4 ways to clear Safari cache on Mac without affecting other data

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Recent versions of Safari have hidden features that allow you to clear your browser cache without deleting your history, cookies, and other site data. How and why to do this, read below.

Developers and people testing sites are the first to deal with cache deletion. To force new data to be downloaded from the server, they often have to clear the local cache. This is a very routine activity, but it can be made easier.

The first thing we need to do is enable the developer menu. Go to the Safari preferences, switch to the "Add-ons" tab and put a checkmark next to the item "Show Develop menu in the menu bar".

Clearing the cache normally

Now all that remains is to open the "Development" menu and select "Clear caches". After a few seconds, Safari will delete all cached files. Keep in mind that the browser will not display any confirmation dialogs and will delete absolutely all caches.

Clearing the cache using a shortcut

The same can be done not by scouring the menu, but by calling the function with the keyboard shortcut ⌥⌘E. We save time!

Clearing and Force Refreshing a Single Page

When you need to clear the cache only for a selected page, the easiest way is to use the familiar refresh button. The secret is that you should press it while holding down the Shift key.

Removing cache from Finder

Cached data, like any other, resides in the bowels of the Mac file system and can be deleted like regular files. They are all stored as SQlite database records that you can view, modify, and delete.

In modern versions of OS X, the cache is located in the folder

~ / Library / Caches / com.apple. Safari /

… It is recommended to delete individual records or the entire database only if you understand what you are doing. If not, then it is better to use the above methods.