Thread 'Temp directory filled by python env'

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dthonon

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Message 146 - Posted: 12 Feb 2026, 9:46:41 UTC

My temp directory is filled with python envs, until the disk is full. I strongly suspect axiom Boinc tasks, as they use python and I had no problems before runnng axiom.
As someone noticed the same ?

Note : running CPU and GPU tasks on Windows 11.
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mikey

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Message 180 - Posted: 22 Feb 2026, 12:21:00 UTC - in response to Message 146.  

In reply to dthonon's message of 12 Feb 2026:
My temp directory is filled with python envs, until the disk is full. I strongly suspect axiom Boinc tasks, as they use python and I had no problems before runnng axiom.
As someone noticed the same ?

Note : running CPU and GPU tasks on Windows 11.


Yup I did too, I used a small program to delete them all, which is how I found out what they are. CCCleaner was the program and it took awhile to do it.
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Henk Haneveld

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Message 184 - Posted: 23 Feb 2026, 16:01:18 UTC - in response to Message 180.  

I noticed a sharp drop in free disk space and went looking for the cause.

I found the cause in the directory: C:\Users\{Name}\Appdata\Local\Temp ( on Windows10)

Every time you recieve a Axiom WU it creates a directory with the name: -MEIxxxxxx (xxxxxx = a number) and it is huge.
The project does not do a cleanup after the WU is finished.

But the directory and its contents should not be there in the first place. Temporary data for a WU should be put in the Boinc Slot diretory when the WU is running so that it gets deleted when the WU is done.

Everybody keep a close eye on this because until the Admin changes this you will need to delete those file in the Temp directory by hand or else your disk will fill up.
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PyHelix
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Message 197 - Posted: 4 Mar 2026, 3:32:14 UTC - in response to Message 184.  

This is fixed in v6.08 (deploying now).

The _MEI* directories in your Temp folder are from PyInstaller's --onefile mode. The binary extracts itself to a temp folder each run and cleans up on exit, but if a task crashes or gets killed by BOINC, the extraction directory is left behind (~27MB for CPU tasks, ~1.1GB for GPU tasks).

v6.08 now detects and removes stale Axiom _MEI directories on every task startup. It checks each _MEI folder for Axiom-specific files before deleting, so it will not touch other applications. Only directories older than 2 hours are removed.

In the meantime, you can safely delete any _MEI* folders in your Temp directory that are not currently in use.

Sorry about the inconvenience — this should have been handled from the start.
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Coleslaw

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Message 220 - Posted: 6 Mar 2026, 19:38:59 UTC - in response to Message 206.  

And yet it filled my HDD up yet again today OUTSIDE of the designated BOINC data directory. This is not acceptable.
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PyHelix
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Message 221 - Posted: 7 Mar 2026, 3:57:20 UTC - in response to Message 220.  

Sorry to hear it is still happening. v6.09 (the current version) changed PyInstaller to extract into the BOINC slot directory instead of %TEMP%, so new _MEI folders should no longer appear in your Temp folder at all.

Could you check which app version you are running? In BOINC Manager, look at the Tasks tab — the application column should say v6.09. If you are still on v6.08 or older, try updating the project (Advanced > Update Project) to get the latest binary.

If you are already on v6.09 and still seeing new _MEI directories in %TEMP%, please let me know and I will investigate further. In the meantime, the old leftover _MEI folders from previous versions are safe to delete.
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Lazarus-uk

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Message 329 - Posted: 15 Mar 2026, 17:54:57 UTC

Second time in few weeks I tried running this project. As well as aborting ~14hrs of running tasks, it has filled up my HDD again. Same place as before C:\Users\{Name}\Appdata\Local\Temp.

Windows 10, 3700X cpu
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PyHelix
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Message 331 - Posted: 15 Mar 2026, 21:17:58 UTC - in response to Message 329.  
Last modified: 15 Mar 2026, 22:35:16 UTC

Sorry about that. The directories in your Temp folder are leftover from older app versions. This was caused by a build prompt I was using that didn't include the correct extraction directory flag — so multiple versions went out without it. v6.35+ now extracts into the BOINC slot directory instead of %TEMP%, so no new _MEI folders will appear in your Temp folder.

Additionally, the client now includes a built-in cleanup that detects and removes old stale _MEI directories from previous versions on every task startup. If you let a v6.35+ task run to completion, it should clean up the old leftovers for you automatically.

In the meantime, you can safely delete all _MEI* folders in C:Users{Name}AppDataLocalTemp — they are not needed by any running tasks on v6.35+.

To confirm you are on the latest version: in BOINC Manager, check the Tasks tab — the application column should show v6.35 or higher. If it shows an older version, try Advanced > Update Project.

Apologies again for the trouble — this should now be fully resolved.
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