About /Library/Receipts folder

I noticed that for every updates that I downloaded and installed, Mac keeps a copy of the package file in /Library/Receipts folder. Just wondering if it's safe to delete the files in this folder, as I believe over a period of time the older installer packages might not be needed any longer?

You definitely do NOT want to delete anything in that folder. They're not the full package, so they don't take up nearly as much space as you'd think. And Disk Utility usess them to repair your permissions. Software Update also uses them as part of the process of figuring out what to download and install. The only time you'd ever want to delete one is for a specific reason, like you need to re-apply an update and the presences of its receipt is blocking you from doing that.
charlie

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Query regarding "Library/Receipts" Folder

Is it me, or is this just copies of installed .pkg files? How neccessary is it to keep these?
Just wondering...
Thanks in advance,

I understand the need to retain some receipt packages
and the comment about disk space. But I just would
like to ask why it is considered necessary [if indeed
it is] to retain all the earlier receipts for an
update. For example, I have in my Receipts folder the
Update packages for the Combo Updates for OS X 10.4.2
thru 10.4.10. Why would I need all of these? Would it
not be necessary to retain just the last one so that
the next combo update [in this hypothetical example,
don't get into any argument about whether there will
be a next one] has the current package to which to
refer?
Latter updates do not necessarily replace all files installed by previous updates. The 10.4.2 receipt probably has information for files that are not in the 10.4.10 receipt. If you do updates via Software Update, you need previous receipts. If you use the combos, it depends on how the combo updater works. If it just installs all its files without looking to see what updates have already been done, then the older receipts would not be needed. If it only installs what is needed, you would have to keep the old receipts. Of course, different combo updaters could use different methods, so it is safer to just keep them all.

PKGs in /Library/Receipts

Hi Community,
I read a lot of tutorials and storys about the sense and nonsense of the repair_permissions feature. I followed the trace of the mechanism in my filesystem and I'm surprised why I can find only a half dozed PKGs in the folder /Library/Receipts. All this manuals describe this folder as the parking place of all installed packages and some system tools like updaters or even the repair_packages tool take this folder to determine the installed packages.
But why is this folder nearly empty?
Thanks in advance & Bye Tom

R C-R wrote:
Some non-Apple software still puts its receipts info in the /Library/Receipts folder, typically but not always software released before Snow Leopard was. This info may be a little less complete than with the new way or a bit slower to access but otherwise it is completely equivalent.
I do not believe this action is on purpose for the non-Apple packages. I think it is the nature of the install package itself. Examples:
1. I make a single package installer using PackageMaker in OS X 10.4.11 that installs software that will work on OS X 10.3.x through OS X 10.6.x. You need to use the older PackageMaker to support installs on OS X 10.3.x. The installer will not leave a receipt in /Library/Receipts for OS X 10.6. It will leave a receipt in /Library/Receipts for OS X 10.3.x through OS X 10.5.x. An example of this is Foomatic-RIP package at <http://www.linuxfoundation.org/collaborate/workgroups/openprinting/macosx/foom atic>.
2. I make a meta-package installer (an installer that contains more than one installer package). I make this meta-package in OS X 10.4.11 as before to install software on OS X 10.3.x through SO X 10.6.x. In all versions of OS X, including OS X 10.6.x, receipts will be left in /Library/Receipts for all the packages installed from the meta-package. An example of this is the Ghostcript package at the web site mentioned above.
In neither case did I choose whether or not to place a receipt in /Library/Receipts or in /var/db/receipts. It is a function of the type of the installer package and what version of PackageMaker that is used.
The suggestion macjack made that
{quote}It seems all the receipts in the /Library/Receipts folder are old receipts from previous systems.{quote} is therefore not the case. Some installations in Snow Leopard will leave receipts in /Library/Receipts.

ITunes crashing caused by differen versions in Library/Receipts..??

I am also encountering FREQUENT crashes of iTunes while using different functions....
In response to one of the people posting a message I noticed that I have 2 different versions of iTunes in my Library/Receipts folder-an old iTunes.pkg version 4.8 and the newest iTunesX.pkg version 7.0.1...
Could this be the problem causing the crashing, or, as I have read many messages, does it exist from the new version ?

These are the system requirements of iWOW:
Mac OS X 10.2 or later
OS X 10.2 and iTunes 6 or better
Will not run on specific combination of iTunes 7 with OS X 10.3.9
Will not run as intended on OS X 10.4.8
Because of the last line, I haven't installed and tried it.
I've read and replied to some posts of people who had difficulties after the evaluation period of iWOW expired and wanted to get rid of it.
Did you use the accompanied Uninstall application to get rid of it?
It may otherwise have left pieces that interfere with iTunes and cause it to crash.
That 'Uninstall' app. is a run-only script, so I can't look into it to see what it exactly does.
If you didn't run that Uninstall app., it might be a good idea to run it now.
I don't expect re-installing iTunes to solve the problem, but you never know.
Remove the 'iTunesX.pkg' file before doing that and also trash the iTunes application, so the Installer will install a complete 'fresh' app. and not just update components.
Re-installing iTunes will not affect your library or library files.
If you still experience crashes, click 'Report' and save the report. I'm not good in reading crash reports, but it contains information about the thread that crashed and the components involved. Someone might be able to detect the culprit.
As a last resort, perform an 'Archive and Install' of OS X. This will install a complete fresh system folder, but retain most of your personal settings.
I's a good idea to have a backup of at least your Home folder before doing that.
M
17' iMac 800 MHz, 768 MB RAM, 200 GB HD, DL burner Mac OS X (10.4.8) iTunes 7.0.1

/Library/Receipts/ Question

I have a TON of packages in my /Library/Receipts/ folder. Is is okay to clean out all of those packages? Or are they needed? I'm thinking it could save space on the hard drive.

The receipts are used by Disk Utility to repair permissions, and by Software Update to determine which updates are needed. It is not a good idea to remove them.

Mavericks tidy-up (/Library/Receipts)

Looking at Activity Monitor I've noticed a few background processes related to applications and hardware that I am no longer using running in the background.
Whilst cleaning these up I've also found quite a large amount of data in the /Library/Receipts folder - most of which dates back to 2009 or earlier - there seems to be little need to keep these hanging around.
I'm guessing that these are holdbacks from installing one OS on top of the previous, or from using Migration Assisstant to move from old to new machines.
Is there a simple way to clean-up my install?
For instance if I back-up, do a clean install and then Migrate Users will I keep the out dated files?
Otherwise is there a list of folders that are no longer used by Mac OS X?

I don't know of any simple way to do this aside from educated guesses & trial & error, thus the suggestion to keep a cloned backup (updated as needed) in case you do delete something you should not have.
Not quite the same thing but similar is making sure you have a functional clone or an intact Time Machine backup, & then doing a clean install by booting into the Recovery HD partition, erasing the startup disk using the Recovery HD partition's copy of Disk Utility, & then installing the OS via Internet download.
When that completes, you can use Setup/Migration Assistant to transfer just your user data (& maybe system settings) from the clone or Time Machine backup, but you will still have to install all the third party apps you still use all over again.
Obviously, this is a very time consuming process no matter which approach you take. Because of that, I long ago gave up on that & only delete large files & packages when I am absolutely certain I no longer need their contents (& even then I still have backups stored as compressed disk image files for startup volumes going back to when Tiger was new just in case there is something I need from them some day).

Library/Receipts (Can I delete?)

Just purchased a new Macbook, and I'm trying to just be a bit more efficient in saving space on my HD than I was on my old Powerbook. Just wondering, can I delete the receipts in my Macintosh HD/Library/Receipts folder?

joshl24,
W.J. is correct.
I use Macaroni to remove unused language localizations and perform Automated System Maintenance for Mac OS X. Monolingual also removes unnecessary language resources, but I have not used it.
You will also find additional advice regarding safe ways to increase the free space on your startup disk by reading Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk which is written by Dr. Smoke.
;~)

/Library/Receipts does not contain *any* Apple app receipts?

Has Snow Leopard changed the way Apple Installers and Software Update handles receipts? Used to be if you installed an app like iLife (or any other app), there'd be one or more .pkg files in /Library/Receipts.
I've got a fresh install of Snow Leopard that does not show any .pkg receipts from any Apple-installed software, including iLife, iWork or Logic Studio. And I just updated the OS to 10.6.1 via Software Update along with iTunes 9, and still not a single .pkg file in Receipts. There's over 20 of them in there from Microsoft Office, though...
Has Apple changed the receipts procedure under Snow Leopard, or do I have a problem here?
Can anyone with a fresh, clean install (not an update or a migrate) of Snow Leopard take a look in their /Library/Receipts folder and tell me if there's anything in there from an Apple install? Any Apple install...?
Clean Snow Leopard installs only, please; update installs might have old receipts left over from 10.5 installs and old Software Updates.
Thanks.

baltwo wrote:
Those are blown away, starting with Leopard, vers 10.5.6, IIRC. They're initially downloaded into Updates, used, and then deleted. If you want to save them, don't install until you make copies. The pkgs that previously resided in Receipts were just markers and weren't the full installers. Alternatively, manually download and run them.
Interesting, and thanks.
Get this: the new Software Update has done away with the menu option that allowed "Download Only". I guess they're trying to limit the distribution of their installers.

Can I safely remove items in /Library/Receipts/ ?

What are the drawbacks and ramifications of removing packages in the /Library/receipts/ folder?
Thank you in advance.
Jeff Cameron

Hi Jeff:
The receipts in your Library tells Software Update what software is installed on your computer. When Software Update is launched it scans the receipts and determines whether you need to update. I believe this is also true for some third party apps. Since the receipt files take up only a very little disk space it is no real advantage to remove them, and may prove a disadvantage. For software that you have deleted from your computer, you may safely delete those if there are any. For more information see Receipts can affect what appears in Software Update (Mac OS X)
cornelius

Size and purpose of receipts folder

I have recently noticed that my /Library/Receipts/ folder is over a gigabyte in size, and cannot figure out the real value of having all that. What would I lose by excluding it from TM backups?
It seems to be holding on to every update I download and apply to my install. I understand (I think) that it uses this db to know what has been installed, and what not. but that seems an awful lot to keep to that end.
suggestions appreciated.

My folder contains 600MB, on a Mac that is four years old. 1GB is not unreasonable if one has a lot of software installed.
My advice is to leave that folder alone. With the size of today's hard drives, a single GB is not a significant difference. And if your free space is so low that 1GB is a significant difference, then it's time to get a bigger hard drive.

Mac HD Receipts Folder?

Hi Folks,
I'd like to know if I can delete all of the 500 some megabytes of receipt packages in my Mac HD Library/Receipts folder from application installs, etc., without causing any harm to my system. I run Time Machine, so they are all backed up on it since last June.
Thanks for any suggestions.

I'd like to know if I can delete all of the 500 some megabytes of receipt packages in my Mac HD Library/Receipts folder from application installs, etc., without causing any harm to my system. I run Time Machine, so they are all backed up on it since last June.
Time Machine is not an archival backup solution. What that means is that when you delete something from your hard drive, Time Machine will eventually delete those items from the backup when it needs space. If you are doing this with important files, you should stop and recover what you can.
If you want to archive those files, then burn them to a CD or DVD or use some other backup solution.

Question about Receipt files found in ~\Library\Receipts

Hi there,
I recently bought a Mac Pro and now installing all my software for music production. Although I'm new to Snow Leopard, I've been using Tiger for the last five years, so I do know a little bit about Macs. My problem is that for some reason there has been a Receipts folder installed on my Sample Library volume instead of my home folder's Library folder. I'm not sure if I should move the Receipts folder from my Sample Library into my home folder's Library or if I should just delete the folder all together... I'm pretty sure the folder shouldn't be in my Sample Library, even though I instructed the installer of the particular software (Native Instruments Komplete 6) to install all the samples onto my Sample Library volume.
Could anyone shed some light as to what I should do? I've also posted on the Native Instruments forum but I don't think many would know as a lot of them use Windows. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Daniel

Hi guys,
Thanks for your replies. Inside are a bunch of receipt files for the actual audio files it looks like.
Here's a screen shot:
https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Photos/Screen%20shot%202010-09-10%20at%204.19.49% 20AM.png?w=b20232f9
I've emailed Native Instruments about it and hopefully they can give me some sort of advice. It's strange because I've installed other Native Instruments software before in the exact same manner and it never installed these receipt files. Weird.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Daniel

Deleting *certain* items from Library/Receipts?

I know a lot of people say never to delete anything from the folder Library/Receipts, but how about:
printer brands you don't own/use
applications you've deleted
also:
I have about ten receipts for NeoOffice updates--would it be ok to delete all but the last?
and
a system package for 10.3.9--i know normally not to touch apple system stuff but if you've been using tiger from day one practically and plan to upgrade to leopard soon is it ok to throw out a panther-related receipt?
tia
P.S. i know i need to delete other things (movies basically) because i'm down to a couple gigs of free space on my HD

I may then--in part just to see in fact how much has been going on under my nose so to speak.
Btw it was my bad in saying the printer .pkg files were over 100MB--I was also throwing stuff out of my Printers folder. .pkg files seem to always be around 300K.
FYI I asked about deleting the Neooffice update receipts at the NeoOffice forum and I already got a response from their board administrator--they said they don't use them so it's ok to throw out even the most recent one.
Also how about QuickTime receipts? (again, except for the most recent one). I've got at least six or seven of those. If you're not sure I would err on the side of keeping them, just because they're Apple system software.

Safari does not support community toolbar ive searched my computer for the following like people have said in similar posts but none seem to work /Library/Application Support/Conduit /Library/InputManagers/CTLoader /Library/Receipts/ctloa

hey all i know that there have been many post about this community toolbar thing that pops up when opening Safari
i have searched my computer for the things that have been posted in the other posts to delete
/Library/Application Support/Conduit     (no conduit in folder)
/Library/InputManagers/CTLoader         (i dont have input managers i have input methods but still no CTLoader)
/Library/Receipts/ctloader.pkg                (no ctloader.pkg)
/Library/Receipts/<Toolbar name>.pkg      (nothing in this one either)
/Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins/CT2285220.bundle         (NADA)
/Users/<User name>/Library/Application Support/Conduit           (NOTHING EITHER)
where / is the root library on your Hard Disk.
If you are running Snow Leopard you should also look here:
Library/launchAgents/com.conduit.loader.agent.plist
Library/Application support/conduit plugins
i have pretty much looked everywhere i dont even know where this thing came from
can anyone lend some advise i really do not want to take the 2 hour ride to apple to get this off my computer
thanks so much

When you see this path:   /Library   That is your root Library.
Open a Finder window.
Select MacintoshHD in the Sidebar on the left then open the LIbrary folder then the Application Support folder, then InputManagers folder, the Receipts folder.
For this path: ~/Library/Application Support (your Home library)
The Tilde character ~ represents your Home folder.
From that same Finder window select your Home folder in the Sidebar. It has a small house icon. Open the Library folder then the Application Support folder.
Move all the Conduit/CT associated files you posted above to the Trash.
Try Safari.
I've yet to find the launchAgents.plist file in any Safari crash report in years. I don't think that's a problem.
Another way to find files on your hard drive is to go to your Finder.
From the menu bar at the top of your screen click Go / Go to Folder.
Example. Type in: /Library/ApplicationSupport   click Go
Or type in: ~/Library/Application Support   click Go

Can I trash the contents of the RECEIPTS folder?

In my efforts to keep unnecessary files on my Hard Drive, I just realized that in a folder called RECEIPTS (HD/Library/receipts) there are 166 items taking up about 300 mb of HD space.
Can any / all / some of these be trashed? If I must be selective, then can a program like SPRING CLEANING or other help here?
Thanks for any comments-- and any other major space-taking items that can be removed (like unneeded printer drivers or languages) - let me know!
Thanks, Steve Friday 8 June 2007

Hi Stephen,
NO! Receipts are the way your Mac checks for updates.
If you're looking to save space on your hard drive, look elsewhere. Also see this topic.
Have you used Monolingual to delete unnecessary languages?
Have you deleted print drivers you don't use?
I would also stay away from apps like Spring Cleaning because it can be destructive. Do not delete anything if you do not know exactly what it does. It's good that you asked first.
-mj
[email protected]

About /Library/Receipts folder

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