<p>Imagick uses the <code>/tmp</code> folder by default, but you can change it: <a href="https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/issues/399#issuecomment-285793433" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/issues/399#issuecomment-285793433</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-14T10:23:54.990Z
Thank you Brad. Would you mind to answer to this important point → _When is it safe to delete them?_
Romain P.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-15T00:48:35.047Z
Generally speaking, I'd say if it's in the tmp folder, I'd guess it'd be safe to delete. If a tmp file was currently in use, you'd get an error message saying so.
Brad Bell
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-14T04:55:57.533Z
2020-02-14T04:55:57.533Z
Brad Bell
<p>For several websites (Craft CMS 2 &amp; 3), servers ran out ot storage even if these websites were not storing a lot of assets.</p>

<p>After looking for why, I ended up in the temporary (tmp/) folder of these servers (which is at a lower level of these vhosts), where I found there were a lot of Craft-related filed that were not purged.</p>

<p>These are, for example:</p>

<ul>
<li>Imagick files (some of them have a size of ~500 Mb!)</li>
<li>A lot of Twig PHP folders and files (which content looks very similar as found in <code>/storage/runtime/</code>)</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Questions:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>When and why these files are generated?</li>
<li>Why they are not automatilcally deleted?</li>
<li>When is it safe to delete them?</li>
</ul>

<p><em>To be more specific:</em></p>

<ul>
<li>Because I'm using Imgix, front-end image transforms are delegated to this remote service;</li>
<li>In this case, I think that only the CP uses Imagick;</li>
</ul>

<server><imagick><filecache><storage>
Why is Craft storing so much temporary files inside the server tmp folder?
# Why is Craft storing so much temporary files inside the server tmp folder?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-02-13)

For several websites (Craft CMS 2 & 3), servers ran out ot storage even if these websites were not storing a lot of assets.

After looking for why, I ended up in the temporary (tmp/) folder of these servers (which is at a lower level of these vhosts), where I found there were a lot of Craft-related filed that were not purged.

These are, for example:

* Imagick files (some of them have a size of ~500 Mb!)
* A lot of Twig PHP folders and files (which content looks very similar as found in `/storage/runtime/`)

**Questions:**

* When and why these files are generated?
* Why they are not automatilcally deleted?
* When is it safe to delete them?

*To be more specific:*

* Because I'm using Imgix, front-end image transforms are delegated to this remote service;
* In this case, I think that only the CP uses Imagick;

**Tags:** server, imagick, filecache, storage

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-02-14. Score: 2

Imagick uses the `/tmp` folder by default, but you can change it: <https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/issues/399#issuecomment-285793433>

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you Brad. Would you mind to answer to this important point → _When is it safe to delete them?_  
> **username_1**: Generally speaking, I'd say if it's in the tmp folder, I'd guess it'd be safe to delete. If a tmp file was currently in use, you'd get an error message saying so.  

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