Cleaning Tools & Junk File Removal

Kudu provides six cleaning categories, each targeting a different area of your system. All cleaners follow the same workflow: scan first, review results, then clean with your confirmation.

System Cleaner

Removes accumulated system files that are no longer needed — temporary files, logs, caches, and leftover installation data.

What it finds:

• Temporary files (user and system)
• Logs, setup logs, and error reports
• Shader caches (DirectX, Metal, Mesa)
• Font cache and thumbnail caches
• Crash dumps and minidump files
• Previous Windows installations (Windows.old)
• Windows: Windows Update cache, Delivery Optimization files, Prefetch data, installer patches, archived event logs, RDP bitmap cache, debug logs
• macOS: CoreSimulator caches, Saved Application State, Xcode DerivedData
• Linux: Journal logs, X session errors, and package manager caches (apt, dnf, pacman, flatpak, snap, zypper)

What it protects:

Critical event logs are never touched, including Security, System, Application, Setup, Diagnostics, PowerShell, and TaskScheduler logs.

Options:

• Skip recent files — Ignore files modified within the last N minutes (configurable in Settings). This prevents cleaning temp files that are still in use.
• Secure delete — Overwrite file data before deletion for extra privacy.
• System restore point — Create a restore point before cleaning, so you can roll back if needed (Windows only, requires admin).

Browser Cleaner

Clears cached data from all major browsers while keeping your personal data intact.

Supported browsers:

• Chromium-based: Chrome, Chromium, Edge, Brave, Opera, Opera GX, Vivaldi, Arc, Cursor, Librewolf, Waterfox, Zen Browser
• WebKit: Safari
• Gecko: Firefox — all detected profiles

Kudu automatically detects multiple browser profiles and cleans caches across all of them.

What it cleans:

• Browser cache and code cache
• GPU cache
• Service Worker cache

What it never touches:

• Cookies, browsing history, bookmarks
• Saved passwords and sessions
• Extensions and settings

Tip: Enable the "Close browsers before cleaning" option in Settings for best results — some cache files are locked while the browser is running.

App Cleaner

Removes cache and temporary files from popular applications. Only caches are removed — your settings, projects, and user data are never touched.

Supported applications:

Gaming Cleaner

Cleans cached and temporary files from gaming platforms and GPU drivers.

Supported platforms:

• Steam
• Epic Games Launcher
• Origin / EA App
• Battle.net
• GOG Galaxy
• Ubisoft Connect
• Rockstar Games Launcher
• Xbox App
• Riot Client
• itch.io
• Heroic Games Launcher
• Lutris
• CurseForge
• Minecraft

Also cleans:

• GPU shader caches (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Mesa, Metal)
• Redistributable packages bundled with games (Visual C++ installers, DirectX setup files, etc.)

Database Cleaner

Compacts and optimizes SQLite databases used by browsers and applications. Over time, these databases accumulate fragmentation from repeated inserts, updates, and deletes — compacting them reclaims disk space and can improve application responsiveness.

Supported applications:

• Browsers: Chrome, Chromium, Edge, Brave, Opera, Opera GX, Vivaldi, Arc, Cursor, Firefox, Safari, Thunderbird
• Apps: Discord, Figma, Microsoft Teams, Postman, Slack, VS Code

Kudu runs SQLite VACUUM on each database, which rebuilds it into a compact form. The original data is untouched — only wasted space is removed.

Recycle Bin / Trash

Empties your system's recycle bin or trash folder.

• Windows: Empties the Recycle Bin
• macOS: Clears the Trash (~/.Trash)
• Linux: Clears the XDG trash directory (~/.local/share/Trash)