How to Clear WinSxS Folder in Windows 11?

In the Windows folder on drive C there is such a WinSxS folder, which takes up a lot of space, and you can see that over time it grows and consumes more and more GB. At the same time, if you go into it, you can see something similar to temporary files and you can think - this is some kind of cache that can be deleted and a lot of free space will appear on drive C. Is it right?

This folder contains backup copies of the operating system update files that are needed to restore past Windows states, for example, after updates.

Also, without this folder, it will not be possible to reset the system to factory settings.

After each system update replaced files will be saved there, and it grows.

Please note that you can’t just delete this folder or what’s inside. After that, the system may not boot at all! But you can reduce the size of WinSxS folder if you do right.

Method 1 WinSxS folder clearing with a command prompt

1. Go to start menu and start to type the "command prompt". Run as an administrator.
2. Use first command to see how much the WinSxS folder takes up: analyzecomponentstore
3. Next command: StartComponentCleanup
This command will clear winsxs folder. After this operation you will see much more free space.

Method 2 Automatic clearing of WinSxS folder

1. There is a very simple way to do this, but keep in mind that if you do this one day you may not restore your system when you need it. If you are sure, you can use the "Task scheduler".
2. Open it from start menu. Type "Task scheduler" in the search.
3. Go to Microsoft -> Windows -> Services section and set up the StartComponentCleanup task. If it doesn't exist, create it.

Set the trigger to turn on with the desired frequency, for example, monthly. Select all months and the date. For example, the first day of each month. You can disable or enable the task when necessary. And if it is enabled, the cleaning will be launched once a month.

Warnings. Please note that you can’t just delete this folder or what’s inside. After that, the system may not boot at all! If you clear WinSxS folder, you can`t restore previous update version or do factory reset.