Is it safe to delete WindowsApps.tmp folder?

Question

Hey everyone,

I had a few unsuccessful attempts with System Restore last day, and it left AppsxStaging and WindowsApps.tmp folders behind, taking ~12GB of storage. I cleared all restore points, made a new one, and restored to that. The AppsxStaging folder went away, but WindowsApps.tmp is still there, being ~6GB. My 128GB SSD had 32GB free before all this and now it's 26GB. Is it safe to delete this folder? If so, what's the best way to do it? With bootable media (I have downloaded a Win10 ISO lately), or I could just take ownership and delete it while Windows (10) is running? My TV is old and doesn't display anything in WinRE so I can't use safe mode w/ cmd (not sure if a bootable flash drive would work either).

Answer 1

``WindowsApps.tmp` is a temporary leftover folder created during Microsoft Store app installs, updates, upgrades, or rollback operations such as System Restore. If the restore process failed or was interrupted, Windows can leave the folder behind without cleaning it up. In most cases, once the system is stable and Store apps are working normally, the folder is no longer needed and can be removed.

Before deleting it, confirm that it is truly inactive. Open Task Manager and make sure there are no ongoing Microsoft Store installs or Windows Update operations. You can also reboot once and see whether the folder size changes or whether Windows removes it automatically. Since you already created and successfully restored to a fresh restore point afterward, that suggests the leftover .tmp folder is orphaned rather than active.

You generally do not need bootable media for this. Deleting it from within Windows is usually sufficient. First try Disk Cleanup or Storage Sense because Windows may remove it automatically with proper permissions. Run Disk Cleanup as administrator, choose “Clean up system files,” and include temporary files and Windows Update cleanup items.

If the folder remains, you can remove it manually. Because WindowsApps.tmp is protected, you will likely need to take ownership first. Open an elevated Command Prompt and run:

takeown /f "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps.tmp" /r /d y
icacls "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps.tmp" /grant administrators:F /t
rmdir /s /q "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps.tmp"

Replace the path if the folder is located elsewhere. The folder is typically under C:\Program Files.

If rmdir reports files in use, reboot and try again before opening any applications. If Windows still refuses, then using bootable media or a recovery environment would bypass file locks,.

Do not delete the actual WindowsApps folder itself — only WindowsApps.tmp. The real WindowsApps directory contains installed Microsoft Store applications and breaking it can damage app functionality.

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hth

Marcin