misonoteApp Center

Google Chrome cache on Mac: safe to delete?

Safe to deleteRegenerated automatically; Thermo deletes it outright.

Quit first: Google Chrome

Where it is

  • ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome
  • ~/Library/Caches/com.google.Chrome

What it is

Chrome keeps cached copies of images, scripts, stylesheets and other web resources so pages load faster on later visits. On macOS this disk cache lives in ~/Library/Caches, separate from your profile data in Application Support.

Why it gets so big

Chrome sizes its cache based on available disk space, and each profile has its own cache, so several profiles multiply it.

Is it safe to delete?

Yes. Clearing it removes nothing personal: cookies, saved passwords, history, bookmarks and extensions are stored in your profile, not here. Websites load a little slower until the cache refills. Quit Chrome first.

Tip

To do the same from inside Chrome, use Delete browsing data and tick only cached images and files, so you stay signed in to your sites.

See how much space it uses

du -sh "$HOME/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome" "$HOME/Library/Caches/com.google.Chrome" 2>/dev/null

Delete it by hand

Run in Terminal. Deleting cannot be undone, so check the paths first.

rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome"/*
rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Caches/com.google.Chrome"/*

Related locations

All cleanup guides →