How to Clear Cache on Mac (All Types)
Why Your Mac Has So Many Caches
Caches are temporary files that help your Mac run faster. When you visit a website, your browser caches images and code. When you use an app, it caches data. Your operating system caches system data too.
Caches grow over time and rarely self-clean. A Mac used for a year can have 5 to 15 GB of cache files. Acting as your own mac cache cleaner by clearing caches safely is important maintenance.
Browser Cache: Chrome, Safari, Firefox
Browser caches are usually largest. Chrome stores cache in ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome. Safari uses ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari. Each can be 500 MB to 3 GB.
To clear Safari cache, go to the Develop menu and click Empty Caches. For Chrome, go to Settings, Privacy, Clear Browsing Data, select Cached Images and Files. For Firefox, go to Settings, Privacy, Clear Data. A mac cache cleaner approach for browsers alone recovers several gigabytes.
Reclaim Mac finds and removes junk files automatically.
Application Cache
Every app creates cache. Spotify caches music. Slack caches messages. Adobe apps cache renders. These live in ~/Library/Caches and grow independently.
Open Finder, Command + Shift + G, go to ~/Library/Caches. Check folder sizes with Get Info. Delete contents of largest folders. Delete files inside folders, not the folders themselves. This mac cache cleaner method works for all apps.
System Cache
macOS maintains system cache at /Library/Caches. These include font caches and shared caches. They require admin permission.
System caches are smaller and generally well-managed. Clear them via Terminal with sudo when troubleshooting. A complete mac cache cleaner routine includes this step.
DNS Cache
DNS cache stores website address lookups. If you have trouble accessing websites, clearing DNS cache helps. This is about connectivity, not storage since DNS cache is tiny.
Clear it via Terminal with the dscacheutil flush command using sudo. A troubleshooting step, not a storage mac cache cleaner task.
How Often to Clear Cache
Browser caches weekly or monthly. App caches monthly. System caches rarely. DNS cache only for connection problems.
After clearing, your Mac may feel slightly slower temporarily as apps rebuild caches. This is normal. Within a day or two, everything returns to normal speed with recovered disk space. The mac cache cleaner routine pays off in both space and sometimes better app behavior.
Clean your Mac in 60 seconds
Lifetime license. Offline. No subscription.