# What are the system cleaners that can be recommended for EOS **URL:** \ **Category:** Newbie\ **Created:** [March 21, 2025, 11:12am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292 "2025-03-21T11:12:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/archie1/32/111095_2.png) [@Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Archie1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 11:12am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/1 "2025-03-21T11:12:29Z")
CCleaner is one the most recommended apps on Windows platform to cleanup and delete unwanted files. If we want an equivalent app for Linux what would be the recommendation? KDE Sweeper and BleachBit are two which come to mind. But apart from that are there any other cleaners that you can recommend? Do you use any cleaner on EOS or other distro that you can recommend? I would like the app to do the following. This is not an complete list. 1. Cleanup and remove unnecessary language files. il18\_es, il18\_de and so on. 2. Cleanup and remove various caches of the applications, not limited to browsers/pacman/yay/etc. 3. Find all the unwanted backup and lock files which are no longer used and clean it up. 4. Remove all the X/Wayland cache, Thumbnail cache, Kwrite/Gedit/notepad++ cache, Acrobat/Okular/etc cache, etc. If there are 2 apps which can do this, that also works. For example KDE Sweeper only clears KDE related items. Nothing else. But I can consider using KDE Sweeper along with other app. ---
**Author:** ![keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/keescase/32/114900_2.png) [@keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/keescase)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 11:32am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/2 "2025-03-21T11:32:24Z")
To be honest I would only recommend a cleaner that only cleans what should be cleaned, and i have strong doubts it has been “invented” yet. When I was still actively using Windows I came across a lot of reports on the internet from people that messed up there system using CCleaner. So unless you have very good knowledge of what such a cleaner does , don’t use it. Just my 2cents. ---
**Author:** ![cactux](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/cactux/32/134907_2.png) [@cactux](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/cactux)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 11:41am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/3 "2025-03-21T11:41:00Z")
I suggest, instead of looking for a one-click-do-it-all application which make everything behind a nice looking GUI, look for ways of doing it yourself by learning simple maintenance commands. You don’t need to master it all right from the beginning. Take your time and learn about your system, about its filesystem, package management etc. ArchWiki is invaluable source of information. Start reading and ask question here in the forum if something is unclear. This is a good start: [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/System\_maintenance](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/System_maintenance) ---
**Author:** ![Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/archie1/32/111095_2.png) [@Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Archie1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 11:58am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/4 "2025-03-21T11:58:54Z")
So went through the [wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/List_of_applications/Utilities#Disk_cleaning) and found out that the following are listed as GUI based applications - BleachBit - Czkawka GUI - dupeGuru - File Shredder - FSlint - Shredder - Sweeper Now dupeGuru and Czkawka do not look like disk cleaners more like finding duplicate file finders File Shredder is a GNome Utility. FSlint [has not been updated since 2017](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pixelb/fslint/master/doc/NEWS) and now recommends that we use Czkawka. Could not find in Wiki the location where temp/cache files for say vlc player, LibreOffice, etc are kept. So has anyone used the other apps given in the list above. And are there other apps that we can consider? ---
**Author:** ![thefrog](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/thefrog/32/114250_2.png) [@thefrog](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/thefrog)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:08pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/5 "2025-03-21T12:08:23Z")
Besides a duplicate finder I dont use any of these and don’t recommend them. The issue besides we are not Windows and collect a bunch of Garbage many of these programs can be more harmful than good. (Memory management in Windows and Linux is very different) My best Recommendation for running a smooth system is to follow these two threads. > [@A Complete Idiot's Guide To Endeavour OS Maintenance / Update / Upgrade](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/a-complete-idiots-guide-to-endeavour-os-maintenance-update-upgrade/25184): > > I’m a complete idiot - so here’s my guide for you! It has been asked a lot, and fairly frequently recently it seems, especially by new Endeavour/new to Linux users. It was recently asked that I post how I update - so here it is. “How do I maintain / update / upgrade my system?!? Help!!” This is my maintenance plan. I have been using the same install for almost 2 years now without any major issue. I’m VERY aware there’s more than one way to do this. And most importantly - Many of these c… > [@How to run a stress-free EndeavourOS](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/how-to-run-a-stress-free-endeavouros/49769): > > I have spent a lot of time over the last 8 years helping people fix their broken systems and seeing people constantly describe how much trouble it is to keep their Arch-based systems running. Meanwhile, even though I run many systems with different configs, I never actually have these problems myself.1 I have helped people with so many obscure issues that if I ever did have issues with systems failing after an update I could fix them myself without too much trouble in most cases. However, I d… ---
**Author:** ![swh](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/swh/32/95303_2.png) [@swh](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/swh)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:09pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/6 "2025-03-21T12:09:11Z")
This is all you need CLEAN JOURNAL: `journalctl --vacuum-time=4weeks` CLEAN CACHE (All Packages): `paccache -r` CLEAN CACHE (Uninstalled Packages): `paccache -ruk0` REMOVE ORPHANS: `yay -Yc` > [@A Complete Idiot's Guide To Endeavour OS Maintenance / Update / Upgrade](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/a-complete-idiots-guide-to-endeavour-os-maintenance-update-upgrade/25184): > > I’m a complete idiot - so here’s my guide for you! It has been asked a lot, and fairly frequently recently it seems, especially by new Endeavour/new to Linux users. It was recently asked that I post how I update - so here it is. “How do I maintain / update / upgrade my system?!? Help!!” This is my maintenance plan. I have been using the same install for almost 2 years now without any major issue. I’m VERY aware there’s more than one way to do this. And most importantly - Many of these c… Be careful with provided programs. If you do not know what you are doing, your entire system will be destroyed very quickly. But in the end, everyone has to know for themselves what they are doing ---
**Author:** ![cactux](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/cactux/32/134907_2.png) [@cactux](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/cactux)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/7 "2025-03-21T12:16:02Z")
> [@swh](#): > > CLEAN CACHE (All Packages): > `paccache -r` The `-r` by itself alone will not clear all the packages from the cache. It will keep the 3 recent ones for each package. If you want to clear out the whole of /var/cache/pacman/pkg, you can use `pacman -Scc`. Or `paccache -rk0,` I think. ---
**Author:** ![swh](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/swh/32/95303_2.png) [@swh](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/swh)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:19pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/8 "2025-03-21T12:19:06Z")
> [@cactux](#): > > It will keep the 3 recent ones for each package. Correct! ---
**Author:** ![swh](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/swh/32/95303_2.png) [@swh](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/swh)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:22pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/9 "2025-03-21T12:22:54Z")
I only contacted him because I have already damaged one or two systems with improper use of BleachBit. It’s no different with the others. Therefore: if you don’t know what you’re doing: Hands off! ---
**Author:** ![cactux](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/cactux/32/134907_2.png) [@cactux](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/cactux)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:27pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/10 "2025-03-21T12:27:24Z")
> [@swh](#): > > improper use of BleachBit “improper use” is the keyword. Wrongly configured, it can remove more things than you want. And never to be run as root. Cautiously configured and using its whitelist for things you know that you absolutely don’t want it to be removed, it is OK. I use it this way, and run it with an alias for `bleachbit -c --preset` from a terminal which applies your configs from the GUI. ---
**Author:** ![Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/archie1/32/111095_2.png) [@Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Archie1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/11 "2025-03-21T12:47:21Z")
> [@swh](#): > > I only contacted him because I have already damaged one or two systems with improper use of BleachBit. It’s no different with the others. Therefore: if you don’t know what you’re doing: Hands off! I did not understand by “I only contacted him because I have already”. Can you please explain it? Or maybe rephrase it? Apart from running BleachBit as root, do you recall what options were selected which resulted in damage to the systems? If yes can you please share? Thanks for the warning about use of BleachBit. Will keep that in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/archie1/32/111095_2.png) [@Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Archie1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/12 "2025-03-21T12:47:50Z")
Thanks @thefrog. These links help ---
**Author:** ![Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/archie1/32/111095_2.png) [@Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Archie1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:49pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/13 "2025-03-21T12:49:14Z")
> [@cactux](#): > > > [@swh](#): > > > > improper use of BleachBit > > “improper use” is the keyword. Wrongly configured, it can remove more things than you want. And never to be run as root. > > Cautiously configured and using its whitelist for things you know that you absolutely don’t want it to be removed, it is OK. > > I use it this way, and run it with an alias for `bleachbit -c --preset` from a terminal which applies your configs from the GUI. Thanks @cactux. Will keep this mind, i.e. _never to be run as root_. Any other suggestion or tip? Any and all would be welcome. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/archie1/32/111095_2.png) [@Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Archie1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:51pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/14 "2025-03-21T12:51:10Z")
> [@swh](#): > > This is all you need > > CLEAN JOURNAL: > `journalctl --vacuum-time=4weeks` > > CLEAN CACHE (All Packages): > `paccache -r` > > CLEAN CACHE (Uninstalled Packages): > `paccache -ruk0` > > REMOVE ORPHANS: > `yay -Yc` > > [A Complete Idiot's Guide To Endeavour OS Maintenance / Update / Upgrade](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/a-complete-idiots-guide-to-endeavour-os-maintenance-update-upgrade/25184) > > Be careful with provided programs. If you do not know what you are doing, your entire system will be destroyed very quickly. But in the end, everyone has to know for themselves what they are doing Would it be possible to run this with `systemd-tmpfiles-clean.timer`? You know put these in a config file inside the directory /etc/tmpfiles.d/? ---
**Author:** ![thefrog](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/thefrog/32/114250_2.png) [@thefrog](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/thefrog)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/15 "2025-03-21T12:59:31Z")
> [@Archie1](#): > > Would it be possible to run this with `systemd-tmpfiles-clean.timer`? You know put these in a config file inside the directory /etc/tmpfiles.d/? While it is possible to run the commands as a ‘Scheduled Task’ I would highly recommend NOT doing this. These commands only take a minute to run and you can just alias them so as not need to remember the full command. I do this once a month before my weekly backup. The issue with Automating these things is that it could remove something you are unaware of that you needed. ---
**Author:** ![Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/archie1/32/111095_2.png) [@Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Archie1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/16 "2025-03-21T13:07:54Z")
> [@thefrog](#): > > While it is possible to run the commands as a ‘Scheduled Task’ I would highly recommend NOT doing this. These commands only take a minute to run and you can just alias them so as not need to remember the full command. I do this once a month before my weekly backup. The issue with Automating these things is that it could remove something you are unaware of that you needed. Ah my dream of running an unattended system which manages itself is slowly fading away. OpenAI/Anthropic this is a perfect usecase for one of your agents. Intelligent Agents which can handle the maintenance/update/backup of Arch based systems cannot come early enough. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![thefrog](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/thefrog/32/114250_2.png) [@thefrog](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/thefrog)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:13pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/17 "2025-03-21T13:13:51Z")
> [@Archie1](#): > > Intelligent Agents which can handle the maintenance/update/backup of Arch based systems cannot come early enough. Why? Its not that hard really. I mean you act like its pulling teeth in which I say if its not for you fine don’t use it. ---
**Author:** ![dbarronoss](https://forum.endeavouros.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@dbarronoss](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/dbarronoss)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:15pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/18 "2025-03-21T13:15:16Z")
Oh, nothing references this /boot/efi/linux\*, lets just remove it and keep the system tidy (AI bot)…in fact, what is this initrd, lets delete it too. Hey, the /boot directory tree is empty, lets delete it. That’s the kind of logic you’d get from today’s AI (I think). ---
**Author:** ![rich52](https://forum.endeavouros.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/ecb155/32.png) [@rich52](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/rich52)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/19 "2025-03-21T13:35:00Z")
Everything I do is overkill. . . . . I run an use the following and haven’t yet seen any deterious effects. . . Bleachbit Stacer Sweeper Yay -Scc Octopi cache cleaner (I run Octopi occasionally. . . ) paccache -r paccache -ruk0 yay -Yc paru -c Overkill . . .. . Rich 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/archie1/32/111095_2.png) [@Archie1](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Archie1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292/20 "2025-03-21T13:48:31Z")
> [@thefrog](#): > > > [@Archie1](#): > > > > Intelligent Agents which can handle the maintenance/update/backup of Arch based systems cannot come early enough. > > Why? Its not that hard really. I mean you act like its pulling teeth in which I say if its not for you fine don’t use it. Oh god no. I was just kidding. > [@rich52](#): > > Everything I do is overkill. . . . . I run an use the following and haven’t yet seen any deterious effects. . . > > Bleachbit > Stacer > Sweeper > Yay -Scc > Octopi cache cleaner (I run Octopi occasionally. . . ) > paccache -r > paccache -ruk0 > yay -Yc > paru -c > > Overkill . . .. . > > Rich 😉 Yikes. 😵‍💫 You are really living on the knifes edge. And you have not seen any deleterious effects? _ **any** _? [Next page](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-are-the-system-cleaners-that-can-be-recommended-for-eos/69292.md?page=2)