GNOME Tracker Cache
GNOME Tracker 3 maintains a per-user metadata index for files, emails, photos, and other desktop content, storing SQLite databases, write-ahead log files, full-text search indexes, and extracted metadata under ~/.cache/tracker3. These caches are created by tracker-miner and tracker-extract so GNOME Search, Files, and other desktop components can return results quickly without rescanning every file. Kudu removes the cached Tracker databases and related index data so the search service can rebuild a fresh metadata store without touching your actual documents, settings, accounts, or passwords.
Why clean GNOME Tracker Cache?
- A stale Tracker SQLite index can keep showing files you already moved or deleted, so GNOME Search returns ghost results that fail when opened
- Corrupted write-ahead log or journal state can leave indexing stuck, which shows up as desktop search missing newly added documents and photos for long periods
- After large file moves or restored backups, Tracker may keep outdated paths and metadata, causing duplicate search hits or wrong thumbnails in search results
- SQLite page fragmentation inside Tracker's databases wastes space and slows lookups; rebuilding acts like a VACUUM rewrite that compacts pages without deleting your real files
- Broken full-text index data can make keyword searches return incomplete or irrelevant matches even though the files are still present in your home directory
- An oversized metadata cache from years of indexing can consume hundreds of megabytes and make tracker-miner use noticeable CPU and disk I/O during login or idle time
Cache paths Kudu targets
Linux
~/.cache/tracker3 |
Common questions about GNOME Tracker Cache
Download Kudu and reclaim your disk space.
Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. No account required, no feature gates, no telemetry without consent. All cleaning targets are open source and community-auditable.