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In looking to free space on my system volume. I found this file:

~/Library/Caches

The file is over 15GB in size, but I can't really tell what it comprises.

I see a Downloads in there, so perhaps it has the manuals/documentation that I've downloaded? Can I relocate this bundle, or should I leave it alone?

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  • The ~/Library/Caches/ file is 15 GB or just com.apple.dt.XCode is 15 GB, which is located in ~/Library/Caches?
    – DrZoo
    Nov 16, 2016 at 16:16

1 Answer 1

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18

It's safe to delete

com.apple.dt.XCode

because Xcode will recreate its caches when needed (it can take some time at first relaunch, though, if Xcode needs to re-download something).

You should not delete the whole

~/Library/Caches

folder, though, because it contains many applications preferences and it wouldn't be safe to delete everything.

To gain more space, you can also delete the obsolete contents of

~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport/

(for example, the old iOS versions you don't use anymore).

There's also stale Xcode data in

~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData

that you can remove safely.

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  • 2
    Wait, ~/Library/Caches has configuration? I've been occasionally trashing it for months...what kind of configuration is in there?
    – SilverWolf
    Oct 19, 2018 at 0:57
  • @SilverWolf-ReinstateMonica I'm a bit surprised to read that it stores configuration. If it's the case, the said app is to blame. For me, as long as it's cache, it's always safe to delete. And as a developer, I wouldn't ever store any non-recoverable data in a Cache folder.
    – AnthoPak
    Jun 8, 2020 at 19:02
  • 1
    I've posted this answer a long ago, but I seem to remember that trashing this folder caused issues for many apps and services in my experience (including iCloud). So, maybe not "applications preferences" per se, but important files nonetheless. Of course I agree that it's preposterous to store important files in a "Cache" folder. But this is how it is. I still suggest not to trash the whole folder (but carefully cherry picking which subfolders to trash might be ok, just choose wisely).
    – Eric Aya
    Jun 8, 2020 at 21:17

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