How to Safely Clear Cached Files on Your Mac

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Give your Mac a performance boost by deleting temporary files

Co-authored by Gonzalo Martinez and Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: March 15, 2023 Fact Checked

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Clear the Application Cache

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Clear the Safari Cache

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Clear the System Cache in Safe Mode

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Clear the System Cache Manually

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Expert Q&A

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Warnings

Is your Mac not running as well as it used to? If your MacBook or Mac desktop computer is low on space, running slow, or you're having trouble with certain apps, clearing your cache can resolve these issues. You can also delete other caches on your Mac, including your web browsing cache in Safari, and, in some cases, the system cache (although this can be risky if not performed properly). This wikiHow guide will teach you how to safely clear the cache on your Mac.

Things You Should Know

To clear your Mac's application (user) cache, delete all files and folders in ~/Library/Caches.
To clear your web browsing cache in Safari, enable the Develop menu in Safari > Settings > Advanced, then select "Empty Caches" from the Develop menu.
The safest way to clear your Mac's system cache is to boot into Safe Mode, and then boot up normally.
You can delete files from your Mac's system cache manually, but it could freeze your computer and cause other problems.

Section 1 of 4:

Clear the Application Cache

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1
Open Finder
. Do this by clicking on your Desktop image or on the blue smiley-face icon on the far left in your Dock.
- Close as many open programs as possible before you delete your application cache (also known as the user cache).
- Clearing your Mac's application cache is a safe way to reclaim disk space and troubleshoot problematic applications. Your Mac caches files to improve the speed of apps and services on your computer, so you may notice a small lag the first time you re-open certain apps.
2
Press ⇧ Shift+⌘ Command+G at the same time. This keyboard shortcut opens the Go to Folder window.
- You can also get here by clicking the Go menu and selecting Go to Folder….
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A quick way to do this is to click one item or folder then press ⌘ Command+A to select all files.
5
Right-click the highlighted area and select Move to Trash. Click the File menu and choose Move to Trash. This clears the cache used by applications on your Mac.
- If you see an error telling you that one or more of the files can't be deleted, they're being used by an application that's open. Skip deleting these files for now, then try deleting them later when the programs in question aren't open.
- Check out our Mac optimization guide for more tips and tricks to improve your Mac's performance.

Section 2 of 4:

Clear the Safari Cache

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1
Click the Safari menu. If you want to clear your web browsing cache in Safari, you'll need to enable the Develop menu first. Start by clicking the Safari menu at the top of the screen.
- If you already see a Develop menu item in the bar at the top of the screen, skip to Step 5.
- If you use Google Chrome to browse the web instead of Safari, check out our guide to clearing the cache in Chrome.
It's near the top of the Safari drop-down menu.^{[1]
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Here you'll find several more Safari settings, including Reading List settings and the option to enable the Develop menu.^{[2]
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Check the "Show Develop menu in menu bar" box. It's at the bottom of the Preferences window. This adds the Develop tab to the menu bar for Safari.
- You can now close the Advanced window.
You'll see it in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
This clears your web browsing cache in Safari.

Section 3 of 4:

Clear the System Cache in Safe Mode

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1
In general, you should never need to clear the system cache on your Mac. Your system cache is temporary data stored by your Mac to perform system functions. You shouldn't need to worry about system cache—it's cleared automatically as needed. But if your Mac is still running slow, you're experiencing startup problems, or an application developer has recommended doing so for a certain app, you can easily clear the system cache by booting your Mac into Safe Mode, and then rebooting normally.
- Booting into Safe Mode clears the font cache, kernel cache, and other system caches. Your Mac then rebuilds these caches automatically.
- The steps to boot into Safe Mode are different depending on whether your Mac has an Apple silicon or Intel processor. To find out your processor type, click the Apple menu and select About This Mac.^{[3]
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Boot into Safe Mode on an Apple Silicon Mac. If your Mac has an Apple silicon processor, use these steps to access Safe Mode and clear your system cache:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Press and hold the power button until you see the Startup Options window.^{[4]
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- Select your startup disk.
- Press and hold the Shift key as you click Continue in Safe Mode.
- Sign in to your Mac.
- Reboot your Mac normally when you're finished and your system will start caching again as needed.
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Boot into Safe Mode on an Intel Mac. To boot into Safe Mode:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Press and hold the Shift key as you turn your Mac back on.
- Release Shift when you see the login window.
- Sign in to your Mac (you may have to do this twice). Once signed in, you'll see Safe Boot window at the top-right corner of the window.
- Restart your Mac to clear your system cache.

Section 4 of 4:

Clear the System Cache Manually

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1
Open Finder
. Do this by clicking on your Desktop image or on the blue smiley-face icon on the far left in your Dock.
- Clearing your Mac's system cache manually is not recommended, as it could cause your Mac to freeze. If you want to clear the system cache safely, you should do so in Safe Mode.
- If you want to delete files from the system cache manually anyway, use this method to do so. You will need to be an administrator to clear the system cache files.
2
Press ⇧ Shift+⌘ Command+G at the same time. This keyboard shortcut opens the Go to Folder window.
- You can also get here by clicking the Go menu and selecting Go to Folder….
This path is a little different than the one you use to clear the application cache, as there's no tilde (~). That's because the files you'll be clearing are system-wide, and not just for the applications you use while signed in with your user account.
In the Caches folder, you'll see several other folders, each of which contain cache files. Rather than deleting everything like you would when clearing the application cache, you'll need to open each folder to delete their files inside. Do not delete these folders.
Only delete the files that you know are safe to delete. If you're not sure what a file is, don't risk crashing your Mac by deleting it.

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do I clean up my Mac?

Gonzalo Martinez
Computer & Phone Repair Specialist
Gonzalo Martinez is the President of CleverTech, a tech repair business in San Jose, California founded in 2014. CleverTech LLC specializes in repairing Apple products. CleverTech pursues environmental responsibility by recycling aluminum, display assemblies, and the micro components on motherboards to reuse for future repairs. On average, they save 2 lbs - 3 lbs more electronic waste daily than the average computer repair store.

Gonzalo Martinez

Computer & Phone Repair Specialist

Expert Answer

Shutting down your Mac completely clears your cache. It's a good idea to completely shut down your computer routinely to make sure there aren't applications that you quit but are still taking up some RAM space.

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How do I speed up a MacBook Pro?

Margaret Althea Elvenshadow

Community Answer

If you're using Google Chrome as your browser, look at the top right corner, at the end of the search bar. You should see three dots in a vertical line. Click on them. A list should pop up. Mouse over the option that says "More Tools," and click "Clear Browsing Data." If you're using Safari as your browser, look up at the Apple menu bar at the top, that has "File" and "Edit" and all that jazz. If you see an option that says "Develop," click on it. Near the bottom of the list, there is an option that says "Empty cache." Select it. If you don't see "Develop," click "Safari>Preferences>Advanced Settings>Show Develop Menu in menu bar."

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Question

The operation Empty Trash cant be completed because the item "Cache.db" is in use. How can I solve this issue?

Community Answer

Open the Terminal app and type: sudo rm -r ~/.Trash

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Warnings

Clearing the system cache may cause your Mac to crash. While your Mac should restart and begin working again without any problems, make sure that your work is saved and that you've exited any open programs before clearing the system cache.

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