Cleaning the cache

[dcs.79c]

Yesterday, I read online how to clean the macOS cache. The instructions are to go to "~Library/Caches/".

Well, I have a few questions. Two of the sub-folders in the Caches folder have a red circle with a white dash in the lower-right of the folder. When I double-click, a window pops up & tells me that I don't have permission to see the contents. Then why are the 2 folders in the Caches folder?

If I were to select the Caches folder & then delete it, would Catalina state that I can't delete the 2 folders with the red circle?

I've read online that Clean My Mac is malware or spyware or something lie that.

I wonder if there is an app included with macOS that cleans out the cache that most people are unaware of. Or maybe a Terminal command.

I used CCleaner when I had Windows. I've noticed that there is a Mac version.

P.S. I have a 2013 MacBook Air. I plan to get the new 2022 Air shortly after it is in the stores.

 

[MacInWin]

Yesterday, I read online how to clean the macOS cache. The instructions are to go to "~Library/Caches/".

Well, I have a few questions. Two of the sub-folders in the Caches folder have a red circle with a white dash in the lower-right of the folder. When I double-click, a window pops up & tells me that I don't have permission to see the contents. Then why are the 2 folders in the Caches folder?

If I were to select the Caches folder & then delete it, would Catalina state that I can't delete the 2 folders with the red circle?

I've read online that Clean My Mac is malware or spyware or something lie that.

I wonder if there is an app included with macOS that cleans out the cache that most people are unaware of. Or maybe a Terminal command.

I used CCleaner when I had Windows. I've noticed that there is a Mac version.

P.S. I have a 2013 MacBook Air. I plan to get the new 2022 Air shortly after it is in the stores.

Not sure why you asked about why restricted folders are in the Caches folder. Happens all the time. The symbol (circle with dash) tells you that you don't have access. In fact, by default the ~/Library folder is hidden, so that naive users don't go mucking about in it.

Yes, you would get an error if you tried to delete the containing folder. You don't have permission to do that.

CMM isn't spyware, it's just got a reputation for being over-aggressive at deleting stuff and has left some systems unbootable as a result. Supposedly it's better now. I'm not going to risk it, myself. If you want a third party cleaner, you can look at OnyX, by Titanium Software. If you use it, stick with the default settings and run it only after making a backup. You only need to do that maybe once every six months, or every year, max.

Titanium Software | Operating System Utilities for Mac - OnyX

OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the startup disk and the structure of its system files, perform cleaning and computer maintenance tasks, configure some hidden parameters of many Apple applications, and more.

www.titanium-software.fr

But before you do that, a question. Why do you think you need to clear the cache? What is triggering you to want to do that? The system will take care of the cache for you, no need for you to do anything. macOS isn't Windows.

 

[ferrarr]

There are different Library/Cache folders.

In your "user" Library folder, you should not have any folders that you don't have access to. You need to look in the hidden Library folder, not the main Library folder. This

Location 1- located at <Startup Drive>> Library.
Location 2- located at <Startup Drive>> Users > <your user account>> Library. This is the hidden folder and to reveal it use these instructions;

How to Reveal the Library Folder in macOS

In macOS, the library folder is used to store user account settings, preference files, app support files, caches, and other important data that...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I wonder if there is an app included with macOS that cleans out the cache that most people are unaware of.

Macs don't usually need to have their caches cleaned. Macs, especially very recent Macs, are very good at maintaining themselves. Commercial "cleaning" apps are entirely unnecessary, and may even cause problems. That said, you may have want to have a look at:

Macintosh Routine Maintenance
http://macattorney.com/ts.html
and with respect to caches, have a look at Item #3.

 

[pm-r]

But before you do that, a question. Why do you think you need to clear the cache? What is triggering you to want to do that?

+1. I was wondering the same thing myself.

And I wonder if the article the OP read actually mentioned various reasons for doing so or why etc...???


- Patrick
=======

 

[pm-r]

Yesterday, I read online how to clean the macOS cache.

You might want to read some articles how about your Mac cache folders and then decide if you even want to do any "cleaning", not forgetting that most applications or commercial products, some selling for a pretty good price.

How to Clear Your Cache on a Mac

Find out how to remove unnecessary files and browser caches to clear space and boost performance on your Mac, iMac, Mac Mini, or MacBook.

www.avast.com

Then head off and read the user comment by ShotBlocker: at (1 Reviews of Avast Cleanup)
ShotBlocker Feb 8 2021:

Download Avast Cleanup for Mac | MacUpdate

Download the latest version of Avast Cleanup for Mac for free. Read 1 user reviews and compare with similar apps on MacUpdate.

www.macupdate.com

That should give you a pretty good idea as to whether you want to run such utilities or not, or even attempt to do your own cleaning.

If the latter, definitely make sure you have a current working Mac back up with all your data. But you should have one anyway, regardless of doing any Mac "clean up".




- Patrick
=======

 

[dcs.79c]

Not sure why you asked about why restricted folders are in the Caches folder. Happens all the time. The symbol (circle with dash) tells you that you don't have access. In fact, by default the ~/Library folder is hidden, so that naive users don't go mucking about in it.

Yes, you would get an error if you tried to delete the containing folder. You don't have permission to do that.

CMM isn't spyware, it's just got a reputation for being over-aggressive at deleting stuff and has left some systems unbootable as a result. Supposedly it's better now. I'm not going to risk it, myself. If you want a third party cleaner, you can look at OnyX, by Titanium Software. If you use it, stick with the default settings and run it only after making a backup. You only need to do that maybe once every six months, or every year, max.

Titanium Software | Operating System Utilities for Mac - OnyX

OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the startup disk and the structure of its system files, perform cleaning and computer maintenance tasks, configure some hidden parameters of many Apple applications, and more.

www.titanium-software.fr

But before you do that, a question. Why do you think you need to clear the cache? What is triggering you to want to do that? The system will take care of the cache for you, no need for you to do anything. macOS isn't Windows.

I periodically clear the cache on my browser. So, I wondered about cleaning the macOS cache. That's why I inquired.

 

[MacInWin]

Ah, OK. Two entirely different things. Let the OS manage the system cache. The only reason for cleaning out the cache on any browser is if you get stuck with some error in trying to get to a website because it keeps reading the cache instead of going to the actual site.

 

[dcs.79c]

You might want to read some articles how about your Mac cache folders and then decide if you even want to do any "cleaning", not forgetting that most applications or commercial products, some selling for a pretty good price.

How to Clear Your Cache on a Mac

Find out how to remove unnecessary files and browser caches to clear space and boost performance on your Mac, iMac, Mac Mini, or MacBook.

www.avast.com

Then head off and read the user comment by ShotBlocker: at (1 Reviews of Avast Cleanup)
ShotBlocker Feb 8 2021:

Download Avast Cleanup for Mac | MacUpdate

Download the latest version of Avast Cleanup for Mac for free. Read 1 user reviews and compare with similar apps on MacUpdate.

www.macupdate.com

That should give you a pretty good idea as to whether you want to run such utilities or not, or even attempt to do your own cleaning.

If the latter, definitely make sure you have a current working Mac back up with all your data. But you should have one anyway, regardless of doing any Mac "clean up".




- Patrick
=======

WOW, that's a lot of cleaners. AppCleaner is on the list. I've used it &, so far, no problems.

I know that I can drag the AppCleaner folder to the Trash, but does that remove ALL traces, all files from the computer? If there are leftover files after dragging the AppCleaner folder to the Trash, will it affect the stability of the OS?

After reading your replies, the thought of manually deleting the cache files or using an app to delete the cache files, makes me very nervous!

 

[pm-r]

WOW, that's a lot of cleaners. AppCleaner is on the list. I've used it &, so far, no problems.

Hmmm...??? I didn't notice AppCleaner on that list, but it isn't usually used for cleaning up any cache files but maybe part of it's incidental clean up when removing an application and any associated files or folders.

I know that I can drag the AppCleaner folder to the Trash, but does that remove ALL traces, all files from the computer?

For such application removal, one can usually do so manually or use any uninstaller that might be available. In this case:

How to Uninstall AppCleaner from Mac | Nektony

To manually remove AppCleaner from your Mac, follow the next steps: Quit AppCleaner. Open the Applications folder. Select the AppCleaner.app file, right-click and choose Move to Trash. Open Finder to get access to the user’s Library folder...

nektony.com

For those without an uninstaller, I usually use the finder and Find Any File.app to seek and destroy any leftover bits for pieces that might be a associated, usually by applicationname or developername.

If there are leftover files after dragging the AppCleaner folder to the Trash, will it affect the stability of the OS?

I would not think so. The Mac OS would probably just ignore them.

Maybe try using Appcleaner to clean up all appcleaner bits and pieces if you don't want to use it. But personally, I would just leave it in place for if and when you need it again. It's very likely that you will...



- Patrick
=======

 

[dcs.79c]

Hmmm...??? I didn't notice AppCleaner on that list, but it isn't usually used for cleaning up any cache files but maybe part of it's incidental clean up when removing an application and any associated files or folders.



For such application removal, one can usually do so manually or use any uninstaller that might be available. In this case:

How to Uninstall AppCleaner from Mac | Nektony

To manually remove AppCleaner from your Mac, follow the next steps: Quit AppCleaner. Open the Applications folder. Select the AppCleaner.app file, right-click and choose Move to Trash. Open Finder to get access to the user’s Library folder...

nektony.com

For those without an uninstaller, I usually use the finder and Find Any File.app to seek and destroy any leftover bits for pieces that might be a associated, usually by applicationname or developername.

I would not think so. The Mac OS would probably just ignore them.

Maybe try using Appcleaner to clean up all appcleaner bits and pieces if you don't want to use it. But personally, I would just leave it in place for if and when you need it again. It's very likely that you will...



- Patrick
=======

HMMM, the above list has "AppCleaner & Uninstaller". That's $20. I have the free AppCleaner. They are 2 different apps.

I asked about cleaning the cache. From what you've said to me, I don't want to mess around with an app that cleans the cache. And the thought of manually deleting cache files & leftovers from deleting the app folder make me very nervous.

 

[MacInWin]

HMMM, the above list has "AppCleaner & Uninstaller". That's $20. I have the free AppCleaner. They are 2 different apps.

I asked about cleaning the cache. From what you've said to me, I don't want to mess around with an app that cleans the cache. And the thought of manually deleting cache files & leftovers from deleting the app folder make me very nervous.

You are mixing a lot of terms together that don't make much sense. "Cache" is data that is downloaded, or kept, by an application so that it doesn't have to download it again next time it needs it. So, the Safari (or any browser) cache would be the most recent visits to a website, for example. If the actual site doesn't respond in time, the cached version is put up for you, in some case. To you, it ends up looking like you can't get the page to update, which is true at that moment.

Leftovers from uninstalling an app are not generally "cache" but various bits and pieces that the app may have put in some locations in order to run properly. These might include launch daemons, plists, and snippet of code called "helpers." What App Cleaner does is look for those bits and pieces and shows them all to you when you drag the app to the AppCleaner window. Then clicking on the "Remove" button moves all of what is found to the Trash, and when you empty the Trash, the files are erased. AppCleaner is pretty good. And free. You can get it here:

AppCleaner

The operating system also uses cache(s) to speed up things for you. Those caches are generally the files you have most recently used, or a list of them, so that if you open them again, it can retrieve them from cache faster. There are also results of various operating system function that are stored in cache so they don't need to be retrieved/recalculated again. These caches the system will purge periodically, so you don't have to do anything about them. If you still feel you HAVE to clean (a trait a lot of Windows users have when they come to the Mac) then, again, you can get OnyX from here:

Titanium Software | Operating System Utilities for Mac - OnyX

OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the startup disk and the structure of its system files, perform cleaning and computer maintenance tasks, configure some hidden parameters of many Apple applications, and more.

www.titanium-software.fr

and use it with the defaults as set by the developer. It will empty various cache and history files for you. It's not really necessary to do very often, maybe once every six months or so, but I haven't done it in over a year now because the system cleans up pretty well at every cold start.

 

[pm-r]

I asked about cleaning the cache. From what you've said to me, I don't want to mess around with an app that cleans the cache. And the thought of manually deleting cache files & leftovers from deleting the app folder make me very nervous.

Just carry on as Jake and Randy suggested, and let the Mac OS look after cleaning up things like cache files as it sees fit and don't worry about it.


- Patrick
=======

 

[dcs.79c]

You are mixing a lot of terms together that don't make much sense. "Cache" is data that is downloaded, or kept, by an application so that it doesn't have to download it again next time it needs it. So, the Safari (or any browser) cache would be the most recent visits to a website, for example. If the actual site doesn't respond in time, the cached version is put up for you, in some case. To you, it ends up looking like you can't get the page to update, which is true at that moment.

Leftovers from uninstalling an app are not generally "cache" but various bits and pieces that the app may have put in some locations in order to run properly. These might include launch daemons, plists, and snippet of code called "helpers." What App Cleaner does is look for those bits and pieces and shows them all to you when you drag the app to the AppCleaner window. Then clicking on the "Remove" button moves all of what is found to the Trash, and when you empty the Trash, the files are erased. AppCleaner is pretty good. And free. You can get it here:

AppCleaner

The operating system also uses cache(s) to speed up things for you. Those caches are generally the files you have most recently used, or a list of them, so that if you open them again, it can retrieve them from cache faster. There are also results of various operating system function that are stored in cache so they don't need to be retrieved/recalculated again. These caches the system will purge periodically, so you don't have to do anything about them. If you still feel you HAVE to clean (a trait a lot of Windows users have when they come to the Mac) then, again, you can get OnyX from here:

Titanium Software | Operating System Utilities for Mac - OnyX

OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the startup disk and the structure of its system files, perform cleaning and computer maintenance tasks, configure some hidden parameters of many Apple applications, and more.

www.titanium-software.fr

and use it with the defaults as set by the developer. It will empty various cache and history files for you. It's not really necessary to do very often, maybe once every six months or so, but I haven't done it in over a year now because the system cleans up pretty well at every cold start.

Sorry about that! I meant system cache(s).

I had Windows up to Vista. I wanted a new Windows computer & Windows 8 was out at the time. I didn't like Windows 8 at all. I had Windows since 3.1. So, I went down to the Apple section at Best Buy & tried out a Mac. I haven't looked back since.

 

[MacInWin]

Yeah, I was on Windows until the early 2000's. Got a Mac when the iMacs could run Windows on them (I had two apps I needed that were Windows-only). Then got rid of Windows altogether about 12 years ago when I retired and didn't need it for work anymore. But habits from Windows can creep in, and cleaning caches is one. Antivirus is another. Just. Say. No.