TSM maintenance cleanup scripts automation

Hello Arthur,

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If Tableau Backgrounder is leaving temporary extract files behind and filling disk space, the first step is to confirm whether the files are being cleaned up by Tableau's internal maintenance processes or whether an external cleanup task is required.

Step 1: Identify the Location Consuming Disk Space

Check the Tableau data and log locations for excessive growth, especially:

TSM data directory
Backgrounder temp directories
Hyper extract temporary files
Logs folder

You can review disk usage from an elevated Command Prompt:

dir /s

or through File Explorer to identify which folder is growing unexpectedly.

Step 2: Review Backgrounder and TSM Logs

Review:

backgrounder_node*.log
tabadmincontroller.log

and other TSM logs around the time disk consumption increases.

Look for:

extract refresh failures
cleanup failures
disk space warnings
backgrounder process termination

These often explain why temporary files are not being removed.

Step 3: Use Tableau's Built-In Maintenance Commands

Depending on your Tableau Server version, review available TSM maintenance commands:

tsm maintenance cleanup

or:

tsm maintenance ziplogs

Verify whether scheduled maintenance tasks are already configured and completing successfully.

Step 4: Automate Cleanup with Windows Task Scheduler

If temporary files are known to accumulate in a specific location, create a PowerShell script to remove files older than a defined age and schedule it using:

Task Scheduler

For example:

Get-ChildItem "D:\TableauTemp" -Recurse |
Where-Object {$_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7)} |
Remove-Item -Force

Ensure the folder only contains temporary content and is not actively used by Tableau before implementing automated deletion.

Reference

For official guidance, please review Tableau's TSM documentation:

https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/tsm.htm

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