Where Is Chrome Cache Stored? Exact Folders on Mac, Windows, Linux and Android

Where is Chrome cache stored? On a Mac it lives in ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome, on Windows inside %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data, and on Linux in ~/.cache/google-chrome. Each Chrome profile gets its own sub-folder, so the exact path depends on which profile you use.

This guide gives the exact folder for every system, shows how to find your own profile's path in ten seconds, and explains what the files inside actually are. We opened the cache on one of our own Macs to check, because several popular guides still list a Mac path that does not exist.

The short answer#

• Mac: ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome/Default
• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache
• Linux: ~/.cache/google-chrome/Default
• Your exact path: open chrome://version and read Profile Path.

Where is Chrome cache stored on a Mac?#

Tested on a MacBook Pro (M1 Pro), macOS 26.3, Chrome 155.0.8059.84, October 20, 2026.

On a Mac, Chrome splits your data across two folders:

This matches Chromium's own documentation: on a Mac, the cache folder mirrors the profile folder, with Application Support swapped for Caches. It is why some guides that point you to a Caches folder inside Application Support send you to the wrong place.

To open it:

1. In Finder, press Command+Shift+G.
2. Paste ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome and press Return.
3. Open the folder for your profile.

Your first profile is called Default. Every extra profile is Profile 1, Profile 2 and so on. The numbers do not always run in order. On our Mac there was no Default folder at all. The six profiles were named Profile 1, Profile 3, Profile 18, Profile 20, Profile 22 and Profile 26, because older profiles had been deleted over the years. That is why the next step matters.

How do I find my exact Chrome profile folder?#

Guessing between Default and Profile 18 wastes time. Chrome tells you directly:

1. Type chrome://version in the address bar and press Enter.
2. Find the line Profile Path.
3. Copy it. That is the folder for the profile in this window.

On Windows and ChromeOS, the cache sits inside that exact folder. On a Mac, change Application Support in the path to Caches to get the cache folder. If you use several profiles, open chrome://version in a window of each one. Each shows its own path.

Where is Chrome cache stored on Windows 11?#

On Windows 10 and 11, the cache lives inside the profile, not in a separate place:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache

For most people that expands to C:\Users\<your name>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache. To get there quickly:

1. Press Windows+R.
2. Paste %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data and press Enter.
3. Open Default, or the Profile N folder that chrome://version names.

AppData is hidden by default, which is why browsing to it by clicking can fail. Typing the path skips that.

Where is Chrome cache stored on Linux, ChromeOS and Android?#

These come from Chromium's User Data Directory documentation. On Android and iPhone you cannot browse the cache yourself. To clear it, use Chrome's own Delete browsing data screen in the app.

What is inside the Chrome cache folder?#

We opened the busiest profile's cache folder on our Mac. Here is what it held:

Two things stand out. First, the main cache is not a few big files. It is over one hundred thousand small ones, named with hash codes like 0003591e15bb1927_0. Second, the Code Cache was more than half the size of the page cache. Web apps that use WebAssembly, such as design tools, editors and games, fill it quickly.

A few other folders with "cache" in the name live in the profile folder instead, not in Caches. GPUCache (6 MB here) stores graphics shader data. GrShaderCache and GraphiteDawnCache sit at the top level of the Chrome folder and hold shared graphics data. They are small and Chrome manages them itself.

Where are cookies, history and passwords stored?#

They are not in the cache folder, which is why clearing the cache keeps you signed in. On our Mac, inside ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Profile 18:

Do not edit or delete these files by hand. They are databases Chrome keeps open while it runs. For the difference between the two kinds of stored data, see cache vs cookies.

Can you open or read Chrome cache files?#

Not in any useful way. The files have no extensions, their names are hashes of the web address, and many hold compressed data with the server's headers mixed in. Forensic and data-recovery tools can parse them, but that is a specialist job.

If you are trying to find something you saw:

• A page you visited: check History with Command+Y (Ctrl+H on Windows).
• An image you saw: open the page again, or right-click the image and save it.
• An old version of a page: try the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

Should you delete the cache folder by hand?#

You can, but you do not need to, and it is riskier than the alternative. Deleting files while Chrome is open can leave it half-written. The safe way takes four clicks:

1. Press Command+Shift+Delete (Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows).
2. Set Time range to All time.
3. Tick Cached images and files only.
4. Click Delete data.

You stay signed in, because cookies are untouched. Repeat this in each profile, since every profile has its own cache. The full walk-through is in how to clear cache in Chrome. If the cache is filling your disk, our measured breakdown of Chrome taking up too much space shows which folders grow the most.

If you only need one site fresh, clearing everything is overkill. Cleaner, our free Chrome extension, clears the cache and cookies of the site you are on in one click, and leaves the rest alone. You can also clear cache for one site with Chrome's own tools.

Can you move the Chrome cache to another drive?#

Yes, but only with a workaround. Chrome has no setting for it. On Windows, guides such as Windows Digitals describe two ways: add a --disk-cache-dir="D:\ChromeCache" flag to the Chrome shortcut, or replace the cache folder with a link to another drive. The shortcut flag only applies when Chrome is opened from that shortcut.

For most people this is not worth it. On our Mac in October 2026, each profile's cache held 1.1 to 2.1 GB, and web.dev notes that Chrome starts removing stored data on its own when the disk runs low. Clearing the cache now and then is simpler than moving it.