Can You Delete the Library Caches Folder on a Mac?

Yes, it's safe to deleteDiskmack safety tier: Safe to clean

~/Library/Caches~/Library/Caches/*

Yes, you can delete the contents of ~/Library/Caches. Everything in there is scratch data that your apps rebuild on their own, so the worst case is a slower next launch while they redo the work. If the folder has grown to several gigabytes and you need the space back, clearing it is one of the safest cleanups you can do on a Mac.

What it is

~/Library/Caches is the shared scratch space for every app in your user account. When Spotify stores streamed audio, when a browser keeps images so pages load faster, when a developer tool saves compiled bits it might need again, it all lands in a subfolder here named after the app or its bundle identifier (Spotify uses com.spotify.client, Chrome keeps a Google folder here). Sandboxed apps, including most of Apple's own like Safari, keep their caches inside ~/Library/Containers instead, which is why this folder is dominated by third-party apps and developer tools. Apple's own guidance to developers is explicit: anything in Caches must be data the app can regenerate, because macOS makes no promise to keep it.

The folder grows because most apps write to it constantly and almost none of them clean up after themselves. An app you deleted a year ago can still have its cache sitting here. On a Mac that's been in use for a while, the folder commonly reaches several gigabytes, and heavy setups with lots of media apps or developer tools can push it well past that. Each subfolder inside (the ~/Library/Caches/* entries you may have found individually) follows the same rule: it belongs to one app, and that app can live without it.

Is it safe to delete?

Yes. Deleting the contents of ~/Library/Caches loses nothing permanent. No documents, no settings, no logins live here; those are kept in places like ~/Library/Application Support and ~/Library/Preferences. What you actually give up is speed: the first launch of each app after a cleanup is slower while it rebuilds what it needs, and apps that cache downloads (Spotify's streamed tracks, map tiles, podcast artwork) will re-fetch them over the network.

Two practical rules make it painless. First, quit your apps before you clear the folder, since a running app may be mid-write and will refuse to let go of some files. Second, delete what's inside the folder rather than the Caches folder itself; apps recreate it anyway, but keeping the folder avoids odd permission states. Diskmack identifies this folder automatically and cleans it the safe way.

How to check its size

In Finder: In Finder, press Command-Shift-G (or choose Go > Go to Folder), type ~/Library/Caches and press Return. Press Command-A to select everything, then Command-Option-I to open the Inspector, which shows the combined size of the selection.

In Terminal:

du -sh ~/Library/Caches

The ~ expands to your home folder automatically, and the path has no spaces, so no quotes are needed.

How to clean it

Quit your open apps so nothing is actively writing to its cache.
In Finder, press Command-Shift-G, type ~/Library/Caches and press Return.
Press Command-A to select everything inside the folder. Leave the Caches folder itself where it is.
Press Command-Delete to move the selection to the Trash.
If Finder says an item is in use or can't be moved, skip past it. That file belongs to something still running, and you can get it on the next pass.
Empty the Trash to actually reclaim the space.

Some subfolders reappear within seconds of being emptied. That's an app noticing its cache is gone and recreating it, which is exactly the behavior that makes this folder safe to clear.

Will it come back?

It comes back, and it should. Caches exist to make apps faster, so every app you use will start rebuilding its subfolder the moment you launch it. Expect the folder to regain a noticeable fraction of its size within days of normal use and to drift back toward its old weight over weeks or months. Clearing it is a way to reclaim space when you need it, not a permanent fix, so there's no point doing it on a schedule.

Common questions

Will I get logged out of my apps if I clear Library Caches?

Generally no. Sessions, tokens, and settings live in ~/Library/Application Support, ~/Library/Preferences, and the keychain, not in Caches. A few badly behaved apps stash real state in their cache against Apple's guidelines, but that's rare, and the fix is a quick re-login.

Should I delete the Caches folder itself or just what's inside it?

Just what's inside. macOS and your apps will recreate the folder if you remove it, but deleting only the contents avoids any brief permission weirdness and keeps Finder from complaining about the folder being in use.

What about /Library/Caches and /System/Library/Caches?

Those are different folders. /Library/Caches is the system-wide cache shared by all users; it's mostly regenerable too, but you'll need an admin password to touch it. /System/Library/Caches belongs to macOS itself and is protected by the system. Leave that one alone and stick to the one in your home folder.

How often should I clear ~/Library/Caches?

Only when you actually need the space. Caches make your apps faster, so clearing them on a routine just forces your Mac to redo work and re-download data. Treat it as a recovery move when the disk is full, not maintenance.