Cleaning Android of junk using Total Commander: a complete guide

Has your smartphone started to slow down, and there is less than 10% free memory left? Applications crash, the system issues warnings about lack of space, and standard cleaning tools do not help? In most cases, the problem lies in the accumulated digital garbage: remnants of uninstalled apps, caches, duplicate photos, temporary files and hidden folders. Unlike built-in utilities, Android started to slow down, but there was less than 10% free memory left? Applications crash, the system issues warnings about lack of space, and standard cleaning tools do not help? In most cases, the problem lies in the accumulated digital garbage: remnants of uninstalled apps, caches, duplicate photos, temporary files and hidden folders. Unlike built-in utilities, Total Commander gives full control over the file system Android, allowing you to manually find and delete everything unnecessary - even what is not visible through a standard explorer.

This article is not about another “magic” cleaning application, but about system approach: how to using Total Commander (the free version is enough!) to carry out a deep memory audit without the risk of deleting critical data. We will look at which folders can be cleaned without consequences, how to distinguish garbage from important files, and why manual cleaning is more effective than automatic “cleaners”. And also - we will learn how to configure Total Commander for maximum convenience and security.

Why Total Commander is better than standard Android tools

Built-in Android file manager (for example, Files by Google or My files ot Samsung) hides many system folders and files from the user. Even if you enable the display of hidden elements, some of the data will remain inaccessible. Total Commander devoid of these restrictions:

• 🔍 Full access to root folders (if you have root access - even to /data i /system).
• 📁 Support for two panels for easy moving and comparing files.
• 🔄 Built-in FTP serverto transfer files to a PC without clouds.
• 🛠️ Batch operations: mass renaming, archiving, search duplicates.

In addition, Total Commander can work with APKfiles as archives (you can look inside the application installer), supports plugins for advanced functions and does not impose advertising in the free version. And most importantly -. it does not delete files “blindly”, like many “cleaners” who often erase necessary data under the guise of “garbage”.

Preparation: setting up Total Commander for safe cleaning

Before you start deleting files, you need to properly configure Total Commanderto avoid accidental errors. Download the application from Google Play (developer - Christian Ghisler) and follow these steps:

1. Open settings (⋮ → Settings) and go to section Display.
2. Enable the options:
   • 📂 Show hidden files
   • 📂 Show system files (requires confirmation)
   • 🔢 Show folder sizes

For convenience, we recommend setting up dual-panel mode: swipe right on the main screen to open the second panel. Now you can drag files between folders or compare the contents of two directories.

Enable display of hidden files|Enable display of system files|Configure dual-pane mode|Disable deletion confirmation (optional)|Create a backup copy of important data-->

Which files and folders can be deleted without risk

Not all files with unfamiliar extensions or in system folders are garbage. Below is a list of safe to delete elements that most often take up space:

Pay special attention to the folder /storage/emulated/0/Android/obb —additional game data is stored here (for example, graphic packages for Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile). If the game is deleted, but the folder remains, you can safely delete it (it can weigh several gigabytes!).

1. Analysis of occupied space

   Open Total Commander and go to the root folder (/storage/emulated/0). Tap on ⋮ → Properties for each large folder (DCIM, Download, Android) to see their size. Remember or write down folders that occupy more than 500. MB.

2. Clearing application cache

   Go to /storage/emulated/0/Android/data. Here you will see folders with names in the format com.example.app. folder cache (if it exists). Repeat for all applications that do not store important data (for example, Instagram, TikTok).

3. Deleting temporary files

   In the root folder, find and delete:

   • 🗑️ Folder .thumbnails (image thumbnails).
   • 🗑️ Files with extensions .tmp, .temp, .bak.
   • 🗑️ Folder Logs (if it is empty or contains old logs).

• 🤖 Plugin Cleaner: scans folders for garbage (cache, temporary files) and offers to delete it. Install via Settings → Plugins → Install plugins.
• 📜 Custom commands: create a command to mass delete the cache. For example:

  rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/*/cache

  Attention: this command will delete the cache of all applications!

• 🔄 Automatic cleaning by schedule: use the application Tasker together with Total Commanderto run cleaning, for example, once a week.

#!/system/bin/sh
find /storage/emulated/0/Download -type f -mtime +30 -delete