How to Clear the Cache on Your Mac

Have you ever wondered why your Mac is running slow? Does it freeze when performing even just the simplest of tasks? Does it take a while to launch and switch programs? Everybody has gone through this excruciating pain at least once.

Even though the Mac is known to be a high-performance machine, it disappoints us sometimes as it slows down over time. There are numerous reasons why this happens. The main reason is a full hard disk. The more available space your Mac’s hard disk has, the more efficient your Mac will operate.

You may ask why your hard disk runs low on space. One of the culprits could be your hard disk cache has become loaded with unnecessary files.

What is Cache?

Cache files are data saved by browsers, systems and applications on your hard disk to guarantee a smooth user experience. It is mostly used to speed up processes.

For instance, Safari will load images on a webpage and downloaded them to the cache so that the next time you visit the website, you don’t need to download them again because they can be retrieved from the cache. This reduces the wait time to load webpages.

As time goes by, the number of cache files increase considerably. Even though they are temporary and can be deleted, most people don’t bother to do so. In turn, these cache files start to take up storage space resulting in lowered system performance.

Cache files include system cache, app cache, browser cache, library cache and more.

Although other operating systems store cache in different file locations, the Mac OS stores cache files in the cache folder.

How Does Cache Affect Your Mac?

Although the primary purpose of cache is to provide a smoother user experience, the constant build up of data leads to storage space issues on a Mac.

Cache files are small in size, however going a long period of time without cleaning the hard disk means that these cache files can increase to gigabytes in size, resulting in a system with a minimum of disk space to operate. It affects the smooth performance in which Mac computers are known for.

To avoid this from happening, it is recommended to clear your cache regularly.

How to Clear the Cache on your Mac Manually?

Mac systems are harder to clean compared to other operating systems as the destination is located within other folders and files. With the lack of knowledge on how to clean a Mac, the most inevitable question asked is: How to clear the cache on Mac?

Many people prefer opting for the longer route and cleaning the cache themselves. There are several types of cache files and each file is stored in different locations and cleared differently.

Here’s how different types of cache files can be cleared manually on your Mac:

User Cache:

User cache takes up the most space on your hard disk which is normally located in the User Cache folder “~/Library/Caches.”

Although a good cleaner locates and clears cache files well, manual deletion requires more work.

Reminder: User cache also includes sensitive data. Some users may encounter errors opening the files and system applications after clearing it entirely. It is recommended to perform a backup first.

To create a backup:

• Select “Go to Folder” in the Go menu of a File folder

• Type “~/Library/Caches” and press Enter

• Select all using ‘Ctrl+A’ and copy all folders and files

• Go back to Library and create a new folder ‘User Cache’

• Copy all data to the new folder

To remove user cache:

• Select “Go to Folder” in the Go menu of a File folder

• Type “~/Library/Caches” and hit Enter

• Go into each of the folders and delete every file

We recommend that you remove the files inside the folder, not the folder itself

After you have deleted all cache from the original location, you may delete the created backup as well.

System Cache and App Cache:

System cache is composed of files stored by system applications that run in the background of a Mac.

App cache consists of media files downloaded by the applications in order to speed it up, as well as system thumbnails, temporary downloads, and so on. Although useful, app cache takes up significant space over time and needs to be cleared.

To remove system and app cache:

• Type “~/Library/Caches” and remove the data inside of the folders with the app name.

One important thing is that not all app cache is safe to be cleaned. Applications are designed to keep essential data in some of the cache folders. To avoid mishaps, backing up cache data before cleaning is always a safe option.

In order to make sure no harm is done, you may delete the backup after some time.

DNS Cache:

The DNS cache is a type of system cache. These are old cache entries that translate internet domain names (e.g., drcleaner.com) into IP addresses on your Mac. Regularly clearing DNS cache ensures an uninterrupted connection to websites.

To clean the DNS cache:

For older Mac OS versions (before OS X 10.10.0):

• Open Terminal via Spotlight.

• Type into Terminal:

“sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; say cache flushed”

• Enter admin password to complete.

For latest MAC OS versions (Mac OS X 10.10.0 and above):

• Open Terminal via Spotlight.

•Type into Terminal:

“sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache; sudo discoveryutil udnsflushcaches; say flushed”\

• Enter your admin password to execute.

Browser Cache:

Internet browsing is the most commonly known activity on a device as well as a major source of income for many. While we browse from site to site, all activities result in a growing cache.

Browser cache consists of website data such as images, scripts, and so on, in order to speed up your browsing experience. It allows you to visit the same website faster with the use of the stored cache on the computer.

Aside from freeing space on your hard disk, clearing the browser cache accomplishes multiple purposes. It can secure privacy by deleting the browsing history. It can also potentially help to get rid of known errors such as error 404, 502, and so on, often caused by a corrupted cache.

Each browser stores cache differently, meaning, the process of clearing cache differs across browsers. As for the most commonly used browsers, Chrome’s cache location is in ‘Settings’, Safari stores it in ‘Privacy’, while Firefox’s location is under the History tab.

To Clear the Browser Cache:

For Chrome:

• Click the options icon at the top right corner of the Google Chrome browser

• Choose Settings

• Choose “More Tools,” in the left menu

• Click “Clear browsing data.” [Shortcut: ⇧⌘⌫]

• Select only Cached images and files and Browsing history

• Select ‘the beginning of time’

• Click “Clear browsing data” button

Restart Chrome

For Firefox:

• On the History menu, select ‘Clear Recent History’

• From the drop-down menu with a time range, select the desired range. To clear all the cache, select ‘Everything’

• Click the down arrow next to Details and choose only Cache

• Click ‘Clear Now’

• Exit and re-open the browser

For Safari:

• On the top menu, choose Safari

• Click ‘Preferences’

• Choose the ‘Advanced tab’

• Enable show ‘Develop’ menu in the menu bar

• Go to ‘Develop’ in the menu bar

• Choose ‘Empty Caches’

Restart Safari

For best results, make sure to empty Trash after clearing all the cache files.

To clear the trash, press control + click the Trash icon and select “Empty Trash.”

Reboot the Mac for a complete overhaul which leads to the Mac creating new cache files.

Manually cleaning junk files is a tedious task. Not only does it threaten deletion of important files but also takes up significant time and effort.

There are alternatives to manual cleaning that clean the system much more effectively and quickly, such as using Dr. Cleaner.

Why Dr. Cleaner?

Dr. Cleaner was voted as the best cleaning app for Mac OS in 2017. It guarantees seven times more freed up hard disk space than any traditional hard disk cleaning methods.

Dr. Cleaner offers a free and effective way to clear cache on the Mac. It removes all unnecessary files that slow down your system in one click.

Providing a one-stop solution for Mac OS maintenance, Dr. Cleaner removes every junk file including app cache, browser cache, library caches, log files, iTunes and iOS temporary files, and so on.

Manual methods remove the majority of browser junk, but browsers also store data in other folders.

‘If you want to remove all of the browser caches at once, there’s a more efficient method to clear them ‘— use Dr. Cleaner.

Not only does Dr. Cleaner offer features such as Memory Free, Disk Clean, and Uninstall App. It also includes Clear Cache to fully optimize your Mac. And the best part? It’s free!

Additionally, some of the app caches are sensitive. App developers store important data in cache folders.

To prevent any problems, Dr. Cleaner works with a Safety Database and knows how to clear app cache safely. Not only does it protect precious data but it ensures more free space than manual methods.

In addition, Dr. Cleaner also monitors your system storage continuously to prevent significant buildup of unwanted files. Here’s a list of features Dr. Cleaner exclusively offers to Mac users for free:

 Memory Free

 Disk Clean

 Junk Files Cleaner

 Big Files Scanner

 Duplicate Finder

 Intelligent App Manager

 System Monitoring

 Uninstall Applications

How to Clean Cache and other Junk Files with Dr. Cleaner?

Dr. Cleaner’s brand new user interface makes it very easy to clear cache and remove all the junk files from your Mac. Just follow the steps below to quickly clear cache:

1. Open Dr. Cleaner on your Mac

You will see the main dashboard window with several options, such as Junk Files, Big Files, and Disk Map, and so on

2. Choose ‘Junk Files’

3. Click ‘Scan’

Dr. Cleaner will scan for all the junk files that are safe to delete, including application caches, application logs, iTunes Temporary Files, and so on

You may also perform a quick disk clean up. Go to the status bar menu of your Mac to perform this task.

Is Dr. Cleaner Safe?

Many users reported privacy concerns regarding the usage of other cleaning applications.

Dr. Cleaner is a smart cleaning utility that removes user files only after the user consents. The software scans and optimizes the system by deleting junk files that clog the system only. Also, it only proceeds by admin’s permission.

User feedback also illustrates how MacBook owners have used Dr. Cleaner effectively without compromising their private data. The application has managed to garner 4 million users in under 40 months. With an average rating of 4.8 stars, it can be safely assumed that Dr. Cleaner has emerged as the most reliable Mac optimization tool, and it also received many unbiased reviews with positive results ,for example Dr. Cleaner Review on SoftwareHow.

If you encounter issues on your Mac such as almost-full storage, a lagging Mac system, or other performance issues, now you know which cleaning application to use. Download Dr. Cleaner and give your Mac system new life!

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