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After upgrading from VS-2015 and even earlier versions, I still have some project files in my folder which I might no longer need.

I am wondering, are there any of these files that I can delete (* = project name)?

*.VC.db -> 100+ MB
*.sdf -> ~100 MB
*.vcxproj.user
*.aps
*.filters
*.sln.docstates.suo
*.suo
*.user
*.vcxproj.filters
msvcp140.dll
vcruntime140.dll
Adrian Mole
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Z0q
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2 Answers2

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Here's a breakdown of what those files are and whether or not you should delete them:

  • *.VC.db Project-level database for IntelliSense (since VS-2015) that replaces the old ".sdf" file. If you delete this, it will (at some point) get re-created, but your project will lose some of its 'remembered' information used by IntelliSense. You may like to delete this from time to time, if you notice it growing very large.

  • *.sdf Old (pre-VS-2015) database file (vide supra). Can readily be deleted, as it's no longer used.

  • *.vcxproj.user Per-user project options file; this is still used and is generally not large. Best not to delete it.

  • *.aps This is where your actions in the Visual Resource Editor are remembered. If you delete it, it will be re-created next time you use the resource editor. As with the first case, it can be useful to 'purge' these from time to time, as they can get very large. See also: What is app.aps file in Visual C++?

  • *.suo Old-style solution options database. No longer used and can be deleted.

  • *.user I'm not completely sure, but I think this is the old form of the .vcxproj.user settings file. None of my new project folders have this, so I can't see that VS-2015+ uses it. Maybe try removing it (but keeping it somewhere else) and see if any settings are lost or if it is re-created?

  • *.vcxproj.filters Still used. This tells VS where in the project tree to add any new files you create or add to the project (like ".cpp" files into "Source Files" and ".h" into "Header Files").

  • msvcp140.dll and vcruntime140.dll I have no idea why you have (copies of) these run-time libraries in your project folder. There will be the latest/appropriate versions of these files in your system folder, so you can delete them.

More information about the various file types used by Visual Studio can be found here.

Adrian Mole
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  • Thank you very much! I used these DLL files somewhere in the past, so that the project did not require the Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable package to be installed. – Z0q Feb 09 '22 at 15:40
  • I could remove the `.user` and `.filters` files, but needed the `.vcxproj.user` and `.vcxproj.filters` files. – Z0q Feb 09 '22 at 20:59
  • Also, I removed the `.VC.db` file. It didn't create a new one and I noticed there are two .`VC.db` files stored in the .vs folder: `.vs\MyProject\v17`. They are called `Browse.VC.db` and `Solution.VC.db`. If it really is not needed, it saved ~100MB :) – Z0q Feb 09 '22 at 21:01
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For reference, I deleted the following files, as I figured they were not used anymore in VS2022, based on the advice of @Adrian Mole:

  • *.VC.db (I believe it is moved to the .vs folder)
  • *.sdf
  • *.suo
  • *.sln.docstates.suo
  • *.aps (if you do not edit resource files much)
  • *.user (but keep vcxproj.user)
  • *.filters (but keep vcxproj.filters)

It saves a little bit of disk space and unnecessary files :) Have a great day!

Z0q
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