How to clear cache on Mac

Contents
  1. With WIWIClean
  2. Manually in Finder
  3. FAQ

With WIWIClean

  1. Download and open WIWIClean. On first launch, allow Full Disk Access.
  2. On the Caches & logs card, click Show list.

  3. Click Clean everything — or Clean next to a single app — and confirm.

Only the cache is removed: chats, documents and app settings stay. Apps re-create their cache.

Manually in Finder

  1. Quit the apps whose cache you want to clear.
  2. In Finder, press G, type ~/Library/Caches and press Return.
  3. Open the app's folder and move its contents to the Trash. Keep the folder itself.
  4. Empty the Trash — space isn't freed until you do.
Warning

Only delete inside Caches. The neighbouring Application Support, Containers and Group Containers folders hold app data — chats, databases, settings.

Browser cache is cleared in the browser itself: Safari cache; in Chrome press Delete.

FAQ

What happens if I clear the cache on my Mac?

Nothing bad: apps re-create it. At first they may open a little slower, and websites will load their images again.

Where is the cache stored on a Mac?

App cache is in ~/Library/Caches, the shared system cache in /Library/Caches. Browsers keep their own cache and clear it in their settings.

How do I reload a single page without cache?

You don't need to clear everything: in Safari, open the page and press R.

Why does space run out again after clearing the cache?

The cache builds up again — it's apps' working files. If space disappears quickly, the cause is usually System Data: how to clear it.