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wtf is temp-cleaner?

suganth-s-39/temp-cleaner — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

14PythonAudience · generalComplexity · 1/5Setup · easy

TL;DR

A small Python script for Windows that clears C:\Windows\Temp and the per-user %TEMP% folder, skipping files currently locked by other programs.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Temp Cleaner))
    Inputs
      Windows Temp folder
      User percent TEMP folder
    Outputs
      Deleted temp files
      Recovered disk space
    Use Cases
      Free disk on a Windows PC
      Run as a quick cleanup script
      Bundle as a portable exe
    Tech Stack
      Python
      Windows
      PyInstaller release exe

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Reclaim disk space by deleting stale Windows temp files

REASON 2

Run a one-line Python cleanup on a personal Windows machine

REASON 3

Drop the prebuilt cleaner.exe on a USB stick as a portable cleanup tool

What's in the stack?

PythonWindows

How it stacks up

suganth-s-39/temp-cleaner0c33/agentic-aiadennng/stock_strategy_lab
Stars141414
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultyeasyhardhard
Complexity1/54/54/5
Audiencegeneraldeveloperresearcher

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Run as Administrator so system-owned files in C:\Windows\Temp can actually be removed.

Wtf does this do

Temp Cleaner is a small Python program for Windows whose job is to delete the temporary files that the operating system and many applications leave behind over time. According to the README, it targets two well-known locations: the system-wide C:\Windows\Temp folder and the per-user temporary folder that Windows exposes as the %TEMP% environment variable, which usually maps to AppData\Local\Temp inside a user's profile. Clearing these can recover a bit of disk space. The README is short and the feature list is straightforward. The script cleans both Temp folders, skips any file that is currently locked because another program is using it, and is described as simple and lightweight. There is no scheduling, no GUI, no exclusion list, and no log file mentioned. There are two ways to run the tool. From source, the user runs python cleaner.py in a terminal. There is also a packaged cleaner.exe that can be downloaded from the GitHub Releases page and double-clicked. The author advises running it as Administrator for the best results, since some files in the Windows Temp folder are owned by the system and need elevated permissions to remove. The README is sparse beyond that. It does not mention a licence, supported Windows versions, dependencies, tests, or contribution guidelines. The repository is credited to Suganth S.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to safely extend Temp Cleaner to also clear browser cache folders
Prompt 2
Rewrite cleaner.py to log every deleted file path to a text file in the user home
Prompt 3
Convert this Temp Cleaner script into a scheduled task that runs every Sunday
Prompt 4
Add a dry-run flag to Temp Cleaner that prints what it would delete without removing anything

Frequently asked questions

wtf is temp-cleaner?

A small Python script for Windows that clears C:\Windows\Temp and the per-user %TEMP% folder, skipping files currently locked by other programs.

What language is temp-cleaner written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, Windows.

How hard is temp-cleaner to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is temp-cleaner for?

Mainly general.

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