TempCleaner
TempCleaner is a lightweight Windows desktop utility for locating and removing temporary files and other unused artifacts to free disk space. It provides a GUI (WPF) front-end, targeted for Windows, and includes an update mechanism and installer artifacts.
Key Features
- Graphical UI for scanning and cleaning temporary locations
- Progress reporting during long operations
- Update-checker tied to GitHub releases
- Installer project (WiX) included for packaging
Requirements
- Windows 10 or later
- .NET 8.0 (net8.0-windows)
- WiX Toolset (to build installer artifacts)
Build from source
- Install the .NET 8.0 SDK: https://dotnet.microsoft.com
TempCleaner
TempCleaner is a small, fast Windows desktop utility (WPF) for locating and removing temporary files and other unused artifacts to reclaim disk space. It provides a simple GUI for scanning, reviewing results, and purging items, plus an update-check mechanism that can download installer assets from GitHub releases.
This README includes instructions for both end users and developers.
Highlights
- Fast recursive scanning of common system and user temporary locations
- Progress UI and logs to review discovered items before removal
- Download-and-install update flow using GitHub release assets
- WiX installer sources included for creating MSI packages
Quick Start (End users)
- Download a release from the repository Releases page: https://github.com/isubroto/temp_cleaner/releases
- Run the MSI installer or the published EXE to install and launch the app.
- In the app: click
Deep Scan (or Scan) to discover candidate files, review logs, then click Purge (or Clean) to remove items.
Safety notes for users:
- The app scans well-known system and user-temp locations (e.g.,
C:\Windows\Temp, C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp, Windows Update download folders). Review scan logs before purging.
- Some system folders require administrator privileges to remove contents. The app will skip inaccessible items silently.
- Purged files are removed from disk; the app also attempts to empty the Recycle Bin after cleanup.
Installation (Developer / Advanced user)
Prerequisites
Build and run locally
git clone https://github.com/isubroto/temp_cleaner.git
cd temp_cleaner
dotnet restore
dotnet build -c Release
dotnet run --project TempCleaner.csproj
Create a self-contained publish for Windows x64
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true /p:PublishSingleFile=true
# result will be in bin/Release/net8.0-windows/win-x64/publish
Build the installer (WiX)
- The
Installer/ directory contains WiX .wxs sources. Building the MSI requires WiX/MSBuild integration (Visual Studio or WiX MSBuild targets). See WiX docs for instructions.
Usage details (what the app scans)
- Common system locations (example list implemented in
MainWindow.xaml.cs):
C:\Windows\PrefetchC:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DownloadC:\Windows\TempC:\Windows\System32\LogFiles and C:\Windows\LogsC:\Users\\AppData\Local\TempC:\Users\\AppData\Local\CrashDumps
The scanner uses DirFinder.DirandFile(...) to enumerate files and directories with safe EnumerationOptions and emits periodic progress reports. Files and directories are deleted directly when the user confirms purge; inaccessible items are skipped.
Update checking
- The app calls the GitHub Releases API to find the latest release and looks for
.msi assets. If a downloadable MSI is found, it can either download it with progress UI or open the release page in the browser. The lookup and download logic is implemented in GitHubUpdater.cs.
Environment variables and .env
- For development or CI, the app reads optional environment variables from the system or a
.env file in the app base or working directory:
GITHUB_TOKEN — personal access token for GitHub API (useful to avoid rate limits or to access private repos)GITHUB_OWNER — override owner (defaults to the repo owner)GITHUB_REPO — override repo (defaults to temp_cleaner)
Do NOT commit secrets. If you use a token locally, store it only in your environment or an ignored .env file.
Developer notes & architecture
- UI:
MainWindow.xaml / MainWindow.xaml.cs — code-behind contains the scan and purge flows and UI plumbing.
- Scanning:
DirFinder.cs — optimized recursive file enumeration using EnumerationOptions and periodic progress callbacks.
- Reporting:
FileStatusReport.cs — a small readonly struct used to avoid allocations when reporting counts.
- Updates:
GitHubUpdater.cs — HTTP-based release lookup, version comparison (span/stackalloc for speed), and download invocation via DownloadProgressWindow.
- Download:
DownloadProgressWindow.xaml.cs — streams download to a temp path with periodic UI updates and speed calculation.
- Installer:
Installer/ contains WiX sources for packaging an MSI.
For a more extensive code overview and recommendations for contributors, see CODEBASE_ANALYSIS.md.
Contributing
Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for contribution workflows, coding standards, and PR expectations. The project welcomes issues and PRs — small, focused changes are easiest to review.
License
This project is distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for full terms.
Contact & Support
Maintenance & Best Practices
- Add automated CI to run
dotnet restore, dotnet build, and dotnet format on PRs.
- Add unit tests (suggest a
tests/ project) for DirFinder and version parsing in GitHubUpdater.
- Consider refactoring UI logic into MVVM to improve testability.
- Add a dry-run / preview-only mode before deletion to increase safety for users.