From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing
to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles
which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

What if I include the one from my current profile? Just nuke the .cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory in one fell swoop?

Is there anything in the entire .cache/ subdirectory (non-FF stuff) (16
GB) that I'd miss next time I used one of those programs or is this
stuff saved merely for user convenience?

Every once in a while I go on search-and-destroy missions, but it's
always a terrifying process. I've left FF alone for a LONG time because
I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or
passwords :-(

I've got plenty of HD space, I'm really only concerned with the amount
of time-wasting churning the computer has to go through just because of
all the cruft.
--
Cheers, Bev
If voting could really change things, it would be illegal.
--Revolution Books, New York, New York

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 12/14/25 4:17 PM, The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing
to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

What if I include the one from my current profile? Just nuke the .cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory in one fell swoop?

Is there anything in the entire .cache/ subdirectory (non-FF stuff) (16
GB) that I'd miss next time I used one of those programs or is this
stuff saved merely for user convenience?

Every once in a while I go on search-and-destroy missions, but it's
always a terrifying process. I've left FF alone for a LONG time because
I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or
passwords :-(

I've got plenty of HD space, I'm really only concerned with the amount
of time-wasting churning the computer has to go through just because of
all the cruft.

My theory is it's 'cache', just some place for the program to dump stuff. Like your
browser stores a web page so it doesn't have to keep downloading it over and over.

I run bleachbit and clean a lot of that crud. And you can even put bleachbit cleaning in
a shell script.

bleachbit -c firefox.backup | tail -3
bleachbit -c firefox.crash_reports | tail -3
bleachbit -c thunderbird.cache | tail -3

I pipe to tail to just trim off the details lines at the bottom.
--
Linux Mint 22.2, Mozilla Thunderbird 140.6.0esr, Mozilla Firefox 146.0
Alan K.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing
to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

Nope. It's only a cache. Wipe that shit, if you want.

[..snip..]

I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or passwords :-(

Won't happen. There is no critical data in a cache.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 12/14/25 4:57 PM, Frank Miller wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing
to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles
which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

Nope. It's only a cache. Wipe that shit, if you want.

[..snip..]

I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or
passwords :-(

Won't happen. There is no critical data in a cache.

Unless the program is running, cache might be in use.
--
Linux Mint 22.2, Mozilla Thunderbird 140.6.0esr, Mozilla Firefox 146.0
Alan K.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

Alan K. wrote:

On 12/14/25 4:57 PM, Frank Miller wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing >>> to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles >>> which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

Nope. It's only a cache. Wipe that shit, if you want.

[..snip..]

I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or
passwords :-(

Won't happen. There is no critical data in a cache.

Unless the program is running, cache might be in use.

Yes, cache is in use while the program is running.
But there's absolutely no important data in it. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 15/12/2025 5:17 am, The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing
to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

Whatever you wanna do, just backup the whole profile first.

Important settings are stored in the root of profile directory (mostly
*.db, *.js, *.json, *.sqlite and *.html), not the "cache" and "storage" directories under a Firefox profile.
--
@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile.-a FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all.-a I'm willing
to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF?-a Each one has
its own profile.

What if I include the one from my current profile?-a Just nuke the .cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory in one fell swoop?

Is there anything in the entire .cache/ subdirectory (non-FF stuff) (16
GB) that I'd miss next time I used one of those programs or is this
stuff saved merely for user convenience?

Every once in a while I go on search-and-destroy missions, but it's
always a terrifying process.-a I've left FF alone for a LONG time because
I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or passwords :-(

I've got plenty of HD space, I'm really only concerned with the amount
of time-wasting churning the computer has to go through just because of
all the cruft.

A couple of questions:
- why do you have all these old profiles from old Firefox levels? I'd
expect a new level to use the old profile.
- have you tried deleting Cache when you exit Firefox?
Settings -> Privacy & Security -> History
Check "Clear history when Firefox closes", and then go to Settings on
the same line. "Temporary cached files and pages", NOT ANY OF THE OTHERS.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 12/14/25 21:32, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

On 15/12/2025 5:17 am, The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing
to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles
which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

Whatever you wanna do, just backup the whole profile first.

I back up my entire partition every few days. 3 rotating backups + 2 on
USB drives. I've only had to go to a backup for a file maybe 4 times in
2 decades, but my fear is that I will only discover a need after the
backup has been written over.

Important settings are stored in the root of profile directory (mostly
*.db, *.js, *.json, *.sqlite and *.html), not the "cache" and "storage" directories under a Firefox profile.

--
Cheers, Bev
I can picture a world without war, without hate. I can picture
us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 12/15/25 00:09, R Daneel Olivaw wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile.-a FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all.-a I'm willing >> to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles
which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF?-a Each one has
its own profile.

What if I include the one from my current profile?-a Just nuke the
.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory in one fell swoop?

Is there anything in the entire .cache/ subdirectory (non-FF stuff) (16
GB) that I'd miss next time I used one of those programs or is this
stuff saved merely for user convenience?

Every once in a while I go on search-and-destroy missions, but it's
always a terrifying process.-a I've left FF alone for a LONG time because >> I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or
passwords :-(

I've got plenty of HD space, I'm really only concerned with the amount
of time-wasting churning the computer has to go through just because of
all the cruft.

A couple of questions:
- why do you have all these old profiles from old Firefox levels? I'd
expect a new level to use the old profile.

Because I don't like jumping in blind. When NS first came out I allowed
all backups until I found I lost stuff that was important to me -- newer versions wouldn't use it. From then on, and when it split into TB and
FF, I would install the new version and then copy over the contents of
the curent profile. As I said, storage is cheap.

- have you tried deleting Cache when you exit Firefox?
Settings -> Privacy & Security -> History
Check "Clear history when Firefox closes", and then go to Settings on
the same line. "Temporary cached files and pages", NOT ANY OF THE OTHERS.

No, because of my doubts about what might be lost. I know people who
when their Windows installation developed problems just did a wipe-and-install-everything-again, but I don't see how anybody could do
that. It also bothers me that there is no definition of "archive" --
does it somehow become write-only storage?

I have been assured that there is NOTHING in .cache that I need. I am thinking about that...
--
Cheers, Bev
I can picture a world without war, without hate. I can picture
us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 12/14/25 14:56, Alan K. wrote:

On 12/14/25 4:57 PM, Frank Miller wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing >>> to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles >>> which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want
to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

Nope. It's only a cache. Wipe that shit, if you want.

[..snip..]

I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or
passwords :-(

Won't happen. There is no critical data in a cache.

Unless the program is running, cache might be in use.

And this goes for ALL cache, right? There are ~30 subdirectories there
-- FF, TB, google, zoom, keyring... The easy thing to do is to just nuke .cache and re-create it, right? Kill ALL the cache for every program
that saves cache and it won't hurt anything, right?
--
Cheers, Bev
I can picture a world without war, without hate. I can picture
us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 12/16/25 1:23 AM, The Real Bev wrote:

Because I don't like jumping in blind. When NS first came out I allowed
all backups until I found I lost stuff that was important to me -- newer versions wouldn't use it. From then on, and when it split into TB and
FF, I would install the new version and then copy over the contents of
the curent profile. As I said, storage is cheap.

Why are you creating new profiles? Upgrade FF/TB and it upgrades the same profile!
You back it up of course if you want to just so you could go back, but I don't have 20
profiles!
--
Linux Mint 22.2, Mozilla Thunderbird 140.6.0esr, Mozilla Firefox 146.0
Alan K.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

The Real Bev wrote:

On 12/14/25 14:56, Alan K. wrote:

On 12/14/25 4:57 PM, Frank Miller wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:

My /root/.cache/mozilla/firefox subdirectory contains 11 GB of stuff,
only 1GB of which is from my current profile. FF's 'clear cache'
function got rid of some of the current stuff, but not all. I'm willing >>>> to leave that alone, but I've got cache subdirectors for 30 old profiles >>>> which occupy the other 10GB.

If I nuke these subdirectories by hand will I regret it if I ever want >>>> to go back and run one of these ancient versions of FF? Each one has
its own profile.

Nope. It's only a cache. Wipe that shit, if you want.

[..snip..]

I don't want to take a chance on losing any actual site settings or
passwords :-(

Won't happen. There is no critical data in a cache.

Unless the program is running, cache might be in use.

And this goes for ALL cache, right? There are ~30 subdirectories there
-- FF, TB, google, zoom, keyring... The easy thing to do is to just nuke .cache and re-create it, right? Kill ALL the cache for every program
that saves cache and it won't hurt anything, right?

Jeez, just read the definition of a computer cache and learn something: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cache_(computing)
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On Mon, 15 Dec 2025 22:23:08 -0800, The Real Bev
<bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
<lots gone>

I have been assured that there is NOTHING in .cache that I need. I am >thinking about that...

One very minor cache aspect does have some use for me. I follow
several hobby groups through groups.io via Firefox rather than email.
One group might have several dozen postings in a day... and cache
provides a track of which postings I've already read: e.g. subjects of
unread are a shade of blue whereas those viewed have a grey subject
line.
Clearing cache/history means all items appear as unread the next time
I log in.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

"Alan K." wrote:

Why are you creating new profiles?-a-a Upgrade FF/TB and it upgrades the same profile!

I only create new profiles if I want to run a nightly version
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 16/12/2025 2:15 pm, The Real Bev wrote:

I back up my entire partition every few days. 3 rotating backups + 2 on
USB drives. I've only had to go to a backup for a file maybe 4 times in
2 decades, but my fear is that I will only discover a need after the
backup has been written over.

Having a way to go back is the first step to locaing and deleting
unnecessary files in Firefox and Thunderbird profiles.

I sometimes deleted the whole "cache2" folder. :)

But in your case, maybe you should just use "firefox.exe -d"
option to create a new profile, then move setting files
from an old profile to this newly created profile.
--
@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

Alan K. wrote:

[..snip..]

I-adon't-awant-ato-atake-aa-achance-aon-alosing-aany-aactual-asite-asettings-aor
passwords-a:-(

Won't-ahappen.-aThere-ais-ano-acritical-adata-ain-aa-acache.

Unless-athe-aprogram-ais-arunning,-acache-amight-abe-ain-ause.

BleachBit is a good tool for cache cleanup. Default options are
conservative, and there's a lot of stuff you can enable or not. If
Firefox is open, it will make you close it before continuing.

I've used BleachBit enough, and know my data well enough that I'm
comfortable with enabling many of the options (not all). In Linux, one
of the things I do with running as Administrator is to clean out all the language support for a bunch of packages. I don't think I really need
support for Tagalog, Azerbaijani, Korean, Swahili or Chinese.

In this particular instance, the benefit of the external tool is that it
won't take out something that you might accidentally delete if you're
doing it manually.

BleachBit will also offer the option to vacuum all your databases, and I
think that's something that may help performance, a little bit.

For good measure, BleachBit won't cause problems with running against
older FF installations.

Smith

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On Sun, 14 Dec 2025 22:57:55 +0100, Frank Miller wrote:

Nope. It's only a cache. Wipe that shit, if you want.

IrCOd go along with that.

If you really want to be sure, a simple test is to rename the cache
directory, or move it aside somewhere else, and run for a few minutes
to confirm that things still work OK. Then delete it.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2