Is it safe to delete Library Caches on a Mac?
Which Mac cache folders are safe to delete, which to leave alone, and how to clear them without breaking apps. Measured on a MacBook Pro with macOS 26.
- Deleting the contents of your own ~/Library/Caches folder is generally safe: apps rebuild their caches, and you lose only speed, not data.
- Quit an app before deleting its cache folder, and clear browser caches from the browser's own settings.
- Leave /System/Library/Caches alone; System Integrity Protection blocks changes there anyway.
- Package manager caches such as Yarn, npm, pnpm and Homebrew are best cleared with their own clean commands.
What is in the Caches folder#
A cache is a copy an app keeps so it can open things faster: web pages, thumbnails, downloaded updates, map tiles, package files. If the cache disappears, the app downloads or rebuilds what it needs. That is why clearing caches is the classic safe way to get space back.
A Mac has three cache folders:
| Folder | Who uses it | Safe to clear? |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Caches |
Apps for your user | Yes, with the app quit |
/Library/Caches |
Apps for all users | Mostly, needs an admin password, small gains |
/System/Library/Caches |
macOS | No, and macOS blocks it |
The tilde (~) means your home folder. On our test MacBook Pro, ~/Library/Caches held 25 GB.
See which apps use the most cache#
Run this in Terminal. It only reads:
du -sh ~/Library/Caches/* 2>/dev/null | sort -rh | head -10
On our Mac the top five were:
| Cache folder | Size |
|---|---|
| Google (Chrome) | 11 GB |
| An AI coding app | 3.9 GB |
| Yarn | 1.6 GB |
| A second browser | 1.5 GB |
| pnpm | 925 MB |
Two apps and two developer tools made up most of it. That pattern is common: one browser plus whatever tools you use for work.
How to clear caches safely#
1. Clear browser caches from the browser#
Do not delete a browser's cache folder while it is open. In Chrome go to Settings › Privacy and security › Delete browsing data, choose Cached images and files and a time range. In Safari, turn on Settings › Advanced › Show features for web developers, then choose Develop › Empty Caches. Both keep your passwords and history unless you tick those boxes too.
2. Clear developer tool caches with their own commands#
Package managers keep a shared cache on purpose. Use their commands so the tool's index stays correct:
yarn cache clean
npm cache clean --force
pnpm store prune
brew cleanup
Run only the ones for tools you have installed.
3. Clear the rest from Finder#
- Quit the app whose cache you want to clear.
- In Finder press ⇧ ⌘ G, type
~/Library/Cachesand press Return. - Move that app's folder to the Trash. Folders are usually named after the app or its developer, such as
com.spotify.client. - Open the app once to check it still works, then empty the Trash.
Delete the folders inside Caches, not the Caches folder itself.
Leave these alone:
~/Library/Preferences(your settings),~/Library/Application Supportand~/Library/Containers(app data such as notes, mail and databases), and~/Library/Keychains. These are not caches. Deleting them can lose data.
Logs and temporary folders#
Two more folders come up whenever people look for caches:
~/Library/Logsholds app and crash logs. It was 396 MB on our test Mac. Old logs are safe to delete, but they are rarely big enough to matter, and they help when you need to report a bug./private/var/foldersholds per-user temporary files and caches that macOS manages itself. Our user's cache folder there was 1.7 GB. Do not clean it by hand: apps keep files there while they run, and macOS clears the temporary parts on its own, including at restart.
If you want to see your own temporary cache folder, Terminal prints its path with getconf DARWIN_USER_CACHE_DIR. Looking is fine; restarting is the safe way to clear it.
Where caches fit in a full disk#
Caches are part of what macOS reports as System Data. If clearing them did not free enough space, look at the other big parts: developer files from Xcode and Time Machine local snapshots. The System Data guide shows how to find which one is big on your Mac.
FAQ
Will deleting caches delete my files or settings?
No. Caches are copies an app can download or rebuild. Settings live in ~/Library/Preferences and app data in ~/Library/Application Support or ~/Library/Containers, which you should not delete.
Why did my cache folder fill up again?
Apps rebuild caches as you use them. Deleting a cache gives space back for days or weeks, not forever. If one app's cache keeps growing to many gigabytes, check that app's settings for a cache size limit.
Is it safe to delete /Library/Caches (without the tilde)?
It is the shared cache folder for all users. Most items are safe to remove with an admin password, but the space gained is usually small, so start with your own ~/Library/Caches.
Should I use a cleaner app for caches?
You can, but it does the same thing as dragging folders to the Trash. Doing it yourself shows you which app is using the space.
Sources
- Oct 12, 2026: First published. Cache sizes measured on a MacBook Pro with macOS 26.3.