows like CMD or PowerShell, for example, and should work in most available terminals.
Like any portable program in this can either be placed somewhere in your %PATH% and if not then when your run it you'll need to provide the direct path of the executable.
> & 'C:\Users\<USERNAME>\Bin\cleantemp.exe' /?
Best methods.
This is best used as a scheduled task via Task Scheduler with the [/P] switch, but you can use it from the command line, shortcut (.lnk), clicked, or from any other program.
Get Help.
In CMD or PowerShell. (with /?, /H, or /HELP). You can also find a screenshot below.
C:\Windows\System32> cleantemp /?
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Clean Temp │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Clean temporary files and directories. │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ cleantemp [/H] [/S] [/U] [/P] │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ /?,/H,/HELP This help screen. │
│ /P,/PROMPT Skip [Enter] prompts. │
│ /U,/USER User temp directory only. │
│ /S,/SYSTEM System temp directory only. │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ © 2022 Ian Pride - New Pride Software/Services │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
CMD Examples.
Good old fashion cmd.exe.
Clean user temp dirctory only.
C:\Windows\System32> cleantemp /U ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Clean Temp │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Clean all temporary directories for a user. │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Found user temp directory and enumerating │ │ children files and directories. │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Found files and folders in the user temp │ │ directory and attempting to delete. │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Temp\027bfd2d-276b-4e2c-83b2-5f1d444c3382.tmp is in use by another process. ... Access is denied for C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Temp\8cd7e51b-f6be-48c9-afd0-e04c6954b9aa.tmp.node C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Temp\8fccf883-842d-4d9a-a21e-8cbf0b6d9f1f.tmp is in use by another process. ... C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Temp\qtsingleapp-qBitto-9f54-1-lockfile is in use by another process. C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Temp\tempoa deleted successfully. C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Temp\tempob deleted successfully.
PowerShell Examples.
The more powerful PowerShell or PWSH.
Clean system temp dirctory only.
C:\Windows\System32> cleantemp /U ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Clean Temp │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Clean all temporary directories for a user. │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Found system temp directory and enumerating │ │ children files and directories. │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Found files and folders in the system temp │ │ directory and attempting to delete. │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
C:\WINDOWS\Temp\catalog.json deleted successfully. C:\WINDOWS\Temp\INFERNO2-20220115-1352.log is in use by another process. C:\WINDOWS\Temp\officeclicktorun.exe_streamserver(2022011513515810B8).log is in use by another process.
This information is generated in a GitHub Action immediately after the successful build of this project.
Logo, the icon for this program. 
Help, screenshot of the help screen. 
License Excerpt
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.