You’ve probably heard and seen the term 'cache' used on your Mac but do you know what it is?

Cache files are basically temporary data stored on your hard drive and used to speed up processes. For instance, Safari will download images on a webpage into cache so that next time you visit the site you don’t have to download the images again.

How are cache files different from cookies?

Cookie files are tiny members of the big cache family. This form of cache is collected by your browser to remember previously visited websites. Cookies collect the details of your visit, its duration, actions on a page, etc. Advertisers also use these to follow you around the internet. However annoying they are, cookies are a part of internet reality that we cannot help but “Accept.”

2014-11-17 For an Intel equivalent of the disk space usage, try Disk Inventory, also free. Also, to skip the typing everytime & for a graphical interface, these options are available in both maintenance tools of Onyx and iTweax. The heavier-duty Onyx actually doesn't indicate the amount used by the Cache, which the light-weight iTweax does. 2016-1-18 Empty Caches Keyboard Shortcut for Safari in Mac OS X: Command+Option+E Once you have enabled the Develop menu, you will also gain access to a keystroke shortcut for clearing caches in Safari using Command+Option+E, which offers a faster method of access for users who need to access the feature often without having to pull down the menu every time. Step 5: Type in /Library/Caches and hit Enter. Step 6: Delete the folders that take up the most space. Step 7: Restart Mac. Solution 3: Remove Old iTunes Library Backups. Step 1: Open Finder and select Go to Folder in the Go menu. Step 2: Type in /Music/iTunes/Previous iTunes Libraries. Step 3: Delete those outdated iTunes Library backups. Learn how to clear cache on Mac OS X. Delete your browser cache (Safari and Google Chrome), System and User cache instantly. Now, type /Library/Caches and hit Enter. A new window with all the information of the data used will get open up. You can choose after looking up the dates, sizes, or types of data which you want to delete and which. 2020-4-1 The user caches folder sits in /Library/ and contains cache files from nearly all applications that are actively used in Mac OS X. While most apps maintain their caches reasonably well and don’t let things get out of control, some aren’t so good at it, and some apps leave behind rather large folders that serve no purpose if you no longer use the application.

There are many reasons to remove old cache from your MacBook and disk space issue is only one of them. So what are the other benefits ?

Fixing issues with laggy web pages that load outdated content
Removing personal data stored by websites and applications.
You need to force-delete outdated cache from an app.

Are you ready to reclaim space on your Mac? Let’s go!

What are main cache types?

There are roughly three main types of caches you can clean on your Mac:

System cache
User cache (including app cache and DNS cache)
Browser cache.

This article will go over cleaning up all three.

Now, when it comes to clearing cache on Mac, there are two ways you can do it. You can clean them up manually step-by-step, or you can clean them in second with a cleaning utility like CleanMyMac X. If you want to clear cache on your Mac right now, we suggest doing it the easy way:

Launch CleanMyMac X (2019 version is preferable)
Select System Junk
Click 'Scan', and then “Clean”

That’s it, all cache files cleaned! CleanMyMac X works on all systems, including the latest macOS Catalina. You can download CleanMyMac X for free here and try.

However, if you’d like to clean them all manually, follow the steps below.

How to empty user cache on Mac?

Potential space reclaimed from junk - Up to 70%

As you can see, a single user cache folder on my computer takes up enormous 1.6 GB of space. And that’s just one folder out of hundreds. That means a good cleaning could free up gigabytes of free space and speed up your Mac in the process.

To clear your user cache, do the following:

Mac Os Clean

Open a Finder window and select “Go to Folder” in the Go menu.
Type in ~/Library/Caches and hit enter to proceed to this folder.
Optional step: You can highlight and copy everything to a different folder just in case something goes wrong.
Go into each of the folders and clean out everything.
Note: We recommend that you remove the insides of these folders, but not the folders themselves.

Now, repeat the same steps above, but substitute…
~/Library/Caches with… /Library/Caches

Make sure that once you have finished clearing out these caches for additional hard drive space, you empty out your Trash. To do this, Control-click on the Trash icon in the dock and select “Empty Trash.” Restart your Mac afterward so your Mac can begin to create new, fresh cache files.
To help you make sense of your Library folder here's a brief explanation what each sub folder stands for.

Delete Library Caches Mac Os X 10

4 main types of cache within Library folder

Caches
Temporary data created by apps and websites. Your apps keep generating cache files for as long as they are active. Relying on such pre-loaded content reduces memory load and speeds up data exchange.
Preferences
Prererences folder is where you’ll find customized settings for your apps. Sometimes, there is a need to reset an app and delete its corrupted Preferences file. Preference files always end with .plist — so they are easy to spot and delete.

App support
App support folder contains large pieces of app data, like game saves. App support files may remain on your Mac long after you’ve deleted the app itself. That’s why “cleaners” for system junk were invented.

Containers
Containers folder is an exchange buffer that apps use to communicate with one another. This is often referred to as “sandboxing.” Containers folder is automatically emptied after you restart your Mac.

If you aren’t comfortable with the risk of deleting user cache manually, a specialist cleaning app CleanMyMac X can do it for you. It will only remove files you don’t need and will find up to 7x more temporary cache files to remove from all over your system.

How to delete system and app cache on Mac

Potential space reclaimed from junk - Up to 10% (manual methods) or 15% (using cleaner)

Next up we’re looking at your system cache files. These hidden cache files are mainly created by the apps that run on your Mac.

What is app cache? In short, it’s any media downloaded by the apps you use in order to work faster and not load it every time you open the app. Do you need it? It’s debatable, but app cache takes up disk space and can be cleaned.

You can delete app cache on Mac in the same way as user cache, by going to ~/Library/Caches and removing the insides of the folders with the app name.

Proceed with caution! Not all app cache can be safely cleared. Some app developers keep important user info on cache folders. Backing up a folder before you delete is always a good idea. If everything works fine then you can delete the backup later.

To be on the safe side, use CleanMyMac, it works with a Safety Database and knows how to clear app cache safely. As if that wasn’t enough it will also remove more junk than manual methods.

How cache is created? An example from Photos

Every time you do image manipulations, like rotating a picture, its additional copy is created on your drive. In this manner, just 4 rotations are enough for an image size to grow from 2.5 MB to 10 MB of disk space taken. If you edit photos and videos on a regular basis, you may notice that your editor application also keeps temporary data — like intermediate version of your files.

How to clear browser cache on Mac

Potential space reclaimed from junk - Up to 15%

We all love to surf the web but every site we visit adds to the growing browser cache. Clearing your browser cache doesn’t just free up space, it will can also clear your browsing history to secure your privacy.

Browser cache temporarily stores website data such as images, scripts, and other stuff, in order to make your browsing faster when you re