We all love IBM i, but for many spooled file management is considered a real headache. So, what tips and tools are there to help you?

Expiration Dates on Spooled Files

If you find your system cluttered with old spooled files, the “days until file expires” parameter may help you. Creating spooled files with this attribute set, or changing existing spooled files makes these spooled files eligible for deletion – they are not automatically deleted.

To delete expired spooled files simply use the DLTEXPSPLF command.

Finding a Needle in a Haystack

Looking for big spooled files? Then look no further than the fantastically titled Find Big Spooled Files utility. It works on any version of the operating system from V5R2, but although provided by IBM, the utility is unsupported.

Full instructions on how to install the utility and how to use it can be found in this URL.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/find-jobs-big-spooled-files-fndbigsplf-utility

Reclaiming Spool Storage

Spooled files are stored in library QSPL as database file members. When you delete spooled files although the database file member is cleared, the space isn’t reclaimed immediately, instead the system takes its steer from the value defined in System Value QRCLSPLSTG (Reclaim Spool Storage).

To reclaim this space immediately, especially useful if you’re trying to reduce disk space utilisation having recently deleted either a high number or large spooled files, you can use the RCLSPLSTG command.