Compressing VAM Cache folder by >60%

[CheekiBreeki]

VaM's cache folder getting gigantic is a common problem, specially if you have smaller ssds.
Using CompactGUI's Xpress4k compression on the Cache/Textures folder, I saw 67% reduction in size, without any change in VaM performance.

CompactGUI is an open-source program. It can compress any folder in Windows transparently (meaning your files aren't compressed to a zip rar etc, they remain accessible as normal files), with negligible performance impact. External programs still access the files as normal, and decompression happens automatically.

Steps to compress:

• Download the program ( Assets > CompactGUI.exe ) from releases tab.
• Run program, select folder <VAM Directory>/Cache/Textures
• Compression mode = Xpress4K (higher ones have very small additional benefit).
• Watch folder for changes, so you can compress it again later if new files are added. Hover to bottom edge of window to see watched folders tab.

Seems like a free and easy way to reduce cache folder's size, without affecting any VaM functionality. I have a pretty beefy rig with fast SSDs so wanted to check if others have tried it and seen any drawbacks? If not, we could make a guide for this?

 

[SlimerJSpud]

I just empty the cache when it gets to about 18-20 GB. That removes things I tried and didn't like, and keeps fresh the things I go back to often.

 

[geevee]

This seems like a great idea. Thank you!

And actually and most importantly for me, it made my look at my cache folder. I noticed it was quite small, even after not clearing for months. Then I noticed that VaM was clearing my cache every time I started it! Clearing the cache manually didn't stop the clearing. I had to reset the cache path, and that fixed the auto-clearing. I believe the issue is that I manually changed my cache path to the default cache path, which I guess causes a bug.