c-drive-cleaner

C Drive Cleanup Master

Safety-oriented Windows disk cleanup:Analyze → Simulate → Execute → Verify, always preview destructive operations first.

Acceptance criteria (self-check before a cleanup task is complete)

A simulation run was completed before the actual deletion, and the preview results were shown to the user
--execute The user explicitly confirmed beforehand (cleanup does not go through the Recycle Bin and is unrecoverable)
The user was reminded to create a system restore point and close the browser (when clearing cache)
No directory in the "Do Not Delete List" was touched
After cleanup, rerun the analysis and reportthe actual amount of space freed, not "should have been cleaned"
The user's personal large files (videos/archives, etc.) are only reported by location and size; the user decides whether to delete them

C:\Windows\System32 — core system files
C:\Windows\WinSxS — Windows component store (to slim it down use DISM; do not delete directly)
C:\Program Files / C:\ProgramData — installed programs and data
C:\Windows\Prefetch — prefetch files; deleting them slows down startup
Hibernation file and virtual memory — adjust via system settings; do not manually delete the files

python scripts/analyze_disk.py C:\ 2 20    # 路径 深度 显示前N项

python scripts/find_large_files.py C:\ 100 50            # 路径 最小MB 最大结果数
python scripts/find_large_files.py C:\Users 200 100 .mp4,.avi,.mkv   # 按类型过滤

Common large file types: videos .mp4,.mkv,.mov; installers .iso,.exe,.msi; archives .zip,.rar,.7z; backups .bak,.sql。

python scripts/clean_temp.py             # 模拟：只预览
python scripts/clean_temp.py --execute   # 实际执行：需二次确认

Coverage:%TEMP%、C:\Windows\Temp, browser caches (Chrome/Edge/Firefox),.log/.etl/.old logs, Recycle Bin.

Rerun analyze_disk.py, compare the before and after numbers, and report the actual effect.

Pitfall	Symptom	Countermeasure
Silent missed scans due to lack of permissions	Running as non-administrator makes scan results smaller and misleads judgment	Prompt to run as administrator; the script skips directories without permission and counts them
Browser cache cleanup fails	Browser processes are occupying the files	Close all browser windows before cleaning
No effect after cleaning	Temporary files were not large to begin with; the bulk is personal files or programs	Go back to the large file report and directory ranking, and guide the user to decide (uninstall/transfer)
Mistakenly thinking it is recoverable	Script deletion does not go through the Recycle Bin	Clearly state before execution that it is unrecoverable; this is also why simulation comes first
Filling an SSD to the brim	Pursuing 100% utilization	Keep 15-20% of SSD space free to maintain performance; only suggest cleanup when below 20%

Some system files require administrator privileges (right-click "Run as administrator")
Can be used together with built-in system tools:cleanmgr, Storage Sense, DISM component cleanup
In-depth junk file locations, cleanup commands, and safety practices:references/windows_cleanup_guide.md

Script	Function	Safety Features
`scripts/analyze_disk.py`	Directory usage ranking + large file list	Read-only; automatically skips directories without permission
`scripts/find_large_files.py`	Find files by size/type	Read-only; displays access time to assist judgment
`scripts/clean_temp.py`	Clean up temporary files/caches/logs/recycle bin	Simulated by default; --execute requires secondary confirmation; skips critical system directories