MID Server File Cleaner
- UpdatedOct 16, 2025
- 2 minutes to read
- Zurich
- MID Server
A monitor thread runs in the MID Server to clean up old files, to keep the size and quantity of files within the install folder manageable, and to prevent performance issues with the MID Servers.
Files and empty folders within the following folders may be deleted by this MID File Cleaner. Files last accessed more than 30 days ago are deleted.
It runs on startup, and then every 24 hours after that. You can force the File Cleaner to run by restarting the MID Server service.
Folders/files cleaned:
- \agent\import
- \agent\export - Used by the Export Set feature.
- \agent\work\monitors\ECCSender\output_error - Used since San Diego for ECC input payloads that cannot be inserted for any reason (see PRB1521761/KB0995569).
- \agent\work\monitors\ECCSender\output_oversize - Used since Eureka/Fuji for saving copies of payloads that are not sent to the instance because they are larger than the limit set by mid.eccq.max_payload_size, which defaults to 20000000 bytes (see PRB598334)
- \agent\logs - Specifically JFR Dumps (Utah release)
Logging
The MID Server agent log shows this monitor starting and shutting down with the MID Server.
2022-10-21T13:08:58.330+0200 INFO (MIDServer) [Main:265] Initializing MID Server
2022-10-21T13:10:36.527+0200 INFO (StartupSequencer) [Monitors:307] Enabling monitor: FileCleanerMonitor
...
2022-10-24T09:29:35.193+0200 INFO (MIDServer) [MIDServerState:160] MID Server stopping
2022-10-24T09:29:38.591+0200 INFO (MIDServer) [Instance:928] interrupting thread FileCleanerMonitor.21600
To see exactly when it runs, enable debug with parameter
mid.log.level=debug.
2022-11-17T02:49:13.201-0800 DEBUG (FileCleanerMonitor.21600) [AFileCleaner:103] Scanning directory to delete files: C:\...\agent\import
2022-11-17T02:49:13.201-0800 DEBUG (FileCleanerMonitor.21600) [AFileCleaner:103] Scanning directory to delete files: C:\...\agent\export
2022-11-17T02:49:13.201-0800 DEBUG (FileCleanerMonitor.21600) [AFileCleaner:103] Scanning directory to delete files: C:\...\agent\work\monitors\ECCSender\output_error
2022-11-17T02:49:13.201-0800 DEBUG (FileCleanerMonitor.21600) [AFileCleaner:103] Scanning directory to delete files: C:\...\agent\work\monitors\ECCSender\output_oversize
2022-11-17T02:49:13.201-0800 DEBUG (FileCleanerMonitor.21600) [AFileCleaner:103] Scanning directory to delete files: C:\...\agent\logs
There is no logging for individual file/folder deletes.
Disabling the MID File Cleaner
Export Sets write files to the MID Server agent\export folders. The idea is then that a custom implementation on the customer side takes those files and moves them elsewhere, so that these files only need to remain in the MID Server application's install directory for a short time.
The MID File Cleaner can be disabled completely for all folders, by adding the MID Server Configuration Parameter mid.file_cleaner.disabled=true. When the parameter is not present, which is the out-of-box state, it defaults to false, and the file cleaner runs.
On the MID Server form, click New on the "Configuration Parameters" related list, select mid.file_cleaner.disabled, and enter the value "true".
This can also be manually added to the config.xml file: <parameter
name="mid.file_cleaner.disabled" value="true"/>. See MID Server parameters for more information.
Related Content
- MID Server system requirements
Use these minimum system requirements to allocate resources for computers hosting MID Servers.
- MID Server upgrades
Upgrade MID Servers manually, or automatically through the instance. MID Server automatic upgrade is triggered when the instance upgrades and the MID Server no longer has the same version. The new MID Server package is downloaded from install.service-now.com, replaces the old one, and the MID Server starts with the new version.
- Resolving MID Server issues
Troubleshoot problems with the MID Server to find solutions. Monitor the MID Server to receive alerts about issues as they occur. Troubleshooting procedures exist to resolve specific problems with the MID Server. The Knowledge Base on Hi contains several articles to help you troubleshoot MID Server issues.
- MID Server dashboard
The MID Server dashboard is a central place for MID Server users to monitor ongoing operations. The dashboard consists of reports and gauges that display information from the MID Server Status table.
- MID Server properties
Properties control the behavior of all MID Servers or a particular MID Server.
- MID Server parameters
Parameters control the behavior of a particular MID Server and have lower precedence than MID Server properties.
- MID Server Configuration Parameter settings and priority
The MID Server's settings reside in multiple tables and the MID Server prioritizes them in a set order. MIDConfigParameter must be defined with the correct type-style builders.
- MID Server protected records and reserved characters
Some MID Server records cannot be altered. Certain special characters are pre-defined in XML and cannot be used in passwords.
- MID Server privileged commands
To discover certain information on a host server, the MID Server must run SSH commands with higher privileges. The platform provides default privileged commands for the MID Server to use and the ability to add additional commands to the system.
- MIDSystem methods
MIDSystem variables (referred to by the variable name ms.) provide a variety of methods to get information about the MID Server.
- Manually start, stop, and restart a MID Server
If you did not start the MID Server at the end of the installation procedure, you can manually start the MID Server.
- MID Server heartbeat
The instance checks the MID Server for a response every 5 minutes, using a synthetic transaction monitoring system.
- Set the MID Server JVM memory size
The MID Server starts with a default JVM memory allocation, but you can modify this setting in the configuration file.
- Pause the MID Server
Pause the MID Server to temporarily prevent it from polling the ECC Queue for work or sending Discovery results back to the instance.