There are lots of ways of improving the performance of your computer. We’ve previously investigated a number of solutions which concentrated on shortening the time taken for a machine to boot. These included disabling services that are not needed, concurrent booting, and reprofiling the boot sequence. There are also lots of tips on optimizing the general system performance including ways to make more efficient use of memory, improving hard disk performance, and by using a lightweight desktop environment. These can all have a marked effect on minimizing the boot process. However, having a machine that is quick to boot is only one area that needs to be tackled if a computer is going to remain responsive.
Many readers will have witnessed their computer system becoming progressively slower in use over time. This particularly affects Windows so much so that over time it can feel like the machine is running at half speed. This is in part due to users continually installing more applications, and not performing system maintenance. Other factors include ineffective uninstallation routines, Microsoft’s propensity for almost daily patches and security updates, hard drives full of temporary files, a bloated registry, and poorly configured antivirus software. These types of issues also affect Linux albeit to a lesser degree. Nevertheless, if a Linux machine is to remain in pristine condition, there is a genuine need for users to run software that vacuums up the detritus, wiping clean applications, deleting cookies, shredding temporary files, removing logs, and other types of system maintenance.
There are a number of open source applications for Linux which help to keep the operating system working like new. To provide an insight into the software that is available, we have compiled a list of of our favourite open source system cleaning tools. Hopefully, there will be something of interest here for users who want to ensure their computer system retains its vitality. We don’t include scripts in this roundup.
Click the links in the table below to learn more about each tool. Ubuntu Cleaner and Stacer are long abandoned but might still prove useful to a degree.
| System Cleaning Tools | |
|---|---|
| Czkawka | Finds duplicate files, big files, empty files, similar images, and much more |
| BleachBit | Delete unnecessary files from the system |
| Sweeper | History and temporary file cleaner for KDE 4 |
| Flatsweep | Flatpak leftover cleaner |
| Moonbit | Modern system cleaner built in Go with a TUI and CLI |
| uCareSystem | Automated maintenance utility |
| Linux Cleaner | Make routine Linux maintenance easier |
| CrunchyCleaner | Lightweight cache cleanup tool |
| Bleach | Terminal-based Linux maintenance utility |
| Ubuntu Cleaner | Clean up your system |
| Stacer | System optimizer and monitoring tool |
| Spruce | Clean up application caches |
We have a separate roundup for software which specializes in finding and deleting duplicate files.
This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.
 Explore our carefully curated directory of recommended free and open source software, covering every major software category.The directory forms part of our extensive collection of articles for Linux enthusiasts. It includes hundreds of detailed reviews, together with free and open source alternatives to proprietary software from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. LinuxLinks also covers interesting projects worth exploring, Linux-compatible hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application that we haven’t covered? Tell us about it using our submission form. |
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Have you heard of Ucaresystem-core? I found it early on and have retained it ever since.
I fully agree with the above;it is extremely good.
This article has been updated. It focuses on apps rather than scripts.