Can I delete .tmp files in Imap folders within my profile?
My Profile folder in Thunderbird is now taking up 70GB of hard drive space. I use an IMAP service for email and when I go into the ImapMail folder there are about 50 .tmp files that take up almost 60GB of space (e.g. {a28f0071-67c4-49a3-b960-7e005897fa63}.tmp). They are mostly 2 - 3 years old with the last one created >12 months ago.
I'm guessing they are some form of backup as they are created in groups of 4 at the same timeCan I safely delete these files?
Also the Trash File is 2GB but it's empty when I go into Thunderbird, why does it take up so much space?
All Replies (4)
Those tmp files have a similar number pattern to addons or telemetry pings, but no idea why they are in the ImapMail folder. As they are .tmp files they are designed to be temporary and temp files are usually deleted after use.
How frequently do you compact your folders ? It is something you should be doing on a regular basis especially for Inbox, Drafts, Junk/Spam folders. It removes previously hidden marked as deleted emails to gain space and tidy up files. It's basic housekeeping to reduce risks on a files getting corrupted. Not compacting is not a good idea. Whilst compacting do not exit Thunderbird. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compacting-folders
Thanks. Compacting happens automatically when it saves 30MB so i think that's up to date.
I'm going start by deleting the oldest of these files and see what happens
Maybe the old tmp files were created because files were opened maybe in a sandbox and not cleaned up after closing.
> Also the Trash File is 2GB but it's empty when I go into Thunderbird, why does it take up so much space?
Something really wrong there. What AV software do you run?