tempfiles
nounUK /ˈtɛmpfaɪlz/
US /ˈtɛmpfaɪlz/
Tempfiles are short-lived computer files that programs make while working and usually delete when they finish.
The installer left a bunch of tempfiles in the system folder after it crashed.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. Files created by an application to hold data temporarily during a save or export operation.
The editor wrote tempfiles next to the document while autosaving.
3. Leftover files that remain after a program exits abnormally and must be cleaned up manually.
A disk cleanup tool removed gigabytes of orphaned tempfiles.
4. Short-term storage files used by web browsers or installers to stage downloads.
The browser stores tempfiles until the download completes.