Can I delete the dropbox-dist-tmp folders on linux?

[mairabay]

I keep getting a message from Dropbox that it cannot sync because I am out of disk space.

I used a disk space analyzer and it turns out that Dropbox itself is using approx 600MB accross multiple folders with the name dropbox-dist-tmp-XXXXXX (they are located in my /home/):

> du -sch .dropbox*
2.2M .dropbox
191M .dropbox-dist
159M .dropbox-dist-tmp-7hyie7y2
113M .dropbox-dist-tmp-d75lfgzf
132M .dropbox-dist-tmp-txi2smoy
596M total

I've looked at these folders and they all seem to contain the same thing (except for the .dropbox).

I've googled and found this somewhat similar issue on the Docker version of Dropbox.

Can someone confirm that these are just cache files? Is it ok for me to delete some or all of them?

Thanks

PS: I am on Ubuntu 16.04 and I am not using any simlinks.

[Lusil]

Hi there @mairabay, 

Generally, .tmp files are temporary files created to temporarily hold data on your device while you're using a specific app.

For this reason, I'd recommend not deleting them, but instead rebooting your device - maybe that will do the trick. 

Let me know how it goes!

[mairabay]

Hi Lusil,

While I appreciate the speed of your repsonse and your willingness to help, I would like to ask you (and whoever else reads this): please read the question throughly before trying to answer.

1) I am not talking about .tmp files. I never mentioned the .tmp extension or asked about deleting files. I am talking about a folder that has the following name structure: .dropbox-dist-tmp-XXXX. Please read the question throughly before trying to answer.

2) This has been happening for weeks now and rebooting does nothing to it.

[Lusil]

Thanks for getting back to me, @mairabay.

In order to have a more in-depth look on the matter, I've sent you a ticket to the email address associated to your Community profile. 

When you have the chance, please check your inbox for my latest message. 

Cheers!

[Здравко · Accepted solution]

Hi @mairabay,

Similar things could happens when you try 'play' with the distribution directory while dropbox is still running (confirmed from my experience). Probably this could be some update process side effect (I haven't seen this but...). Anyway: While the main distribution directory (.dropbox-dist) is consistent and ready, any other similar directories are meaningless and could be removed safely.

Hope this helps.

[mairabay]

Hey  Здравко,

Thanks for the reply. I haven't done anything with Dropbox except to use it as intended (ie, I haven't "played" with anything or any configuration). So it looks like it is safe to delete those folders.

Thank you so much!