Cache is basically a technical data that is stored when an app, browser or system performs a task. Cache files serve a vital function as they contain a “shortcut” to a task in order to perform it faster the next time.
- Mac App Store Clear Cache
- Mac App Clear Cache Internet Explorer
- Mac App Clear Cache Browser
- Clear Cache Chrome
- Open the LocalData folder. Select all files within the LocalData folder, then use Shift+Delete to permanently delete those items. Launch Design Space for Desktop. Select View in the top left-hand corner of the system menu, then select Force Reload. This should resolve the issue.
- You may simply delete the backup at one point in time when you think the deleted app cache is not causing harm to the app. Flushing Out Mac’s DNS Cache One type of your system cache, DNS Cache, are actually old cache entries that serve to translate domain names towards IP addresses.
Look for the app's name whose cache you want to delete. Sometimes the app name is preceded by “com.” Then, delete the entire folder by clicking it and pressing “Command + Delete”. How to Clear Browser Cache on Mac. Another lare amount of cache is from browsers such as safari, chrome and firefox, etc. To clear Mac cache manually means going to the cache and deleting its contents. This method applies for system and app caches but the process for deleting the browser cache is completely different. Go to Folder in macOS Mojave.
Caches can include temp files, apps specific caches, partly completed downloads, messaging cache, and web browser history and cache. So, let`s find out how to clean Mac cache via different ways. Clean up your Mac manually. Go to cache and delete the contents – that is what the cache cleaning on Mac is about. Open Finder, select “Go.
Why should you clear cache on Mac?
Cache is meant to help your Mac load sites faster, but sometimes it brings more harm than good. For example, if the website you’re about to visit has been updated ever since your Mac cached its data, your browser will still load the outdated cached version of the site. The outdated cache may be the reason why some websites behave laggy.
Old cache files that remain latent in the system do nothing but piling up, cluttering your system folders. What was initially useful becomes a drag, slowing down your Mac through all the wasted space it is taking up. To make it even worse, undeleted cache data also leads to task conflicts and other system issues.
It’s staggering how much space can in fact be occupied by app/user cache on Mac. Wondering how much storage you’ve lost already? Well, it’s different for everyone, but it’s safe to assume several gigabytes at the very least.
Here are the three main categories of cache data:
- Browser cache
- System cache
- App (or User) cache
How to clear all types of cache on Mac step by step
Now, if you’re ready to finally get down to business, we’re going to walk you through both the manual and the automatic solutions to clear your cache.
To play it safe, back up the folders mentioned in the steps below. If everything works as it should, you can later delete these backups. Or you can skip the manual steps and go straight to Quick Tip (the safe and easy method).
1. Clean app cache on Mac manually
To delete app cache (which is also called user cache) manually, follow these steps:
- Open Finder and select Go > Go to Folder
- Type in ~/Library/Caches and hit Enter
- Backup the folders if you are worried about something going wrong
- Keep the folders, but go into each one and delete the files inside
2. Delete system cache
System cache doesn’t take much space, and it’s usually files generated by OS. You need to be particularly careful when clearing the system cache manually to avoid erasing vital system files.
To remove the system cache completely, follow the steps above, but this time go to /Library/Caches (without the ~). Don’t delete folders: you can only clear what’s inside of them. When you’re done, just empty the Trash to finish the job.
Quick Tip: get rid of system/app caches in one click
Clearing app caches manually is a tough nut to crack. To do the job in a fraction of the time (and without the risk of losing something important), you can fire up a dedicated cache cleaner app, CleanMyMac X. It will find and clear all your app caches blazing fast.
See how easy it is with these steps:
- Download CleanMyMac X (it’s free to download)
- Run the app and click on System Junk
- Click on the big Scan button
- When it’s done scanning, click Review Details to see what it has found
The User Cache Files contain app and browser cache. If you use lots of apps, cache can accumulate quickly and take up a lot of your disk space.
When the scan is complete, press the Run button to clear the cache and other junk.
When the scan is complete, press the Run button to clear the cache and other junk.
3. Clear Internet cache on Mac
Clearing browser cache has two good things about it: it frees up space for your Mac to run faster and it removes your browsing history, making sure nobody ever finds your digital trail. Since each browser deals with caches differently, we’ve broken the cache-clearing solutions to three main browsers – Chrome, Safari, and Firefox.
If you’re uncomfortable deleting cache manually and prefer a less time-consuming approach, you can skip down to “How to clear all browser cache easily” to remove all your browser caches in one go.
How to empty cache in Safari
In Safari, clearing cache is as easy as it gets. Just go to History and click Clear History in the menu bar. Your cache and website history will be cleared immediately. If you prefer knowing exactly what you’re clearing, you can do that with a few more steps.
To empty cache on Safari with manual methods:
- Go to Safari > Preferences
- Select the Advanced tab
- Enable Show Develop menu
- Go to the Develop section in the menu bar
- Click on Empty Caches
How to clear browser cache in Chrome
When it comes to Chrome, clearing cache on Mac requires the following steps:
- Click the Google Chrome settings icon in the top-right browser window
- Choose Settings
- Choose History and click Clear browsing data
- Make sure Cached images and files are checked
- Choose the Beginning of Time to clear all your cache
- Click the 'Clear browsing data' button to finish
How to delete cache in Firefox
And here’s for Firefox users (it’s even simpler than with the previous two). Just proceed with the following:
- Navigate to History > Clear Recent History
- Select Everything from the time range menu
- Click the arrow next to Details and make sure only Cache is checked
- Click Clear Now
How to clear all browser cache easily
So you decided to ditch the manual way and skipped to the automatic method. Congratulations! This is the quickest and safest way to remove browser cache. Instead of doing it manually through your browser settings, you can gain full control over all your cache and history data with CleanMyMac X. It’s an easy cache cleaner that will do the job like a charm. Follow these steps to clear all your browser caches:
- Run CleanMyMac and go to the Privacy module
- See all your browsers listed, select any of them
- Tick items you want to clean
- Finally, click Remove to clear your browser
A final reason to clear cache on Mac
Cache data works wonders for your Mac and system, but over time it can pile up and slow down your Mac’s performance, taking up the increasing amounts of space.
Hopefully, our guide will be everything you needed and more to free up gigabytes of valuable space and reclaim it by cleaning cache.
Best of all, we’ve also revealed how an automatic cache cleaner like CleanMyMac X makes removing cache as easy as a child’s play. Download the free version of the app here.
Let us know how it goes!
By Gina Barrow, Last updated: August 27, 2019
Caches are temporary files and data stored inside the hard drive and used to speed up processes especially on downloading images. This is very helpful when browsing, for example, a Safari browser and a webpage. The images inside the website are stored so when you re-visit the site, the images are already downloaded for faster site opening rather than waiting for few seconds and wait for the images to completely download.
However, these caches build up over time. Although they are temporary files, no one's gonna throw these temporary files for you unless you do it yourself. These files will begin to take up more storage space and instead of its basic function to speed things up, they rather slow your system down.
Thus, we will discover how to clear cache on Mac and boost your device's performance.
![Mac Mac](https://dl1.cbsistatic.com/i/2016/08/10/d6cfc540-9714-4045-b16c-e8af10a941d2/2ed0ac210ade1be56b38cb24d227c7db/imgingest-5702036382893139000.png)
Part 1. How to Clear Cache on Mac All at One Time
Doing all these steps manually can be exhausting especially when you are not really familiar with most of it. Aside from that, it takes a lot of your time just by clearing caches when you can simply use a program that automatically detects all the caches inside your Mac.
FoneDog Mac Cleaner has all the solutions you need to speed up and boost your Mac's performance. This program offers comprehensive tools to scan and determine the health status of your device, and quickly removes all the junk files.
How to Clear Cache on Mac Using FoneDog Mac Cleaner?
- Download FoneDog Mac Cleaner
- Choose the module 'Cleaner' on the menu
- Select the best option, like System Junk, and click the 'Scan' button
- Review all the items displayed after scanning and delete
- Clearing cache is complete!
You have probably saved a lot of time clearing caches on Mac using FoneDog Mac Cleaner!
Part 2. How to Clear System and App Cache on Mac
System and app caches are hidden files that are usually created by apps stored on your Mac. Meaning, all the temporary files including the media contents are stored inside the system and app files. Some people still argue if clearing both are necessary but then, there's no harm if you try it and if it helps to boost your Mac's performance, then why not?
Open ~/Library/Caches and remove the contents of the folders with the app name.
Mac App Store Clear Cache
Remember: Not all app cache is safe to clear. Some app developers keep significant user info on cache folders so backing up is highly advised!
One of the common examples of system cache is the DNS cache. These are old cache records that interpret internet domain names into IP addresses.
- Open Terminal by typing “terminal” into Spotlight
- Type this into Terminal: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; say cache flushed
- Enter your admin password to execute the command
Note: if you use OS X 10.10.0-10.10.3, use: sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache;sudo discoveryutil udnsflushcaches; say flushed
Part 3. How to Clear User Cache on Mac
Next type of cache we will clear is the user cache. This type of cache is the main culprit for the slowing down of your system. It mainly contains all the junk files.
Here are the steps on how to clear user cache on Mac:
Mac App Clear Cache Internet Explorer
- First, open Finder and choose the “Go to Folder” from the Go menu
- Type: ~/Library/Caches and press enter
- Backup Tip: You can also highlight and copy all the files to a different folder in case something happens
- Open each folder and clear out contents
Note: Please remove only the contents of these folders, and not the folders themselves
If you want to clear Library Caches, you can do the same steps but replace it with: /Library/Caches (please see the difference)
Part 4. How to Clear Browser Cache on Mac
If you love surfing the internet on your Mac, well you might accumulate a lot of browser caches. Browser caches are also temporary files that store web info especially media files for better and faster access. Over time, they consume at least 15% of the total space of your system so it is necessary to clear them from time to time.
However, each popular browser has different cache setting so you must be familiar with how to navigate:
How to Clear Chrome Cache on Mac:
- Click the 3-dots on the upper right corner of your Chrome or the Control and Customize area
- Go to Settings, and click Advanced
- Click Clear Browsing Data
- From here you have three options: Browsing History, Cookies and other site data, and the Cached Images and files. You can deselect the first two to clear the cached images and files only. However, if you are concern about your privacy, you may include clearing the other two. This will then reset your browsing activity and will require you to sign-in to most of the accounts you visited.
- Select All Time for the frequency
- Click Clear Data
How to Clear FireFox Cache on Mac:
- Click the burger icon located at the upper right corner
- Find and click Privacy & Security from the left sidebar
- Go to Cached web content
- Click Clear Now to remove Firefox cache
- Exit or quit all browser windows and then re-open the browser.
You can limit the cache size in the same menu, simply check the Override automatic cache management. Choose the default size of 350 MB, which is sufficient for most users' needs.
How to Clear Safari Cache on Mac:
Most Mac users are already familiar with Safari browser but clearing its browser cache is quite tricky than the rest. Here's how to:
- Choose Safari from the top menu
- Select Preferences
- Click Advanced tab
- Enable the Show Develop menu
- Go to Develop from the menu bar
- Select Empty caches
- Close the browser and restart after clearing the cache.
Cache clearing may take a while if you would like you can clear the local DNS cache to hasten the process.
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Mac App Clear Cache Browser
We have just learned how to clear cache on Mac and we hope that it helped you boost and speed up the performance of your device. However, if you are looking to have a safer and faster way of clearing caches and other junk files, consider using FoneDog Mac Cleaner.
Clear Cache Chrome
Share this ultimate guide with your friends and let them know how easy it is to keep your Mac healthy and well-performing.
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