Podcast PC Cleanup: Where Audio Temp Files and Session Bloat Actually Hide

Why a recording PC fills up faster than a normal one

Raw audio is the monster here: 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo works out to about 10 MB per minute, so a one-hour episode with three or four false starts is in gigabyte territory before any editing begins. The DAW multiplies that: Audacity scatters an open session across .au fragments, Reaper writes a .reapeaks waveform cache beside every file, and every plugin render leaves its own temp litter. If the app crashes — and recording apps do crash mid-session — the temp fragments stay behind with nothing pointing at them. No part of the everyday interface ever tells you this pile exists.

The five piles worth checking

Each pile grows on its own schedule, and each has a different rule for deletion. The list below runs from the obviously safe to the stuff that deserves a second look before you delete it.

• DAW temp and session data: Audacity leftovers in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Audacity\SessionData and %TEMP% after a crash — close the app first
• Peak and waveform caches: .reapeaks in Reaper, .pk files elsewhere — they regenerate on the next open, always safe
• Call recordings: Zoom and Teams dumps in Documents\Zoom and Downloads that everyone forgets once the episode ships
• Raw takes of shipped episodes: the single biggest item — archive to a second drive, then delete from the working disk
• Plugin temp renders: de-noise and restoration previews from tools like iZotope RX pile up in %TEMP% by the gigabyte
• Export drafts: episode_final_v2.mp3 through v14 — keep the master, kill the ladder

How to keep it from growing back

Two habits do most of the work: close the DAW fully before touching its folders, and adopt a one-way rule for finished episodes — the moment an episode ships, raw takes go to cold storage and off the working disk. Peak caches you can delete whenever; they regenerate on the next project open, and deleting them saves less than you would hope. A run of Kleaner PRO over %TEMP% after a crash week catches the session fragments the DAW abandoned. The rest is discipline, not software.

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