I would also recommend downloading the shareware utility TinkerTool System that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old logfiles and archives, clearing caches, etc. Other utilities are also available such as Onyx, Leopard Cache Cleaner, CockTail, and Xupport, for example. One of the best is to clear cache on macOS High Sierra. This will provide more storage space that can be utilized to make the Mac operations faster. When you decide to clear cache, there are two options; manual or the use of third-party software like CleanMyMac 3. Every site or system has its hardware or software sections, which stores the data that has been searched by the user. This data is known as Cache. It is just a temporary file created by apps, browsers and many other programs to help your Mac run faster. When you use programs and surf the Internet, your computer saves files into cache so that your computer can recall them faster. However, when your computer has many files saved into cache, your computer may perform at a slower pace or it may cause programs to shut down. This can cause you to lose work and valuable time.

1. Best Software For Clearing Mac Cache Cleaner
2. Apple Mac Clear Cache
3. Mac Memory Clear Cache

Some Mac users may want to clear caches and clean out temporary files from Mac OS. Caches and temporary files can include things like web browser cache and history, messaging cache, app specific temp files and caches, partially completed downloads, and much more. The mac-address-table and the arp cache are quite separate and distinct. Depending on what your issue is and what you are attempting to accomplish it may be advisable to clear one or the other, or even perhaps both. Easy guide to Clean out Temporary System Files and System Caches on Mac. The clearing and cleaning method described above is for cleaning out temporary files and cache files from an active account user. However, there are other cache files and temporary files that can be created by Mac system level applications.

It’s normal for macOS to use some of your hard drive space for everyday operations. Your web browser constantly downloads new data, which it retains to speed up future browsing sessions. Applications like video editors and iTunes keep a media cache of exported files and album artwork.

It’s amazing just how much free space you can reclaim by deleting junk files, provided you know where to look. There’s also good reason to approach this reclamation of drive space with caution.

Today we’ll look at why and how to clear caches on macOS, as well as a few apps that make it super easy.

What Are Caches and Why Delete Them?

Caches are basically temporary files created by your operating system and the applications you use. They could be temporary internet files like images and HTML documents, created by a web browser like Safari or Chrome.

If you edit a lot of photos and videos, you’ll find that your editor of choice retains temporary data that hangs around on your drive. Video editors that render clips and effects during editing have to store this data somewhere, but they don’t always remove these files afterwards.

Many applications keep caches that are just too small to worry about. System components like Spotlight, Contacts, and Maps create relatively lightweight caches that won’t net you a lot of free space should you delete them.

Which brings us to an important point: you don’t need to delete caches. Unless you’re looking for a quick and easy way to regain some free space and you’re constantly juggling applications and files so that your Mac functions normally, it’s best to leave them be.

Many applications run their own cleanup routines to stop caches ballooning to unmanageable sizes. There are a few other valid reasons you might delete caches beyond a desire for more space:

• Fix problems with webpages loading outdated assets.
• Remove personal data stored by websites and applications.
• Force an app to discard old cached information.

Important: Create a Backup First!

You should already be regularly backing up your Mac, whether that’s with the Apple’s own Time Machine, using a third party backup tool5 Local Mac Backup Solutions That Aren't Time Machine5 Local Mac Backup Solutions That Aren't Time MachineThere are lots of Mac backup options out there, and many of them have features that Apple's default backup app just can't compete with.Read More, or even an online backupSafeguard Your Mac's Files With Remote Online BackupsSafeguard Your Mac's Files With Remote Online BackupsTime Machine is a great first line of defence, but the best way to keep your files safe is to use an off-site backup.Read More. When you start poking around in the Library folder, you run the risk of breaking something.

While most applications generally won’t store critical information in the cache, it’s certainly possible that deleting something could lead to unwanted data loss and unforeseen behavior. With a recent backup, you can simply restore the caches folder should something go wrong.

How to Clear the Safari Cache on Mac

Clearing your web cache is easy, though if you’re not using Safari as your primary web browser, this won’t be of use to you: Hard drive format best for mac.

1. Launch Safari and click on Safari > Preferences at the top of the screen.
2. Click on Advanced then enable Show Develop menu in menu bar at the bottom.
3. Close the Preferences window then select Develop at the top of the screen.
4. From the Develop menu choose Empty Caches.

Note: This is a bit more drastic than simply clearing your history, accessible under Safari > Clear History. Clearing caches in Develop mode will not remove any personal information other than that stored in temporary files (your history, bookmarks, Downloads folder, and so on are unaffected).

How to Clear Mac System Caches

To clear system caches specific to your user account:

1. Launch Finder then click Go > Go to Folder in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
2. In the box that appears type ~/Library/Caches and hit OK.
3. Choose the files and folders you want to delete, and drag them into the Trash.
4. Regain free space by right-clicking on the Trash in your dock and choosing Empty Trash.

If you want to delete caches associated with another user account, you’ll need to head to that specific user’s cache directory. You can do this by changing the folder location in the second step to /Users/username/Library/Caches—replacing username with the user account in question.

To clear system caches that are shared between user accounts, head to /System/Library/Caches instead.

Apps Can Do All of This for You

You could spend your time manually deleting caches, or you could just get an app to do it for you. The beauty of these apps is that they generally do a lot more, and they’re especially good at freeing up space you didn’t know you had.

OnyX is one such free tool that provides simple one-click deletion of caches. Download the version specific to your operating system, and launch the app. Let it analyze your startup disk, then head to the Cleaning tab. Flick through the tabs and indicate what should be deleted, then click Delete Caches.

CCleaner is another tool that will kill your caches, though it doesn’t offer as much control as OnyX. Download and install the app, then click Analyze to let CCleaner find as much potential free space as possible (caches included). You can then hit Run Cleaner to tidy up the selected items.

Finally, CleanMyMac 3 is a $40/year premium one-click cleaner. The only reason I routinely use it is because it’s included in the app subscription service SetApp. It’ll blitz your caches, and find other redundant macOS data, outdated backups, and huge files you’d forgotten about in a few clicks.

I’ve never had any trouble clearing caches using any of these apps, but it’s still worth running regular backups for peace of mind.

Reminder: You Don’t Normally Need to Do This

Unless you’re incredibly tight on space or looking to target a specific application by deleting its cache, you should probably leave your Mac’s caches well alone. There are plenty of ways to create free space on macOS without ever touching your caches.

You can move your libraries and device backups elsewhere, delete unnecessary large files3 Free Apps to Analyze & Inspect Your Mac's Hard Disk Space3 Free Apps to Analyze & Inspect Your Mac's Hard Disk SpaceWondering where all of your Mac's storage has gone? These free apps will let you know.Read More, or even add more storage space to your MacBookHow to Add More Storage to Your MacBook: 6 Methods That WorkHow to Add More Storage to Your MacBook: 6 Methods That WorkRunning out of space on your MacBook? Here are all your options for adding more storage space to your MacBook.Read More to give you more room to breathe.

Image Credit: Wavebreakmedia/Depositphotos

Explore more about: Mac Tricks, Storage, Temporary Files.

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.

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 your 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:

1. System cache
2. User cache (including app cache and DNS cache)
3. 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 Mojave. 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 OS Mojave

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.

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.

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

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:

Best Software For Clearing Mac Cache Cleaner

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.

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:

Apple Mac Clear Cache

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.

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.

Mac Memory Clear Cache

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