Temporary File

Temporary File

A file which is generated by an application on a temporary basis and which the application should delete after use.

Temporary files are generated by applications and should be deleted automatically by the application that created them when they are no longer required - unfortunately this frequently does not happen so temporary files can tend to build up over time. Temporary files can be deleted if they are no longer in use. Temporary files are commonly denoted by the file extension ".tmp" (or .$$$), but this is not always the case. They typically are created in a directory designated as a temporary directory (meaning that the files in the directory are temporary files not that the directory itself is temporary), but some applications may create temporary files elsewhere.

Temporary files are often abbreviated to simply Temp file or TMP file.