TempCleaner

Windows temp and cache cleaner with dry-run, confirmations, path safety, optional scheduling, and a modern ttk UI.

• Repository: github.com/Rulesmash/TempCleaner
• License: GNU GPLv3
• Version: 2.0.0

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Safety disclaimer (read this)

TempCleaner permanently deletes files and folders under allowlisted Windows temp/cache locations.

Fact	Detail
Delete model	Permanent delete only
Recycle Bin	Not used — nothing is sent to the Recycle Bin
Soft-delete	Not available in 2.0
GUI clean	Requires a confirmation dialog and an “I understand files will be permanently deleted” checkbox
CLI clean	Requires --clean --yes
Dry-run	Supported; default setting requires a dry-run before GUI clean

Always run Scan or Dry-run first if you are unsure what will be removed. Locked or in-use files are skipped and logged; partial cleans are reported honestly.

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Overview

TempCleaner v2 is a full rewrite of the 1.x image-button cleaner:

• Modular package under src/tempcleaner/
• Native ttk multi-tab UI (Clean, Results, Schedule, Settings, Logs)
• Expanded clean targets with risk levels (Safe / Elevated / Advanced)
• Path allowlists — never deletes drive roots or the user profile root
• Settings and logs under %AppData%\TempCleaner\
• CLI for scan / dry-run / clean / scheduled runs
• Optional Windows Task Scheduler integration
• Optional GitHub Releases update check (link only; no auto-download)
• Runtime dependencies: Python standard library only

Not in 2.0

• System tray icon
• Recycle Bin / soft-delete mode
• Browser cache cleaners
• User-defined custom paths
• Auto-download or auto-install of updates
• Full third-party installer (EXE build docs only; see docs/packaging.md)

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Requirements

Item	Requirement
OS	Windows only (refuses to start on other platforms)
Python	3.10+ (for source / dev installs)
Runtime packages	None (stdlib only: tkinter/ttk, ctypes, urllib, subprocess, …)
Dev extras (optional)	pytest, ruff, pyinstaller via pip install -e ".[dev]"
Admin	Optional; needed for Prefetch, Windows Temp (often), Delivery Optimization, Windows Update downloads

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Install from source

git clone https://github.com/Rulesmash/TempCleaner.git
cd TempCleaner

python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

python -m pip install -U pip
pip install -e .

# Optional dev tools (tests, lint, packaging)
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Console entry point after install: tempcleaner
Module entry: python -m tempcleaner

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GUI usage

python -m tempcleaner
# or
tempcleaner

1. Open the Clean tab and select targets (defaults: User Temp + Windows Temp).
2. Click Scan or Dry-run to measure what would be removed.
3. Review the Results tab (export JSON/TXT if needed).
4. Click Clean… — complete the confirm dialog (acknowledge permanent delete).
5. If targets need admin and you are not elevated, use Restart as admin (or accept the elevation prompt).

Settings of note (defaults):

Setting	Default
Require dry-run before clean	On
Allow advanced targets	Off
Prefetch selected by default	Off
Allow Prefetch in scheduled runs	Off
Check updates on startup	Off
Close minimizes (taskbar)	Off (no tray)

More detail: docs/user-guide.md · docs/admin-elevation.md

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CLI usage

python -m tempcleaner                 # GUI
python -m tempcleaner --version
python -m tempcleaner --help

python -m tempcleaner --scan
python -m tempcleaner --dry-run
python -m tempcleaner --scan --targets user_temp,windows_temp
python -m tempcleaner --clean --yes
python -m tempcleaner --clean --yes --targets user_temp
python -m tempcleaner --scheduled     # headless Task Scheduler path

Flag	Meaning
--scan	Measure selected targets; no deletes
--dry-run	Same measurement path as scan; no deletes
--clean	Permanent delete; requires --yes
--yes	Confirm permanent delete for --clean
--targets id,id	Comma-separated target IDs (else settings / defaults)
--scheduled	Trusted headless clean using saved schedule settings
--version	Print version and exit

Exit codes: 0 success, 1 error, 2 usage error (e.g. --clean without --yes).

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Clean targets

ID	Name	Typical path	Admin	Default on	Risk
user_temp	User Temp	%TEMP%	No	Yes	Safe
windows_temp	Windows Temp	C:\Windows\Temp	Usually	Yes	Elevated
prefetch	Prefetch	C:\Windows\Prefetch	Yes	No	Elevated
recent	Recent Items	%APPDATA%\…\Windows\Recent	No	No	Safe
thumbcache	Thumbnail Cache	Explorer thumb/icon cache DBs under LocalAppData	No	No	Safe
delivery_optimization	Delivery Optimization	Delivery Optimization cache	Often	No	Elevated
windows_update_download	Windows Update Downloads	SoftwareDistribution\Download	Yes	No	Advanced

Notes:

• Only contents under each allowlisted root are deleted — not drive roots, not the user profile root, and not the root folder itself as a forbidden top-level.
• Prefetch cleanup may slow the first launch of apps until Windows rebuilds the cache.
• Advanced targets stay hidden/disabled until Allow advanced targets is enabled in Settings.
• Thumbcache only matches thumbcache_*.db / iconcache_*.db names.

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Scheduling

Windows Task Scheduler integration (via schtasks):

• Task name: TempCleaner Scheduled Clean
• Command (interpreter): python -m tempcleaner --scheduled
• Command (frozen EXE): TempCleaner.exe --scheduled
• Frequencies: daily or weekly (with weekday)
• On Apply, the current Clean-tab selection is saved as scheduled_targets
• Headless clean runs only when scheduled_clean_enabled is true
• Prefetch is skipped on schedule unless Allow Prefetch in scheduled runs is on
• Advanced targets are skipped unless allowed in settings
• No confirm dialog on the scheduled path — all actions are logged

Configure from the Schedule tab in the GUI. Elevated system targets need a task/context that can access those paths (see docs/admin-elevation.md).

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Building an EXE

Packaging uses PyInstaller (dev dependency). Full steps: docs/packaging.md.

Short form (after pip install -e ".[dev]"):

# Preferred: helper script (activates .venv if present)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\build_exe.ps1

# Or manual (from repo root). Entry must be a .py path — do not use -m
# (on Windows PyInstaller, -m is --manifest, not Python module mode).
pyinstaller --noconfirm --windowed --name TempCleaner --icon assets\maicon.ico --paths src --collect-submodules tempcleaner src\tempcleaner\__main__.py

Output lands under dist/. Runtime still needs no third-party wheels on the end-user machine.

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Data locations

Data	Path
Settings	%AppData%\TempCleaner\settings.json
Logs	%AppData%\TempCleaner\logs\tempcleaner-YYYYMMDD.log

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Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. Summary:

pip install -e ".[dev]"
ruff check src tests
pytest -q

PRs welcome. Keep runtime free of third-party dependencies unless the project explicitly decides otherwise.

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Security

See SECURITY.md for reporting guidance and the local-delete threat model. This app deletes files on your machine under documented allowlists; it does not send telemetry.

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License

GNU General Public License v3.0 only (GPL-3.0-only).

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Support

If TempCleaner helps you, you can support development here:

Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/Rulesmash

Bugs and feature requests: GitHub Issues

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Further reading

• User guide
• Admin elevation
• Packaging
• Changelog
• Design spec