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os: debian tracker service and how to disable
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docs/os/debian-linux.md

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@@ -334,4 +334,58 @@ Run apt update to refresh the cache. Use `apt -t unstable install <package-name>
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!!! EXAMPLE "Install specific package from Sid"
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```shell
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apt -t unstable install hyprland
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```
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## Debian Tracker
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[Tracker service](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Tracker) indexes many types of files to enable discovery of files by other Gnome services and applications.
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- [desktop search](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IntegratedDesktopSearch)
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- Tag database for keyword tagging
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- Extensible metadata database to add custom metadata to files, e.g. rhythmbox, gedit, etc.
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- Store First Class Objects and the Gnome 3.0 Model
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> NOTE: when actively using Gnome desktop and Gnome apps, disabling the tracker may reduce functionality
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### Disable the tracker service
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The tracker service can be a significant drain on computer resources as it indexes files, especially when there have been a log of changes or for a newly installed system.
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The tracker has many dependencies, so its not easy to remove the `tracker-miner-fs-3` package when actively using the Gnome desktop.
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The recommended approach is to edit the `.desktop` files and add `Hidden=true` at the end of each tracker related file and reboot the operating system.
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```config title="/etc/xdg/autostart/tracker-miner-fs-3.desktop"
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[Desktop Entry]
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Name=Tracker File System Miner
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Comment=Crawls and processes files on the file system
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Exec=/usr/libexec/tracker-miner-fs-3
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Terminal=false
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Type=Application
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Categories=Utility;
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X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=false
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X-GNOME-HiddenUnderSystemd=false
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# X-KDE-autostart-after=panel
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X-KDE-StartupNotify=false
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X-KDE-UniqueApplet=true
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NoDisplay=true
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OnlyShowIn=GNOME;KDE;XFCE;X-IVI;Unity;
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X-systemd-skip=true
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Hidden=true
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```
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If adding "Hiddent=true" is not sufficient, then disable the services for all users by setting them to `/dev/null` using the `systemctl` command.
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```shell
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sudo systemctl --global mask tracker-miner-fs-3.service
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sudo systemctl --global mask tracker-xdg-portal-3.service
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```
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Remove the database of indexed files from each user account on the system
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```shell
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rm -rf $HOME/.cache/tracker*
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```
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```

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