Why is my SQL Server database file so large? I have a relatively simple database that is over 300MB on disk.  When I look at the table data it adds up to just over 5MB.  Please see the screenshot below:

This screenshot can also be seen here.
If I add several more devices, I will run out of disk space at this rate! Why is this so large and how do I shrink it and keep it under control automatically?
Query results from the &quot;answer&quot; in this related thread say that reserved MB should be 7.66, which is still far more reasonable than 300+.

It is the log file.  I've backed it up, told it to truncate, shrunk the log file and still no luck. I've tried shrinking both database and the log file directly.  I should probably give up and move to simple mode, but I would prefer full recovery if I could control the log size.
Simple recovery doesn't make it easier to shrink a log file. It will just empty the log for you (when checkpoint occurs), same thing as you do when you perform a log backup. The thing with a log file, regarding shrink, is that it cannot be shrunk beyond the last used Virtual Log File (VLF). So, examine the VLF layout if you are interested. If just do a log backup and then shrink several times and the last VLF will eventually move towards beginning of the file and the shrink will happen. More info: https://karaszi.com/large-transaction-log-file