How To Delete Temporary Files Automatically in Windows 11

Overview – Clean Temporary Files

It seems that you want to automate the task of cleaning temporary files on your computer so that you can focus on other important tasks without moving out of storage.

13.4% of the total storage is filled with temporary files

Data storage is already one of the biggest problems in computing. By default, Windows doesn’t delete the temporary files automatically, it becomes more terrible when your computer keeps storing temporary files in a bulk. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to clean temporary files on your computer automatically:

Using Storage Sense

Using Batch Script (CMD)

Using Task Scheduler

1. Delete Temporary Files using Windows Settings

Step 1: In the Start menu, search for “Windows Settings” and hit the enter key or press the “Windows Logo key + I” key combination on the keyboard.

windows setting app in windows 11 — Windows Settings App

Step 2: Select the “System” option from the left sidebar and click the “Storage” button.

click the storage option in system settings — Storage option

Step 3: Toggle on the “Storage Sense” button and configure it depending on your preferences. The next time storage sense scans your PC, the temporary files will be removed.

toggle on the storage sense option — Toggle on the button

2. Delete Temporary Files using Batch Script

Step 1: Right-click the desktop and create a new “Text Document” (Notepad) file from the context menu or open the notepad app from the Start menu.

Notepad App Icon

Step 2: Copy and Paste the following script and save the file in the desired location on your computer:

@ECHO OFF
del /s /f /q %userprofile%\Recent\*.*
del /s /f /q C:\Windows\Prefetch\*.*
del /s /f /q C:\Windows\Temp\*.*
del /s /f /q %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Temp\*.*

batch script to delete temporary files in windows — Batch Script To Delete Temporary Files

Step 3: Click the “File” tab from the top bar and click the “Save as” button.

click the file tab on the top bar and select the save as option — “File Tab” > “Save As” option

Step 4: Rename the file extension from “.txt” to “.bat” (Batch File).

change the file extension from txt to bat — “.txt” to “.bat”

change file extension from txt to bat — Bat File Icon

Step 5: Run the batch file as an administrator, the command prompt will run for a few seconds and the temporary files will be automatically deleted.

deleting temporary files automatically using batch script in command prompt — Executing Batch File and Deleting Temp Files Automatically

NOTE: If some temporary files (folders) are not deleted, it means that the files are being created or used by the respective application running in the background.

3. Delete Temporary Files using Task Scheduler

NOTE: You can use this method only if you’ve followed the steps in Method 2 above and created the batch file.

Step 1: In the Start menu, search for “Task Scheduler” and hit the enter key or press the “Windows Logo Key + I” key combination, type “taskschd.msc” and hit the enter key.

Task Scheduler App Icon

Step 2: Click the “Create Basic Task” option on the right sidebar.

select windows media player from the optional features in windows settings — “Create a Basic Task” option

Step 3: Add the task name and description (if any) and press the “Next” button.

Step 4: Set the time when you want to initiate the task automatically and press the “Next” button.

choose the desired time when to run the task automatically — Choose when to run the task

Step 5: In the “Action” tab, select the “Start a program” option.

Step 6: In the “Start a Program” tab, add the file path where you saved the BAT File (in the previous method) and press the “Next” button.

Step 7: Recheck your configurations and press the “Finish” button to clean the temp files automatically (depending on your custom settings).

NOTE: If the steps are correctly implemented, the scheduled task will work correctly. However, to delete the scheduled task, select the task name from the list of running tasks and click the “Delete” button on the right sidebar.

deleting the scheduled task — Deleting the Scheduled Task (if required)

Is it safe to delete temp files?

Yes, deleting temporary files in Windows is completely safe. In some cases, you may be unable to remove a few files because you are not an administrator or because such files are being created, written, and stored by the opened programs. In this scenario, simply open the file as an administrator or close the opened programs and remove the temp files.

Next Steps

We’ve covered how to auto clean temp files on Windows. To remove the temp files automatically, you can use any of the methods that you find to be the most convenient and easy to follow along.

Further, improve your computer’s storage-related problems by following the related articles below.

how to remove windows old folder in windows 11

How To Delete Temporary Files Automatically in Windows 11

Overview – Clean Temporary Files

1. Delete Temporary Files using Windows Settings

2. Delete Temporary Files using Batch Script

3. Delete Temporary Files using Task Scheduler

Is it safe to delete temp files?

Next Steps

Remove Windows Old Folder

Clear Cache on Windows [Complete Guide]

Check VRAM on Windows 11

Overview – Clean Temporary Files

1. Delete Temporary Files using Windows Settings

2. Delete Temporary Files using Batch Script

3. Delete Temporary Files using Task Scheduler

FAQs Related to Temporary Files

Is it safe to delete temp files?

Next Steps

Related Articles

Remove Windows Old Folder

Clear Cache on Windows [Complete Guide]

Check VRAM on Windows 11