[SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

saleem · 2024-09-16 18:19:13

My Arch Linux is surviving from 2011 . With time and so much going on lot of packages came and left , leaving behind empty/dead files and directories . e.g my home looks like this

$ ls -a | grep "^."
.
..
.adobe
.aeterean-a.conf
.Almin-Soft
.appset-qt.conf
.asoundrc
.avast
.avidemux
.bash_history
.bash_logout
.bash_profile
.bashrc
.btsync
.bzr.log
.cache
.cachedpedigree.xml
.cert
.chmsee
.cinnamon
.clamtk
C:\nppdf32Log\debuglog.txt
.config
.cups
.damnvid
.dbus
Desktop
.directory
.dmrc
Documents
Downloads
.dropbox
.dvdcss
.emerald
.esd_auth
.etracer
.fontconfig
.FRD
.frozen-bubble
.gconf
.gconfd
.gimp-2.6
.gimp-2.8
.gksu.lock
.gnome
.gnome2
.gnome2_private
.gnupg
.gstreamer-0.10
.gtkrc-2.0
.gtk-recordmydesktop
.hplip
.icons
Important Documents
.java
.jitsi
.kde
.kde4
.lesshst
.links
.local
.macromedia
Miscellaneaous Dcouments
More Documents
.mozilla
.mplayer
Music
.nautilus
.neverball
.nightingale
.nv
.nvidia-settings-rc
.opera
.oracle_jre_usage
package_list.txt
.persepolis
Pictures
.pingus
.pki
Public
.pulse
.pulse-cookie
.purple
.qt
.qt-recordmydesktop
.Skype
.stremio-server
.subversion
Templates
.themes
.thumbnails
.tor-browser-en
.tuxpaint
Videos
.w3m
web links
.xchat2
.xfce4-session.verbose-log
.xfce4-session.verbose-log.last
.xine
.xinitrc
.xsession
.yahoorc
.zaz

and my .config looks like this

@home-pc .config]$ ls -a | grep "^."
.
..
akonadi
akregatorrc
arkrc
autostart
balena-etcher
balena-etcher-electron
baloofileinformationrc
baloofilerc
BitDefender-scanner
bleachbit
bluedevilglobalrc
btsync
budgie-1.db
chromium
cinnamon-session
compiz
dconf
deepin
deepin_monitors.json
deepin-wm-switcher
dock
dolphinrc
drkonqirc
emaildefaults
emesene1.0
emesene2
enchant
epdfview
FlareGet
flareGet_ALLDOWN
flareGet_FINDOWN
flareGet Interface
flareGet Settings
fontconfig
fontforge
gambas3
geany
gnome-disk-utility
gnome-session
go
google-chrome
google-googletalkplugin
gthumb
gtk-2.0
gtk-3.0
gtk-4.0
gtkrc
gtkrc-2.0
gwenviewrc
iridium
kactivitymanagerdrc
kactivitymanagerd-statsrc
katepartrc
katerc
kateschemarc
katevirc
kcminputrc
kconf_updaterc
KDE
kdebugrc
kdeconnect
kded5rc
kded_device_automounterrc
kdedefaults
kdeglobals
kde.org
kglobalshortcutsrc
kglobalshortcutsrc.Tik535
kglobalshortcutsrc.TwZ632
kglobalshortcutsrc.TwZ935
khotkeysrc
khtml
kiorc
kmenueditrc
kmixctrlrc
kmixrc
konquerorrc
konsolerc
krunnerrc
kscreenlockerrc
kservicemenurc
ksmserverrc
ksplashrc
ktimezonedrc
kwalletrc
kwinoutputconfig.json
kwinrc
kwinrulesrc
kxkbrc
l3afpad
launcher
leafpad
libaccounts-glib
libfm
.libreoffice
libreoffice
lxterminal
menus
mimeapps.list
mpv
nemo
neofetch
nuvolaplayer
octopi
okularpartrc
okularrc
opera
packer
pamac
pavucontrol.ini
pcmanfm
pcmanfm-qt
persepolis_download_manager
pikaur.conf
plank
plasma-localerc
plasma-nm
plasmanotifyrc
plasma-org.kde.plasma.desktop-appletsrc
plasmarc
plasmashellrc
plasma-welcomerc
plasma-workspace
powerdevilrc
powermanagementprofilesrc
pulse
qBittorrent
QtProject.conf
qtvirtualkeyboard
session
Skype
skypeforlinux
smplayer
soffice.binrc
spacefm
spectaclerc
stacer
startupconfig
startupconfigfiles
startupconfigkeys
supertuxkart
systemsettingsrc
terminator
Thunar
totem
Transcoder
transmission
trashrc
trizen
Trolltech.conf
uGet
umplayer
Unknown Organization.conf
user-dirs.dirs
user-dirs.locale
viewnior
vivaldi
vlc
vlcrc
WatchVideo
wormux
xdg-desktop-portal-kderc
xfce4
xsettingsd
yad.conf
yay

I want to do house cleaning but doing it manually , removing what is a dead file/directory seems like a huge task .
I was wondering is there anyway to do this house cleaning safely with some commands? I have no plans to kill this system and do a "fresh/neat" install because this installation carries a very long history with itself and I intend to keep it forever ( till I live and arch linux stays! )
Would appreciate any tips/help/guidance.

Thanks ,

Last edited by saleem (2024-09-18 16:47:00)

cryptearth · 2024-09-16 18:25:05

isn'T there a command to scan for files unknown to pacman or something like this? although seth mentioned files in pkgbuild shouldn't end up in home or so?
you may could go the other way around: look at what you have installed and remove anything not matching to that list

saleem · 2024-09-16 18:35:35

cryptearth wrote:

isn'T there a command to scan for files unknown to pacman or something like this? although seth mentioned files in pkgbuild shouldn't end up in home or so?
you may could go the other way around: look at what you have installed and remove anything not matching to that list

I was just going through pacman.log and it has around 80,000 lines! Just wondering how to undue things and get rid of left behind carcasses of so many packages. Or may be leave it like that for posterity , as a one proof against the statements that Arch Linux breaks! well I tried my best but it did not break with all the surgeries I did on it in all these years ( no boasting , stating a fact from my humble point of view )

V1del · 2024-09-16 19:09:04

The vast majority of this stuff in .config will likely still be relevant. I'd not worry too much about few KBs of config files potentially not being used. Maybe check last accessed/modified timestamps and if they are past a certain age they are likely not used (e.g. pretty sure khotkeys is dead with plasma 6, the rest I'd not be so sure with.) pretty much depends on which of those you're currently still using in one shape or another. On the flip side since those are only "configs" that will get recreated when needed again, you'd at most have to adjust some configuration again if you accidentally kill something you're still using.

Generally having a generic command for this is borderline impossible. You'd have to have a tool that has a database of each configuration location of every version of every tool that has ever existed.

kermit63 · 2024-09-16 19:17:38

One possibility is to create a new user, move over whatever non-config data from old user to the new, customize the new user to your liking, then use the new user exclusively for a couple of weeks.

If you're satisfied with the new user after the trial, then just nuke the old user.

mpan · 2024-09-16 22:15:22

saleem: welcome, fellow person with a very old Arch!

Removing anything from these places always poses a risk of losing configs, so always have backups.

The home directory (~) should contain only a minimal number of files nowadays, since most programs should follow XDG base directory specification or at least put things to “~/.config” and “~/.cache”. Home directory is less often used. So the first step is to do `ls -la ~` and determine, what files/directories are there and if they are used. This has to be done manually, by determining what program might need a given directory.

The next step is going to “~/.config” (or whatever alternative you use) and running `ls -lat`, and following the same procedure. Note that `-t` will put least recently chanced directories at the end. This is a good hint they’re unused, but only a hint. Most directories there are easy to associate with specific software. Directories with “session” in their name, with DE names, as well as UI toolkit names (Gtk etc.) are very likely to be affecting many programs or be used by your desktop environment, so you may consider leaving those alone. “dconf” and “gconf” remain in place. For most other things, about which you are uncertain, look inside. Very often they contain only skeleton, “default” configs. Little loss if they’re deleted by mistake.

“~/.cache” (or whatever you configured as cache) may be big and should contain only temporary, transient data. So it should be safe to delete anything inside, as long as you delete the entire program’s directory. Unfortunately only “should”. Some programs use it to store their actual data. Some programs may also get upset, if you delete their data while they’re running.

Finally, “~/.local/share” is often used to store program data. That may contain a lot of garbage from old programs you no longer use. But it also contains valid, important data from things you still use. Ones particularly vulnerable to accidental deletion are data belonging to things like plugins or DE’s widgets, because you may not recognize instantly their purpose.

ncdu is useful for determining, what uses space. Invoke it with `-r` option for read-only mode to avoid unintended deletion.

Good luck.

cryptearth:
Pacman never touches per-user home directories.

Last edited by mpan (2024-09-16 22:18:00)

saleem · 2024-09-17 06:19:44

V1del wrote:

The vast majority of this stuff in .config will likely still be relevant. I'd not worry too much about few KBs of config files potentially not being used. Maybe check last accessed/modified timestamps and if they are past a certain age they are likely not used (e.g. pretty sure khotkeys is dead with plasma 6, the rest I'd not be so sure with.) pretty much depends on which of those you're currently still using in one shape or another. On the flip side since those are only "configs" that will get recreated when needed again, you'd at most have to adjust some configuration again if you accidentally kill something you're still using.
Generally having a generic command for this is borderline impossible. You'd have to have a tool that has a database of each configuration location of every version of every tool that has ever existed.

That`s why I am very careful and skeptic to just explode and remove anything I "find" unwanted

saleem · 2024-09-17 06:21:32

kermit63 wrote:

One possibility is to create a new user, move over whatever non-config data from old user to the new, customize the new user to your liking, then use the new user exclusively for a couple of weeks.
If you're satisfied with the new user after the trial, then just nuke the old user.

Yes , this sounds like a good solution and I sometimes do practice it but since this is the original copy of my ancient installation I want to preserve it as much as possible in its original form

saleem · 2024-09-17 06:30:01

mpan wrote:

saleem: welcome, fellow person with a very old Arch!
Removing anything from these places always poses a risk of losing configs, so always have backups.
The home directory (~) should contain only a minimal number of files nowadays, since most programs should follow XDG base directory specification or at least put things to “~/.config” and “~/.cache”. Home directory is less often used. So the first step is to do `ls -la ~` and determine, what files/directories are there and if they are used. This has to be done manually, by determining what program might need a given directory.
The next step is going to “~/.config” (or whatever alternative you use) and running `ls -lat`, and following the same procedure. Note that `-t` will put least recently chanced directories at the end. This is a good hint they’re unused, but only a hint. Most directories there are easy to associate with specific software. Directories with “session” in their name, with DE names, as well as UI toolkit names (Gtk etc.) are very likely to be affecting many programs or be used by your desktop environment, so you may consider leaving those alone. “dconf” and “gconf” remain in place. For most other things, about which you are uncertain, look inside. Very often they contain only skeleton, “default” configs. Little loss if they’re deleted by mistake.
“~/.cache” (or whatever you configured as cache) may be big and should contain only temporary, transient data. So it should be safe to delete anything inside, as long as you delete the entire program’s directory. Unfortunately only “should”. Some programs use it to store their actual data. Some programs may also get upset, if you delete their data while they’re running.
Finally, “~/.local/share” is often used to store program data. That may contain a lot of garbage from old programs you no longer use. But it also contains valid, important data from things you still use. Ones particularly vulnerable to accidental deletion are data belonging to things like plugins or DE’s widgets, because you may not recognize instantly their purpose.
ncdu is useful for determining, what uses space. Invoke it with `-r` option for read-only mode to avoid unintended deletion.
Good luck.
cryptearth:
Pacman never touches per-user home directories.

Thank you so much , its an honor to have Arch Linux which I installed with total commands , no installer , Sysvinit and it was then 32 bit I want to write a story of this journey with Arch Linux , it has so many interesting turns I have cloned countless copies of this installation running on many computers flawlessly.

Now about all the tips you mentioned , each one is very valuable , I am going to follow those painstakingly and once completed will submit a final report of a "clean house"

Meanwhile I did an interesting change in plasma which makes my computing life very quick and easy , this is a great fun to modify your system according to your needs and they do work , only depends on how you do it correctly .

I am not aware of any section in forum where I can share my own home grown tricks or else I will share those in that section.

Last edited by saleem (2024-09-17 06:30:36)

seth · 2024-09-17 07:04:14

Files that haven't been accessed in over two years.

find ~/.config -atime +720 -type f

Likewse directories

find ~/.config -atime +720 -type d

NB! This doesn't work if you're mounting home noatime!
Also nb. it's probably gonna be a metric shit-ton of output.

Awebb · 2024-09-17 07:23:47

Honestly, that doesn't look like much. Create a backup and delete everything that doesn't ring a bell. Perhaps delete it in batches and log out and log in from time to time. Especially nuking KDE configs from time to time can do wonders.

saleem · 2024-09-17 13:22:53

seth wrote:

Files that haven't been accessed in over two years.
find ~/.config -atime +720 -type f
Likewse directories
find ~/.config -atime +720 -type d
NB! This doesn't work if you're mounting home noatime!
Also nb. it's probably gonna be a metric shit-ton of output.

This is to consider then as my fstab is as below

/dev/sda14         /            ext4       noatime,errors=remount-ro    0      1
/dev/sda5         swap          swap       defaults,noatime             0      0

my home is on root so I think I will change it to

/dev/sda14         /            ext4       defaults    0      1
/dev/sda5         swap          swap       defaults             0      0

do you approve this change and will it let me do the needful tasks?

seth · 2024-09-17 13:28:14

Too late, the file access hasn't been logged so the data isn't available to base any decision on and changing it after th fact won't help.
You'll never know what has been or not accessed in the past years. You'd have to wait two more years for that

You can btw, still use "lazytime" (and for completeness sake, the common relatime would probably defy the approach as well)

saleem · 2024-09-17 13:37:26

seth wrote:

Files that haven't been accessed in over two years.
find ~/.config -atime +720 -type f
Likewse directories
find ~/.config -atime +720 -type d
NB! This doesn't work if you're mounting home noatime!
Also nb. it's probably gonna be a metric shit-ton of output.

So I executed both the commands as # because as user I got thing and here is output , so how to get rid of these cruft files?

# find ~/.config -atime +720 -type f
/root/.config/kscreenlockerrc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/gallery/sg30.sdv
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/gallery/sg100.thm
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/gallery/sg30.thm
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/gallery/sg100.sdv
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/database/evolocal.odb
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/database/biblio.odb
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/database/biblio/biblio.dbf
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/database/biblio/biblio.dbt
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/standard.sob
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/standard.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/arrowhd.soe
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/web.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/tango.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/classic.sog
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/standard.soe
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/hatching.soh
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/libreoffice.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/gallery.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/styles.sod
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/palette.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/javasettings_Linux_x86.xml
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/standard.soh
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/standard.sog
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/html.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/cmyk.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/standard.sod
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/scribus.soc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/autotbl.fmt
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/config/modern.sog
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/basic/Standard/script.xlb
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/basic/Standard/dialog.xlb
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/basic/Standard/Module1.xba
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/basic/dialog.xlc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/basic/script.xlc
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/psprint/pspfontcache
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/autotext/mytexts.bau
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/bundled/buildid
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/bundled/lastsynchronized
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/bundled/registry/com.sun.star.comp.deployment.configuration.PackageRegistryBackend/backenddb.xml
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/bundled/registry/com.sun.star.comp.deployment.help.PackageRegistryBackend/backenddb.xml
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/bundled/extensions.db
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/shared/lastsynchronized
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/shared/registry/com.sun.star.comp.deployment.configuration.PackageRegistryBackend/backenddb.xml
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/shared/registry/com.sun.star.comp.deployment.help.PackageRegistryBackend/backenddb.xml
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/shared/log.txt
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/extensions/shared/extensions.db
/root/.config/libreoffice/3/user/registrymodifications.xcu
/root/.config/geany/templates/templates.README
/root/.config/geany/filedefs/filetypes.README
/root/.config/umplayer/radio.m3u8
/root/.config/umplayer/tv.m3u8
/root/.config/umplayer/file_settings/5/5a755ccae704edbb.ini
/root/.config/umplayer/umplayer.ini
/root/.config/kateschemarc
/root/.config/kdeglobals
/root/.config/Trolltech.conf
/root/.config/gtk-2.0/gtkfilechooser.ini
/root/.config/gthumb/filters.xml
/root/.config/gthumb/history.xbel
/root/.config/gthumb/active_filter.xml
/root/.config/partitionmanagerrc
/root/.config/swagarch/swagarch-settings-manager.conf
/root/.config/arkrc
/root/.config/pulse/cookie
/root/.config/kdeconnect/privateKey.pem
/root/.config/kdeconnect/certificate.pem
/root/.config/gwenviewrc
/root/.config/akonadi/akonadiserverrc
/root/.config/baloofilerc
/root/.config/xfce4/terminal/accels.scm
/root/.config/leafpad/leafpadrc
/root/.config/kmixrc
/root/.config/kiorc
/root/.config/kactivitymanagerdrc
/root/.config/akregatorrc
/root/.config/dolphinrc
/root/.config/baloofileinformationrc
/root/.config/Dolezel/fatrat.conf
/root/.config/kglobalshortcutsrc
/root/.config/spacefm/session-last
/root/.config/spacefm/session
/root/.config/spacefm/session-prior
/root/.config/user-dirs.locale
/root/.config/dconf/user
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000151506956300000006980009_1515069563_943512
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000149366745300000085970027_1493667454_304842
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000152467581500000038830014_1524675816_103818
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000152728445600000026430011_1527284456_857645
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000149366993400000085970034_1493669935_393793
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000151586907200000032840011_1515869072_725928
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000159870290400000006920006_1598702905_436459
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000149391452300000006240009_1493914524_376812
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000154478792000000046780013_1544787920_961314
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000151540948900000044280016_1515409489_946603
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000151577882900000009120013_1515778829_739767
/root/.config/session/partitionmanager_1095dfd065000144381568400000017690014_1443815692_267526
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000151575758000000009080010_1515757581_600527
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000159868439800000007030012_1598684398_781343
/root/.config/session/konsole_1095dfd065000151576601800000009210010_1515766018_976249
/root/.config/l3afpad/l3afpadrc
/root/.config/trashrc
/root/.config/google-googletalkplugin/gtbplugin.log
/root/.config/viewnior/accel_map
/root/.config/viewnior/viewnior.conf
/root/.config/kwinrc
/root/.config/kconf_updaterc
# find ~/.config -atime +720 -type d

saleem · 2024-09-17 13:39:20

seth wrote:

Too late, the file access hasn't been logged so the data isn't available to base any decision on and changing it after th fact won't help.
You'll never know what has been or not accessed in the past years. You'd have to wait two more years for that
You can btw, still use "lazytime" (and for completeness sake, the common relatime would probably defy the approach as well)

This is fun! isnt it

seth · 2024-09-17 13:42:31

None of that stuff should be there and suggests you've been running GUI sessions as root…

saleem · 2024-09-17 16:47:29

seth wrote:

None of that stuff should be there and suggests you've been running GUI sessions as root…

Finally instead of taking a long route , I added another user , copied my needed files etc into the home of new user , then chrooted into system , deleted old user and renamed new user to same old user and put same password because getting inhabit to a new user after so many years is very difficult. Things went all well , had to do some customization to old settings but one annoying thing is bothering me now , a popup that says

The application 'kded6' has requested to open the wallet 'kdewallet'. Please enter the password for this wallet below.

How to get rid of it ?

There is another issue but its not related to house cleaning so I will post it in a new thread .

seth · 2024-09-17 18:45:26

Enter the password for the wallet?
Or maybe you're looking for https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/KDE_Wa … y_on_login and possibly https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/KDE_Wa … ow_manager ?

saleem · 2024-09-18 16:46:22

seth wrote:

Enter the password for the wallet?
Or maybe you're looking for https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/KDE_Wa … y_on_login and possibly https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/KDE_Wa … ow_manager ?

I am going to start a new post/thread for this issue.

Arch Linux

#1 2024-09-16 18:19:13

[SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#2 2024-09-16 18:25:05

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#3 2024-09-16 18:35:35

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#4 2024-09-16 19:09:04

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#5 2024-09-16 19:17:38

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#6 2024-09-16 22:15:22

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#7 2024-09-17 06:19:44

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#8 2024-09-17 06:21:32

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#9 2024-09-17 06:30:01

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#10 2024-09-17 07:04:14

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#11 2024-09-17 07:23:47

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#12 2024-09-17 13:22:53

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#13 2024-09-17 13:28:14

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#14 2024-09-17 13:37:26

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#15 2024-09-17 13:39:20

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#16 2024-09-17 13:42:31

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#17 2024-09-17 16:47:29

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#18 2024-09-17 18:45:26

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

#19 2024-09-18 16:46:22

Re: [SOLVED] How to clean home/ ?

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