Housekeeping

The Housekeeping screen provides maintenance actions for JEM data, images, thumbnails, category-event relations, autoarchive processing, and full data cleanup. These tools are intended for administrators and should be used with care.

Some housekeeping actions delete files or database records. Always make a full backup of the Joomla files and database before running destructive maintenance tasks.

Where to Find This Screen

Open the Joomla administrator and go to Components → JEM → Housekeeping. The screen is also available from the JEM control panel.

Access to Housekeeping requires JEM management permission. Users without the required Joomla permission cannot run these actions.

When to Use Housekeeping

Use Housekeeping when JEM needs maintenance that cannot be done safely from normal event, venue, or category edit screens.

Scenario	Recommended action	Why
Old uploaded images are no longer used	Run the relevant image cleanup action.	Removes unassigned image files from JEM image folders.
Thumbnail sizes were changed	Regenerate thumbnails.	Rebuilds thumbnails using the current image size settings.
Recurring events or archive state need processing	Trigger autoarchive.	Runs the same cleanup logic used for autoarchive and recurrence generation.
Imported or deleted content left broken category/event references	Delete zombie category-event references.	Removes relations that point to missing events or missing categories.
Testing or migration site must be reset	Delete all JEM data, only after backup and confirmation.	Clears JEM content tables while keeping the component installed.

Available Actions

The Housekeeping screen currently provides these actions:

Action	What it does	Risk level
Cleanup Event images	Deletes event images from `images/jem/events` when they are no longer assigned to events.	Medium
Cleanup Venue Images	Deletes venue images from `images/jem/venues` when they are no longer assigned to venues.	Medium
Cleanup Category images	Deletes category images from `images/jem/categories` when they are no longer assigned to categories.	Medium
Regenerate thumbnails	Rebuilds small images for event, venue, category, and event link images using the current image settings.	Low to medium
Trigger autoarchive	Runs JEM cleanup processing, including autoarchive and recurring event generation.	Medium
Delete zombie Cat/Event references	Deletes category-event relation rows that point to missing events or missing categories.	Low to medium
Delete all JEM data	Deletes all JEM content data from the database, with optional deletion of physical image and attachment files.	High

Image Cleanup

The image cleanup actions compare files in the JEM image folders with the images assigned in the database. Files that are not assigned are treated as unused and can be deleted.

Event images: checks the images used by events.
Venue images: checks the images used by venues.
Category images: checks the images used by categories.
When an unused original image is deleted, its matching thumbnail in the small folder is also removed.

Only use image cleanup if JEM image folders are used only by JEM. If other extensions, template overrides, or custom content link directly to these files, review the files manually before deleting.

Regenerate Thumbnails

Regenerate thumbnails rebuilds thumbnails for assigned event, venue, category, and event link images. This is useful after changing image width or height settings.

Existing thumbnails are removed and recreated from the original images.
Thumbnail size uses the current JEM image width and height settings.
Event link thumbnails are also regenerated using their configured maximum width and height.
Missing original images are skipped.

If thumbnails look stretched or blurry after changing image dimensions, regenerate thumbnails before changing template CSS.

Trigger Autoarchive

Trigger autoarchive runs JEM cleanup processing manually. This includes autoarchive handling and recurring event generation.

Use this action when you want to run the processing immediately instead of waiting for the normal scheduled or request-based cleanup flow.

On sites with many recurring events, test recurrence behaviour on a staging copy first. Recurring event generation can create new event records.

Zombie Category/Event References

JEM stores event-category assignments in a relation table. After imports, manual database work, or failed deletions, the relation table can contain rows that point to events or categories that no longer exist.

Delete zombie Cat/Event references removes those broken relation rows. The screen also shows the total number of category-event references before cleanup.

This action does not delete valid events or categories. It removes relation rows only when the linked event or category is missing.

Delete All JEM Data

Delete all JEM data truncates JEM content tables. It is intended for test sites, migration cleanup, or cases where a JEM installation must be reset while keeping the extension installed.

The action deletes data from JEM tables such as attachments, categories, category-event relations, events, groups, links, registrations, types, and venues. JEM settings remain installed, and Joomla menus, modules, and plugins are not removed.

This action is destructive. Do not use it on a production site unless you have a verified backup and intentionally want to remove JEM content data.

Physical File Options

Before deleting all JEM data, you can choose whether physical files should also be removed:

Delete image files: removes event, venue, category, and event link image files from JEM image folders.
Delete attachment files: removes attachment object folders from the configured JEM attachment path.

If both file options are set to No, the database records are deleted but physical image and attachment files remain on the server.

Recommended Workflow

Make a full backup of the Joomla files and database.
Check the JEM image and attachment settings before deleting files.
Run non-destructive or lower-risk actions first, such as regenerating thumbnails.
Check frontend event, venue, category, and module output after maintenance.
Use Delete all JEM data only on test, staging, or intentionally reset sites.

After Updating JEM

Review Housekeeping after updating to JEM 5.0.0 when the site uses custom image sizes, event link images, imports, attachments, or recurring events.

Regenerate thumbnails if image dimensions were changed during the update.
Review unused images before running image cleanup.
Check recurring events before triggering autoarchive on a large site.
Clean zombie category-event references after import or migration issues.
Use the dedicated Attachments backend view for attachment auditing before deleting files.

Troubleshooting

Images disappear after cleanup

Restore the image files from backup.
Check whether the files were used outside normal JEM image assignments.
Avoid image cleanup when custom articles, modules, or overrides link directly to JEM image files.

Thumbnails still look wrong

Confirm that the original image exists.
Check the current image width and height settings.
Clear Joomla cache and browser cache after regenerating thumbnails.
Check template CSS if the thumbnail file itself was regenerated correctly.

Autoarchive creates unexpected recurring events

Review the recurrence settings on the original event series.
Check whether the first event of the series still exists.
Test the behaviour on a staging copy before changing or deleting recurring event series.

Delete all JEM data was run by mistake

Restore the Joomla database and any deleted physical files from backup. If physical files were not deleted, restore the database first and then check whether image and attachment paths still match.

Related Project Notes

#2141 explains why the Delete all JEM data file options needed clearer Yes/No choices.
#1950 discusses clarifying that JEM menu items remain when all JEM data is deleted.
#755 documents the need to recreate thumbnails after image width or height settings change.
#626 explains recurrence behaviour when Housekeeping triggers cleanup processing.
#76 relates to image cleanup safety when filenames contain unusual characters.