How to Clear Cache and Free Up Space on Your Mac

As you use your Mac, cache starts to build up behind the scenes. This locally stored data is intended to speed up your computer by providing quick access to recently used resources. However, over time, that cache can start to take up a significant amount of space and slow down performance. Clearing it out regularly is a crucial maintenance task to keep your Mac running optimally.

In this guide, we‘ll take an in-depth look at the different types of caches on macOS and show you step-by-step how to safely clear them out. We‘ll explore the benefits and potential drawbacks of dumping these temporary files. Finally, we‘ll share some best practices for keeping on top of cache clutter. Let‘s dive in!

Types of Cache You‘ll Encounter on macOS

There are three main varieties of cache that accumulate on a Mac:

System Cache

At the operating system level, macOS keeps a cache of recently used data, resources, and even snippets of code. This system cache helps reduce load times for frequently accessed files and apps. You‘ll find the system cache folder at /Library/Caches.

According to Apple developer documentation, the /Library/Caches directory is where the "system and apps can put cached data that can be regenerated or just redownloaded as needed." Depending on your usage patterns, the contents of this folder can balloon to occupy tens of gigabytes of space.

Browser Cache

Every time you browse the web, your browser saves certain elements of each page you visit. This may include images, scripts, stylesheets, and login credentials. By storing local copies of these resources, your browser can load the page much faster on subsequent visits.

All major web browsers for Mac employ caching, including:

• Safari
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Opera
• Microsoft Edge

We‘ll go over how to clear the cache in the top three Mac browsers later in this guide.

App and User Cache

Individual applications on your Mac keep their own separate caches. For example, photo and video editing software may store thumbnails and preview files in a cache to speed up responsiveness. Apps generally store their cache and temporary files in the user-level Library folder.

The user cache location follows this general format:
~/Library/Caches/[App Name]

For instance, Photoshop‘s cache would be found at:
~/Library/Caches/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop 2021

The tilde (~) represents your user account‘s home directory. Each user on a Mac will have their own Library folder with app caches stored inside.

To summarize, these are the key types of cache you‘re likely to encounter on your Mac:

Cache Type	Location	Description
System	/Library/Caches	OS level cache of recent data and resources
Browser	Varies by browser	Stores website elements like images and scripts
App/User	~/Library/Caches	Temporary files generated by installed apps

Now that you know what kinds of cache accumulate, let‘s look at how to clear them out.

Step-by-Step Guide to Clearing System Cache on Mac

Before you start deleting system cache files, it‘s important to back up your Mac. While the /Library/Caches directory is technically safe to clear, you could accidentally delete something your Mac needs. A recent backup will let you restore files if something goes wrong.

With your backup in place, follow these steps to clear out the system cache:

1. Open Finder and select Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar.
2. Type in /Library/Caches and hit Enter to open the folder.
3. You‘ll see many subfolders with cryptic names. These contain the actual cache files for various parts of macOS. Select a subfolder and either delete it or move it to the trash. Do not delete the /Library/Caches folder itself, only its contents.
4. Some folders may require administrator privileges to delete. If prompted, enter your admin password to authorize removal.
5. Repeat the process for other subfolders until you‘ve cleared out all the cache you want to remove.

Depending on how full your cache was, clearing out /Library/Caches can free up anywhere from a few hundred megabytes to multiple gigabytes of space.

If you encounter any strange behavior after emptying caches, try restarting your Mac. The OS will regenerate any essential cache files on reboot.

How to Clear Cache in Popular Mac Web Browsers

Clearing your browser cache regularly can help resolve issues with websites loading slowly, looking outdated, or behaving incorrectly. Here‘s how to wipe the slate clean in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox on macOS.

Clearing Cache in Safari

1. Open Safari and enable the Develop menu by going to Safari > Preferences > Advanced. Check the "Show Develop menu in menu bar" box.
2. From the Develop menu, click Empty Caches. This will instantly clear Safari‘s cache without removing cookies, history, or other browsing data.
3. To delete all website data including cache, cookies, and history, go to Safari > Preferences > Privacy. Under "Cookies and website data" click Manage Website Data, select one or more websites, then click Remove or Remove All.

Clearing Cache in Google Chrome

1. Open Chrome and click the three-dot icon in the top right corner.
2. Go to More Tools > Clear Browsing Data.
3. Select "Cached images and files" and choose a time range like "Last 7 days" or "All time". Leave the other options unchecked to avoid deleting browser history, cookies, or download history.
4. Click the Clear data button to immediately wipe the cache.

Clearing Cache in Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Firefox and go to History > Clear Recent History.
2. Set the time range to "Everything" and click the arrow next to Details to expand the list of items.
3. Uncheck everything except "Cache" then click Clear Now to delete only the browser cache without affecting history, cookies, active logins, or anything else.

There is no definitive answer on how often to clear browser cache. However, a good rule of thumb is to clear it at least once per month for best performance. If you notice issues with specific websites, try clearing cache first to see if that resolves the problem.

Deleting App and User-Level Cache on Mac

You can manually delete cache for individual apps from the user-level Library folder. First, open Finder and press Shift+Command+G to open the Go to Folder window. Type in ~/Library/Caches to access the cache directory for your user account.

Inside, you‘ll see folders for many of your installed apps, containing their cache and temporary files. Feel free to delete the contents of any folder to reclaim disk space. Just don‘t delete the folders themselves, as applications expect their cache directory to exist.

Some notable app caches you may want to clear include:

• Adobe Creative Cloud apps (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.)
• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Spotify
• Slack
• Zoom

If you‘re unsure what a particular folder is for, avoid deleting it. You can always search online for the app name + "cache folder" to find what it‘s used for.

Benefits of Clearing Cache on Your Mac

There are several compelling reasons to periodically clear cached files on macOS:

Reclaim Storage Space

Over time, caches can eat up a surprising amount of disk space, especially if you use a lot of different apps. A 2022 analysis by MacPaw found that the average Mac user has over 62 GB of potential junk files, including caches. Manually clearing out even a fraction of this clutter can give you more usable space for important files.

Improve Speed and Performance

Although caches are meant to improve load times, a bloated cache can actually have the opposite effect and slow your Mac down. Benchmarks from AVG show that clearing cache can improve overall system performance by 11% and speed up app load times by over 30%.

If your Mac feels sluggish, try clearing out cache files then measuring speeds before and after with a tool like Geekbench.

Resolve Issues with Websites or Apps

Corrupted or outdated cache files can cause all sorts of strange behavior, from websites not loading correctly to apps crashing unexpectedly. Clearing cache is often the first step in troubleshooting such issues.

For example, a 2021 survey by Mozilla found that "Clear cookies and cache" resolved issues for over 25% of Firefox users experiencing problems with websites. Anecdotally, I‘ve fixed countless website formatting and loading errors over the years by simply dumping browser cache.

If you encounter a problem with a specific site or app, try clearing its cache first to see if that helps before attempting more advanced solutions.

When Should You Avoid Clearing Cache?

For all its benefits, clearing cache isn‘t always the right solution. Here are a few scenarios where you may want to think twice before deleting cache files:

• You rely on cached data for frequently visited websites. Clearing your browser cache will likely slow down page load times until the cache rebuilds.
• You want to stay logged in to certain sites. Deleting cookies and cache may log you out of web accounts and require re-entering credentials.
• Removing cache files is unlikely to fix serious system issues or app-specific bugs. It‘s not a magic bullet for every problem.
• You‘re low on disk space and need to free up room quickly. While clearing cache can help, other macOS storage management techniques will likely have a bigger impact.

The best approach is to weigh the potential benefits of clearing cache against the drawbacks for your particular situation. When in doubt, try alternate troubleshooting methods before resorting to deleting cache.

Cache Clearing Best Practices for Mac Users

To keep your Mac running smoothly while still getting the performance benefits of cached files, consider these general guidelines:

• Clear your browser cache every 1-2 months or when encountering website issues
• Remove system and app caches every 3-6 months
• Always backup your Mac before clearing caches outside of the browser
• If deleting app-specific caches, consult the developer‘s documentation first
• Consider using a reputable third-party cleaning utility like CCleaner or Onyx for more automated maintenance

Ultimately, the key is finding the right balance between regularly clearing cache and letting your Mac use its caching system as intended. Experiment to discover a maintenance schedule that works best for your workflow.

Conclusion

We‘ve covered a lot of ground in this guide to clearing cache on macOS. To recap, there are three main types of cache you‘re likely to encounter: system, browser, and app. Periodically clearing these out can improve your Mac‘s performance, free up storage space, and resolve weird issues.

The easiest place to start is with your browser cache. If you‘re experiencing problems with a specific website, clearing the browser cache should be your first troubleshooting step. For general maintenance, aim to clear browser cache at least once a month.

Clearing out system and app caches is a bit more involved but can provide noticeable speed boosts, especially on older Macs. Always backup your computer before deleting cache files outside of your browser. When in doubt, leave a cache folder alone or consult official documentation.

If manually clearing out caches feels too tedious, consider using a safe third-party cleaning tool to handle the grunt work. CCleaner and Onyx are two popular and well-regarded options in this category. Just be sure to avoid any shady utility apps that promise unrealistic performance gains.

At the end of the day, the goal is to strike a balance between regular cache maintenance and letting your Mac work as intended. It may take some trial and error to find the right frequency and approach for your particular needs. But your efforts will be rewarded with a faster, leaner, and more reliable Mac.

Happy cache clearing!