systemd-tmpfiles

Manage temporary files and directories

TLDR

Create files and directories as specified in configuration

$ systemd-tmpfiles --create

Clean up files and directories with age parameters

$ systemd-tmpfiles --clean

Remove files and directories as specified in configuration

$ systemd-tmpfiles --remove

Apply operations for user-specific configurations

$ systemd-tmpfiles --create --user

Execute lines marked for early boot

$ systemd-tmpfiles --create --boot

SYNOPSIS

systemd-tmpfiles [options] [configfile...]

systemd-tmpfiles creates, deletes, and cleans up volatile and temporary files and directories. Configuration files in /etc/tmpfiles.d/, /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/, and related directories define what actions to take.
The tool is automatically invoked during system boot by systemd services. Manual execution is typically only needed for testing configurations or one-time cleanup operations.

PARAMETERS

--create

Create files and directories as configured

--clean

Clean up files older than configured age

--remove

Remove files and directories

--user

Apply user configuration

--boot

Execute boot-time entries

--prefix _path_

Only apply to paths with specified prefix

--exclude-prefix _path_

Exclude paths with specified prefix

-E

Ignore configuration errors

CAVEATS

Running manually is usually not needed as systemd handles this automatically. Configuration syntax errors may prevent proper cleanup. Age-based cleanup requires properly configured time values. Part of the systemd suite.