How to clean temporary files in /tmp and /var/tmp/

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15

Situation

Disk usage in /tmp or /var/tmp grows as old files are not removed.

Resolution

To change the behavior and remove files after one day, for example, an administrator can override the configuration by placing a file with the same filename in /etc/tmpfiles.d/ with the same configuration except giving an age argument, in this example, one day (1d):

cat << EOF > /etc/tmpfiles.d/fs-tmp.conf 
q /tmp 1777 root root 1d
EOF

Cause

The default configuration has no cleanup by age set up:

/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/fs-tmp.conf:q /tmp 1777 root root -

Additional Information

To add debug, create a overwrite file with the following environment setting to the relevant service e.g. systemctl edit systemd-tmpfiles-setup for during boot, or systemctl edit systemd-tmpfiles-clean for daily cleanup:

[Service]
Environment="SYSTEMD_LOG_LEVEL=debug"

The service systemd-tmpfiles-setup runs during boot. The service systemd-tmpfiles-clean runs by the timer systemd-tmpfiles-clean.timer.

Disclaimer

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