How long do files stay in my $SCRATCH space on the IT Services Unix System?
$SCRATCH is a shorthand expression for users of the central Unix server. It represents the path of a directory you can use for temporary storage of files. Normally the full path is /scratch/username, where username is your username, for example /scratch/ano23. You should never rely on files remaining in $SCRATCH for any length of time. There are several reasons for files disappearing from $SCRATCH – for example if the disk is full and your files are too large, they might be deleted. No backups of the Scratch disk are kept, so you use this facility at your own risk. The main purpose of $SCRATCH is to provide a temporary space for storage and manipulation of files that exceed your quota. If you need more permanent disk space, then go to sussex.ac.uk/its/help/ and then follow the link to Request for more file space However, most files will remain in $SCRATCH for at least a week. Each night a job is run that deletes any files that have not been accessed for more than 7 days, so only those
