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Nurlan
Nurlan

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How to Find and Clean Up Unowned `__pycache__` Directories on Arch Linux

#linux

When you install or run Python-based tools on Arch Linux — especially from the AUR — you might notice that your system accumulates a lot of __pycache__ directories. These are generated when Python byte-compiles modules, but they aren’t always removed when you uninstall a package.

In this short guide, we’ll walk through how to identify and optionally clean up those __pycache__ directories — specifically the ones not owned by any package — and exclude system paths like Flatpak while we're at it.

Why Does This Happen?

Tools installed via the AUR (like waydroid-scripts-git, for example) might drop files under /opt, /usr/local, or other places. These files (especially .py and __pycache__) might not be tracked by pacman, so even after uninstalling the tool, leftover Python cache directories can remain.

Finding Unowned __pycache__ Directories

Here’s a one-liner that will:

  • Search your system for all __pycache__ directories
  • Skip the Flatpak directory (/var/lib/flatpak)
  • Check whether each is owned by any package
  • Print only the ones that are not owned 
find / -type d -name '__pycache__' -not -path '/var/lib/flatpak/*' 2>/dev/null | while read dir; do
  pacman -Qo "$dir" &>/dev/null || echo "Not owned: $dir"
done
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Output Example 

Not owned: /opt/waydroid-scripts/tools/__pycache__
Not owned: /usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/some_tool/__pycache__
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Conclusion

__pycache__ directories aren't dangerous, but they can accumulate and clutter your system — especially in directories that aren’t cleaned by package managers. With a few commands, you can find and clean up these leftovers safely, keeping your system neat and under control.

Have your own cleanup tricks? Share them in the comments!

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