How to clear cache on a Mac
By Vishva Variya · Updated · 5 min read
Short answer
Quit the app first, then open ~/Library/Caches (Finder › Go › Go to Folder) and move that app’s folder to the Trash. Browsers clear their own caches from their settings. Restart afterwards so macOS clears its temporary files. Leave /System/Library/Caches alone, and expect caches to grow back: they are a speed-up, not junk.
What is a cache, and should I clear it?
A cache is a copy an app keeps so it doesn’t have to fetch or build the same thing twice: web pages, thumbnails, downloaded updates, compiled code. Clearing one frees space and can fix an app that shows stale or broken content. It won’t make a Mac faster; the app simply rebuilds the cache the next time it needs it.
How do I clear app caches?
- 1Quit the app whose cache you want to clear.
- 2In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (⇧⌘G), type ~/Library/Caches and press Return.
- 3Switch to list view (⌘2), then View › Show View Options (⌘J) › Calculate all sizes, and sort by Size.
- 4Move the folders for apps you’ve quit to the Trash. Folders are named after the app or its developer, like com.spotify.client.
- 5Restart, check the apps still work, then empty the Trash.
How do I clear the browser cache?
- Safari: Settings › Advanced › turn on “Show features for web developers”, then Develop › Empty Caches (⌥⌘E).
- Chrome: Settings › Privacy and security › Delete browsing data (⇧⌘⌫), tick only “Cached images and files”.
- Firefox: Settings › Privacy & Security › Cookies and Site Data › Clear Data, tick only “Cached Web Content”.
Clear only the cache, not cookies, unless you mean to: cookies are what keep you signed in.
How much space do caches take?
This shows the size of your user cache folder, then its ten largest folders:
du -sh ~/Library/Caches; du -sh ~/Library/Caches/* 2>/dev/null | sort -hr | head -10A few gigabytes is normal. Browsers, music and video apps, Xcode, package managers (Homebrew, npm, Yarn) and updaters are usually the largest.
Which caches should I not delete?
- /System/Library/Caches and /Library/Caches: macOS manages them, and some need an admin password for a reason.
- The cache of an app that’s still running: it may crash or write it right back.
- Caches that hold a sign-in or sync state: clearing them signs you out or forces a full re-sync.
Clearing caches with Peekaboo
Peekaboo’s App Caches page finds the caches apps keep for themselves, shows each with its size and what clearing it means, and marks the ones with visible consequences, like sign-ins, sync and the Spotlight index, as Check First. Folders an app is still running from are never offered. Everything goes to the Trash, and any cleanup can be put back in one click.
- 1Open App Caches.⇧⌘E
- 2Review the list. Items marked Check First have consequences worth reading first.
- 3Move them to the Trash. Changed your mind? Put the last cleanup back.⌥⌘Z
Questions
Is it safe to delete everything in ~/Library/Caches?
- Mostly, with every app quit and a restart afterwards. Apps rebuild what they need. Deleting folders one app at a time is safer, because a few apps keep state there that signs you out when it’s gone.
Does clearing cache speed up a Mac?
- Rarely. It frees disk space and can fix an app showing stale content, but apps run slightly slower until they rebuild the cache.
How often should I clear cache on a Mac?
- Only when you need the space or an app misbehaves. Clearing on a schedule just makes apps redo work.
What’s the shortcut to empty Safari’s cache?
- ⌥⌘E, once “Show features for web developers” is turned on in Safari Settings › Advanced.