How to Clear Cache on Mac (Safari, Chrome and System)

Pages showing old content, a site that won’t log you in, or a Mac that says it’s running out of space? Here is how to clear cache on Mac the safe way: in Safari turn on the Develop menu and choose Develop > Empty Caches, in Chrome press Command + Shift + Delete and tick Cached images and files, and for macOS itself restart once in safe mode, which clears some system caches for you. The full steps for each are below, along with what is safe to delete and what to leave alone.

Quick answer: To clear cache on Mac in Safari, choose Safari > Settings > Advanced, tick “Show features for web developers”, then choose Develop > Empty Caches. In Chrome, click the three-dot More menu > Delete browsing data, pick a time range, tick “Cached images and files” and click Delete data. To clear some macOS system caches, start your Mac in safe mode once, then restart normally.

What clearing the cache on a Mac actually does

A cache is a store of temporary copies: images, scripts and page parts that Safari or Chrome saved so sites load faster next time, and small files that macOS and apps keep for the same reason. Most of the time the cache helps. It causes trouble when a copy goes stale (a site has changed but your Mac still shows the old version), when it gets damaged (pages break, logins loop), or when it simply grows large.

Clearing it is safe in the sense that everything in a cache can be downloaded or rebuilt again. The catch is speed: right after you clear it, sites may load a little more slowly at first because images and other content have to be downloaded again. Clearing cookies is a different step with a bigger side effect: it signs you out of websites. The steps below keep the two apart so you only remove what you mean to.

How to clear cache on Mac in Safari

Safari has two separate tools: one empties the cache only, the other removes cookies and other website data. Use the first one when a page looks wrong; use the second when a site still misbehaves or you want a fresh start for privacy.

Empty Safari’s cache only (keeps you signed in)

1. Open Safari and choose Safari > Settings from the menu bar.
2. Click Advanced.
3. Tick Show features for web developers. This adds a Develop menu to Safari’s menu bar. You only need to do this once.
4. Close Settings, open the Develop menu and choose Empty Caches.
5. Reload the page that was giving you trouble.

Apple describes Empty Caches as deleting all caches stored by the browser. It is meant for caches, not your history, bookmarks or cookies, so you should stay signed in to your sites. (Source: Apple’s Safari Develop menu documentation and Safari Advanced settings guide.)

Remove cookies and website data in Safari (all sites or one site)

1. Choose Safari > Settings, then click Privacy.
2. Click Manage Website Data.
3. To clear one site, select it in the list and click Remove. To clear everything, click Remove All.
4. Reload the site.

Apple warns that removing this data may sign you out of websites or change how they behave, and that removing cookies and website data in Safari may change or remove them in other apps too. That is why the one-site option is usually the better choice when only one website is broken. (Source: Apple: Manage cookies and website data in Safari on Mac.)

Clear Safari history

If you also want to wipe the list of pages you visited, choose History > Clear History, click the pop-up menu and pick how far back to clear. Apple lists what this removes: the pages you visited, back and forward lists, frequently visited sites, recent searches, page icons and snapshots, the downloads list (the downloaded files stay on your Mac) and site permissions such as location and notifications. If Safari syncs through iCloud, the history is removed from your other devices as well. (Source: Apple: Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac.)

How to clear cache on Mac in Google Chrome

1. Open Chrome.
2. Click the More icon (three dots) at the top right and choose Delete browsing data. The keyboard shortcut is Command + Shift + Delete.
3. Pick a time range, for example Last hour for a fresh problem or All time for a full clean-out.
4. Tick Cached images and files. If you want to stay signed in to your websites, untick Cookies and other site data and leave the other boxes unticked.
5. Click Delete data.

Google notes that after you delete cookies you’ll need to sign in to websites again, but if Chrome sync is on you stay signed in to the Google Account you sync with. You can also type “Delete browsing data” in Chrome’s address bar and click the action button that appears to jump straight to the same window. (Source: Google Chrome Help: Delete browsing data.)

Reload one page without its cache in Chrome

When only one page looks stale, you don’t need to clear anything. Press Command + Shift + R in Chrome to reload the current page while ignoring cached content. (Source: Chrome keyboard shortcuts.)

How to clear system cache on Mac (macOS)

macOS doesn’t have a “clear system cache” button, and it manages most of its caches by itself. Apple’s own way to clear some of them is safe mode: when your Mac starts in safe mode it clears some system caches, such as font and kernel caches, and macOS creates them again as needed. That can also free some storage for a while. (Source: Apple: Start up your Mac in safe mode.)

Mac with Apple silicon (M-series chips)

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press and hold the power button until Loading startup options appears, then let go.
3. Select your startup disk (usually Macintosh HD).
4. Hold the Shift key and click Continue in Safe Mode. The Mac restarts.
5. Log in. You’ll see Safe Boot in red at the top right of the login window (you may be asked to log in twice).

Intel-based Mac

1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold Shift.
2. Let go when the login window appears and check for Safe Boot in red at the top right.

To leave safe mode, choose Restart from the Apple menu. Your Mac starts up normally.

Check what’s using your storage

If you’re clearing cache to free space, look first at where the space is going. On macOS Ventura or later, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Storage. Apple describes the large “System Data” bar as a general category for Apple and third-party files that don’t fit a more specific category, so caches are only part of it. (Source: Apple: Free up storage space on Mac.)

How to clear app cache on Mac

Some apps that keep big caches, such as browsers, chat apps and photo or video editors, have their own clear-cache option in their settings. That is the safest way to clear an app’s cache, because the app knows which files it can rebuild. Check the app’s own help pages for where it sits.

Apps store their cache files in the Caches folder inside your Library folder. You can look at it from the Finder: hold Option while you open the Go menu and choose Library, or choose Go > Go to Folder and type ~/Library/Caches (the tilde means your home folder). (Source: Apple: Go directly to a specific folder on Mac.) Apple doesn’t publish steps for deleting files there by hand, so if you look, quit the app first and stick to that app’s own folder rather than clearing the whole thing.

What’s safe to clear and what to leave alone

Clear cache on your other devices

Have the same problem on your phone or a school laptop? Follow our guides to clear cache on iPhone, clear cache on Android and clear cache on a Chromebook.

FAQ

Is it safe to clear cache on Mac?

Yes. Browser caches and the system caches cleared by safe mode are rebuilt automatically, so nothing important is lost. The only side effect is that sites may load a little more slowly the first time. Clearing cookies is also safe, but it signs you out of websites.

How do I clear cache on Mac without losing passwords?

Clear only the cache. In Safari use Develop > Empty Caches, which deletes the browser’s caches only. In Chrome tick only “Cached images and files” in the Delete browsing data window and leave every other box unticked.

Is there a keyboard shortcut to clear cache on Mac?

In Chrome, Command + Shift + Delete opens the Delete browsing data window, and Command + Shift + R reloads the current page while ignoring its cache. In Safari, use the Develop > Empty Caches menu command.

How do I clear cache for one website on Mac?

In Safari choose Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data, select the site and click Remove. In Chrome, a hard reload with Command + Shift + R is often enough for a single page.

How often should I clear cache on Mac?

There’s no need to do it on a schedule. Clear it when you see a problem: a page that won’t update, a login loop, a site that looks broken, or low storage. Clearing it too often just makes sites load more slowly.

Will clearing cache speed up my Mac?

Don’t expect a big speed-up. Clearing the cache fixes stale or broken pages and can free some space for a while, but it isn’t a general fix for a slow Mac. If space is the worry, start with System Settings > General > Storage to see where it is going.