Clean up After Apps

1 Remove configuration files

Normally, when you remove an application using apt-get remove any configuration files stored in the /etc directory are kept in case you later wish to reinstall it. To remove these along with the package, issue the following command instead (substitute with the package name):

$ sudo apt-get purge

2 Remove obsolete packages

When you remove packages from the Terminal, you’ll often be prompted to clean out related packages (typically dependencies) that aren’t being used elsewhere. To do this, use: sudo apt-get autoremove . Check all the packages being removed – some may be required for apps installed manually rather than through apt-get or your package managers.

3 Protect individual dependencies

If there’s a package you want to keep, cancel the operation (press N), then type this, substituting with the package name: sudo apt-mark manual . This tells the package manager that the package is manually installed, so it’s ignored when you next run sudo apt-get autoremove . You can reverse this later with sudo apt-mark auto .

4 Clear more disk space

When you download package files for installation they remain on your PC. One way to keep them from taking up unnecessary space on your hard drive is to periodically issue the following command:

$ sudo apt-get autoclean

This removes all but the latest version of installer packages.