/var/cache/PackageKit/metadata gets very big

[stan]

On Thu, 17 Mar 2016 10:22:36 -0400 (EDT)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier" <hugh at mimosa.com> wrote:

> On my Fedora 23
> systems, /var/cache/PackageKit/metadata/updates/packages is full
> of .rpm files.  For example, 2.7G on my desktop.
> 
> /var/cache/PackageKit/metadata/fedora/packages has some too.
> 
> "sudo dnf clean packages" doesn't seem to change this.  What does it 
> change?

The dnf package storage is cleared.  PackageKit is independent of
dnf.

> 
> What is the purpose of this directory of RPMs?

Saved in case of problems.

> Why is it considered metadata?
> 
> The more obvious place would be /var/cache/PackageKit/downloads/
> Why isn't this used?

You'd have to ask the PackageKit devs.

> 
> Is there a way of transplanting the RPMs to another system so that
> downloading could be avoided?  I have half a dozen fedora systems and
> it seems a waste to download each update for each system.

rsync them into /var/cache/dnf/[hashed directory entry]/packages/ on the
other systems.  Then run dnf upgrade.  It will reuse the local
packages.  You might have to set dnf to keep rpms in /etc/dnf/dnf.conf,
and manually run dnf clean packages after the update.

> What is the proper way of deleting these RPMs to free up the space?  I
> ask because on some machines (but not all) the space is burdensome.

There is a setting in the file
/etc/PackageKit/PackageKit.conf

# Keep the packages after they have been downloaded
#KeepCache=false

Remove, as root, the hash mark on this configuration option, and
packages won't be kept.