Strange files in /var/tmp

[fly_fisher]

Hi all,

Some files called Ex##### and Rx##### have appeared in /var/tmp. They are quite big and I don't know what they are and why they have appeared. How could I guess it ?

Thank you very much,
Regards.

[Ravi_8]

Hi,

If ur system is trusted, we can make out who has created these files.
if u r not interested move these files and delete
# mv Ex###### x
#rm x

[fly_fisher]

Looking in the web I've seen that theese files are created by the ex editor, but I don't use it. The ##### seems to be a PID.

I don't know how to interpret what they contain.

Thanks.

[Tim D Fulford]

Before deleting the files do an fuser on them to amke sutre they are not active.

Tim

[Carlos Fernandez Riera · Accepted solution]

From man ex:

/var/tmp/Exnnnnn Editor temporary file
/var/tmp/Rxnnnnn Named buffer temporary file


from man ex,vi :

Remarks
The program names ex, edit, vi, view, and vedit are separate
personalities of the same program. This manual entry describes the
behavior of the ex/edit personality. On many HP-UX and other similar
systems, e is a synonym for ex.

[Martin Johnson]

These files allow you to recover your editing session in the event of a crash. You can do a "vi -r" to see what files you can recover.

Marty

P.S. Recovering an editing session is neat! You see all your key strokes rapidly appearing on your screen.