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Uisce · Apr 3, 2007, 01:16 AM

So I downloaded Disk Inventory X and looked at my mini's main volume, and I have two huge files sitting in /private/var/tmp - I thought this folder was supposed to get cleaned out as its a temp folder, but...

There are two files, one is 2.4GB, was created on 8/3/06 at 5:06 pm and last modified at 5:12 pm that day. The other is 1.9GB, was created on 8/4/06 at 1:54 pm and last modified at 1:58 pm.

So, I have two huge files in a tmp directory that haven't been modified in about 8 months....

What are they, and can I just delete them?

Ganesha · Apr 3, 2007, 01:25 AM

filename?

Simon · Apr 3, 2007, 02:03 AM

Originally Posted by Uisce

What are they, and can I just delete them?

Cache disk images maybe? Do you have Toast?

Since they haven't been modified in ages I'd delete them. If they would have been needed by some app, it wouldn't have left them in that directory.

Go Tar Heels!

Uisce · 08:37 AM

Filenmes a tmp.0.something - its just gibberish.

Well, I trashed them and restarted, boot up took longer than usual, but I ended up freeing up 7GB...

Nuks · Apr 3, 2007, 08:58 AM

Hmm, I was told by a forumer at macrumors never to delete them, but I'm not sure what they are. He/she may have been wrong..

mac128k-1984 · Apr 3, 2007, 10:06 AM

Don't touch anything in /var/vm.

the system uses those files either for swap files (which get deleted when you reboot) or putting the computer sleep mode. the laptops (I don't think the desktops need this) use an image file to save the state of the system before it goes into sleep mode.

Apple has hidden this folder (and others) for a reason, they don't want users going in there and playing with things.

Simon · Apr 3, 2007, 10:12 AM

Actually, you can't delete the swap files. Well you can (it appears as if they have been deleted), but they're not really removed. Your Mac would crash pretty soon after if it were possible to actually remove them.

Note also that /var/tmp and /var/vm are completely different directories. One's the location for swap files ("virtual memory"), the other's a temporary scratch.

Anything a well behaved program relies on after a reboot should not be left in /var/tmp. If a file has been sitting there for months and you've rebooted several times since, you can delete it.

Uisce · Apr 3, 2007, 10:16 AM

Well, the files were huge, they're not there now, and nothing blew up...

Would something like an archive & install clean out the tmp folders?

Uisce · Apr 3, 2007, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by mac128k-1984

Don't touch anything in /var/vm.

Gotcha, but I was looking at the var/tmp - its my understanding that any tmp file in a tmp dir can be deleted without issue. Is this true?

Simon · Apr 3, 2007, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Uisce

Gotcha, but I was looking at the var/tmp - its my understanding that any tmp file in a tmp dir can be deleted without issue. Is this true?

Across a reboot, yes. Obviously if the app that created it is still running it might try to read from or write to it. But after a reboot or after the app that used it has been closed, this shouldn't be a problem. Of course that's assuming the app is properly written and the developer sticks to the convention.

Simon · Apr 3, 2007, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by Uisce

Would something like an archive & install clean out the tmp folders?

Yes. But I find A&I far too tedious and time consuming just to get rid of a simple tmp leftover that hasn't been touched in months.

Tomchu · Apr 3, 2007, 10:50 AM

On a UNIX system, opened files, when deleted, are not actually deleted. As long as there's a file handle attached to an inode, deleting that file doesn't remove the inode -- until the file handle is closed.

I regularly go in and delete crap in /var/tmp when I see that it's been there for a while. It's nothing to worry about.