This is the rough beginnings of a document I started some time ago and never had the time to finish. The idea is to list as close to every auxiliary file that is generated by LaTeX or any 3rd party LaTeX package.
The idea is to include a short description of what each file does, its file extension, where it comes from (i.e., which package) and whether it’s safe to delete.
This work could then be useful as the canonical reference for writing scripts and exception files to delete or ignore (etc.) auxiliary LaTeX files in various contexts (cleanup scripts, version control configuration, and so on).
I’m putting what I’ve got so far up here in case some brave soul wishes to continue the work.
Will Robertson 2009