Is it safe to delete the Caches files in the Library directory of Mac OS X? The files are quite large with 3.86 GB in total. Really need to free up some space...

Many Mac owners have raised the same question about app caches. So this post is going to answer these two questions: can I delete app caches? How do I safely clear app caches on Mac OS X/macOS?

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The vast majority of application caches are located in /Library/Caches (that is, your user folder Library Caches). There are also a few in /Library/Caches as well. Starting in OS X Lion, the user Library folder is mostly hidden from the Find. The Library folder is hidden by default on some versions of Mac OS X to avoid people messing with system files. You can create a shortcut to the Library folder or use the Finder menu Go (press Alt when the menu is open and Library will appear there). 2016-11-22  OneNote file and cache location on Mac Anyone know where to find. And how to delete. Any residual files from OneNote on Mac? I am not going to use OneNote on my Mac anymore, just using it in the cloud. If you want to make the Library folder visible permanently (or until Apple hides it again in an OS update) do this.

Can I Delete App Caches on Mac?

Yes, you can. Actually, an application creates caches to store temporary information that is needed to be frequently re-referenced to run the application. By saving the information on your Mac's hard drive, the application can spend less time to read data, and thus it runs faster.

It is totally okay to clear these caches on your iMac/MacBook. In fact, if the app really needs the caches after the deletion, it will re-create these caches next time it is launched. So you should not worry about losing important data or causing damage on the app.

Generally, an application saves caches for a good reason. But there are applications that are seldom used but leave behind a large amount of caches. These are the caches that you should clear to get more space. But anyway, you can delete cache files on my Mac.

How do I Safely Clear App Caches on Mac?

It is not recommended to clear the whole Caches folder. What you should delete include:

• Caches that are left behind by the uninstalled applications;

• Large caches, especially those belonging to the applications that you seldom use.

There are two ways to clear app caches on Mac: manually select unneeded caches to delete; use Mac cleaner to clear app caches.

1. Use Tool to Clear App Caches

FonePaw MacMaster is a Mac cleaner that can scan out application caches on your Mac and allow you to delete the caches. Comparing to the first method, using MacMaster allows you to:

• Clear other junk files besides app caches, including browser caches, system logs.

• Have a full cleanup of your Mac, including removing iTunes backups, large and old files.

You can click the download button to free download FonePaw MacMaster below.

To clear app caches with FonePaw MacMaster:

Step 1. Start the program on your iMac/MacBook. Click Scan button on System Junk category.

Step 2. The program will take a while to scan out all junk files from your Mac.

Step 3. When the scanning is finished, select App Cache to view the app caches.

Step 4. You can sort the caches by size or name.

Step 5. Tick the unneeded caches and click Clean to get rid of them. When you clean up, it will inform you how much storage is free up.

Actually, the MacMaster can do more than clea cache files on MacBook Pro/Air. Just download it on your computer and check.

2. Manually Delete Caches on Mac

Step 1. Hit Command + Shift + G to bring out 'Go to the folder' window. Type ~/Library/Caches/ to go to caches folder.

Step 2. Search the name of a certain application to locate its caches. Click Command + Delete to add the files to the trash.

Step 3. To quickly identify the large cache files, from the Caches folder, click View menu > 'Show View Options' and check 'Calculate all sizes'. The folders of each application will show with the size of the folders. Click 'Size' to sort the folders by size.

Leave your comment below if you have more question about app caches on Mac.

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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.”

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:

1. Launch CleanMyMac X (2019 version is preferable)
2. Select System Junk
3. 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:

1. Open a Finder window and select “Go to Folder” in the Go menu.
2. Type in ~/Library/Caches and hit enter to proceed to this folder.
3. Optional step: You can highlight and copy everything to a different folder just in case something goes wrong.
4. 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.

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 revisit the same site. If you’re worried about your privacy or want to hide pages you’ve visited, you can clear your Internet cache (or browser history). Also, resetting your browser cache will potentially help to get rid of 404, 502, and other errors caused by corrupted cache.

Each browser has its own cache location, so the process of clearing is different in each case. For instance, Chrome cache location is in Settings, Safari stores its cache in Privacy, and Firefox cache location is History tab.

Here’s a quick introduction into how to delete browser cache on Mac.

How to clear cache in Chrome

Here’s how to clear browser cache in Chrome manually:

1. Click the 3-dot icon in the top right corner of Google Chrome browser.
2. Choose Settings.
3. At the bottom of the menu, choose Advanced.
4. Click “Clear browsing data.”
5. Deselect all, but Cached images and files.
6. Timewise, choose All time.
7. Hit “Clear data” button.

Disk Utility

How to clear cache in Firefox

Here’s how to delete cache in Firefox manually:

1. Click the hamburger icon in the top right corner.
2. Choose Privacy & Security on the left sidebar.
3. Scroll to the section 'Cached web content' menu item.
4. Now, click Clear Now to delete Firefox cache.
5. Exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.

In the same menu, checkmark Override automatic cache management and limit the cache size in MB. Go with the default amount of 350 MB, which is enough for most users' needs.

TIP:

If for some reason you cannot open a web page, try putting cache: in front of the URL address. This redirects you to the site’s cached copy.

For example: cache:macpaw.com

Locate Library Caches For Mac Pc

It works most of the time and can magically open even the otherwise blocked sites.

How to clear cache in Safari

Safari is a little trickier than the rest of the browsers. You could remove caches together with all the other website history through History — Clear History in menu bar.

But if you need more precision, here’s how to empty cache on Safari browser:

1. In the top menu, choose Safari.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Choose the Advanced tab.
4. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
5. Now go to Develop in menu bar.
6. Choose Empty caches.

Make sure you close/quit the browser and restart it after clearing cache. Note, that all your auto logins and predicted websites in the address bar will be cleared.

Locate Library Caches For Mac Windows 7

Manual methods remove most of the browser junk but if you want to remove all of it, from all your browsers at once, there’s a safer and faster method to clear your internet cache on any browser.

How to clear cache files on Mac with a single click of a button

Instead of searching all over your Mac to find and remove cache files yourself, you can clear user caches on a Mac using CleanMyMac X. It makes removing cache files as easy as can be.

To get rid of cache files with CleanMyMac X:

1. Download CleanMyMac X (free) and launch it.
2. Select Smart Scan in the left menu.
3. Hit Scan at the bottom of CleanMyMac X.
4. Then click Clean.

Locate Library Caches For Mac Free

And you're done! If you’d like to remove only cache files and nothing else, click on Review Details before clicking Clean. Deselect everything but System Cache Files and User Cache Files, then click Clean.

The easy way to clear all browsing data

Instead of clicking between browsers and being limited to what they let you clean, take full control of all your browser cleaning with this simple method:

1. Open CleanMyMac and select the Privacy module
2. Click on your browser of choice
3. Make your selections from the list of all your cache and privacy tracks
4. Click Remove to clean your browser

Cleaning your Mac has never been easier. Download CleanMyMac X and try for free to get yourself a faster, cleaner Mac — without worrying about cleaning the wrong thing.

And if you’re looking to clear just browser cookies, check out this easy one-minute explanation we’ve made for you.

Locate Library Caches For Mac Windows 7

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