If Spotify is quietly eating several gigabytes of your Mac's storage, the culprit is almost always its spotify cache mac — a folder of streamed audio data the app writes silently in the background. This post shows you exactly where those files live, how large they typically grow, and three ways to reclaim the space safely, whether you prefer clicking through the app or going straight to the filesystem.
Why Spotify Caches So Much Data on macOS
Spotify pre-buffers and caches recently played tracks so they play instantly on repeat listens and so the app can keep streaming during brief network drops. It also writes offline downloads — songs, podcasts, and episodes you've saved for listening without Wi-Fi — to a separate location. Both buckets accumulate without any automatic size cap unless you configure one.
Spotify also embeds a Chromium-based renderer for its home feed and ads. That brings a second, smaller browser cache along for the ride. Most users don't realize they're carrying two separate Spotify caches.
Where Spotify Stores Its Cache on Mac
Spotify on macOS writes to two main locations. Both sit inside your user Library, which is hidden by default in Finder but easy to reach in Terminal.
| What it holds | Path | Typical size |
|---|---|---|
| Streamed audio cache + offline downloads | ~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/PersistentCache/ |
500 MB – 10 GB+ |
| Chromium browser cache (UI, ads) | ~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client/ |
50 – 300 MB |
The PersistentCache folder is the main offender. Its Storage subfolder holds thousands of small binary chunks — one per cached track segment. Offline downloads live alongside them in the same folder hierarchy, which is why Spotify's in-app "Clear cache" option and your offline library are intentionally separate controls.
How to Navigate There in Finder
- Open Finder and press Shift + Cmd + G to open Go to Folder.
- Paste
~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/PersistentCacheand press Return. - Select all contents and press Cmd + I to see the total size before doing anything.
How to Check Sizes in Terminal
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Spotify/PersistentCache/
du -sh ~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client/The first command reports the audio cache; the second reports the browser cache. Both commands work on macOS 12 Monterey through macOS 26.
Method 1 — Clear Spotify Cache from Inside the App (Safest)
Spotify's built-in setting is the gentlest option. It clears the streamed audio cache only, so your account data, playlists, and preferences are untouched. It does not remove your offline downloads.
- Open Spotify and click Spotify in the menu bar, then Settings (or press Cmd + ,).
- Scroll to the Storage section.
- You'll see your current cache size and the location Spotify is using.
- Click Clear cache. Confirm when prompted.
Spotify will rebuild a fresh cache as you stream. Expect slightly slower initial playback for a few minutes while it repopulates.
Method 2 — Delete the Cache Folder Directly from Disk
If you want to reclaim space right now without opening Spotify, you can delete the cache folder manually. This is safe as long as Spotify is closed first — the app will recreate the folder the next time it launches.
Important: Quit Spotify completely before running these commands. Go to the menu bar Spotify icon and choose Quit, or press Cmd + Q in the Spotify window.
Delete only the audio cache (keeps offline downloads intact)
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Spotify/PersistentCache/StorageDelete the entire PersistentCache (removes offline downloads too)
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Spotify/PersistentCacheDelete the browser (UI) cache
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.clientAfter running any of these, re-open Spotify and let it re-download the data it needs. Your playlists and account are stored in Spotify's cloud, not locally, so nothing is lost from your library. You will need to re-download any songs you had saved for offline listening.
Method 3 — Use Crumb to Find and Clear It Without Guessing Paths
If you'd rather not open Terminal or hunt through hidden Library folders, Crumb can surface the Spotify PersistentCache folder for you. Open the Visualize tab, let it scan your disk, then type "Spotify" in the search field — the PersistentCache folder shows up immediately with its real size. You can select it, use the built-in "Is this safe to delete?" check to confirm what it contains, and remove it from the same screen.
This is particularly useful if Spotify has moved its cache to a non-default location (it can happen after a major app update or a manual storage path change in Spotify's settings). You can download Crumb and run one cleanup for free without creating an account.
How to Limit Spotify's Cache Size Going Forward
Rather than clearing the cache repeatedly, you can cap how large it grows.
- In Spotify Settings, scroll to Storage.
- Use the Cache maximum size slider to set a limit (for example, 1 GB or 2 GB).
- Spotify will automatically evict older cached tracks once it hits that limit.
If you store offline downloads and also cache a lot of streaming, set a ceiling that reflects both. Downloads count toward the same storage pool.
What Is Safe to Delete vs. What Is Not
- Safe to delete: Everything inside
PersistentCache/Storage— these are streamed audio chunks Spotify can re-download. - Safe to delete: Everything inside
~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client/— browser UI cache, rebuilt automatically. - Do not delete:
~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/prefs— this is your local settings file (cache path, quality preferences). Removing it resets your Spotify settings. - Do not delete:
~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/Users/— stores your local user profile data. Leave this alone.
Cleaning is permanent — files deleted from the command line or from Crumb do not go to the Trash. Make sure Spotify is closed before you delete anything inside its folders.
Offline Downloads vs. Cache: Understanding the Difference
A common point of confusion: offline downloads and the streaming cache live in the same PersistentCache directory, but they serve different purposes.
- Streaming cache: Temporary chunks saved automatically as you listen. Spotify manages these and can delete them when it needs space. They appear in
PersistentCache/Storage. - Offline downloads: Tracks you explicitly saved for offline use via the download toggle on an album or playlist. These persist until you remove the download from within Spotify or delete the parent folder.
If you delete offline downloads from disk without removing them from Spotify first, the app may show an error or re-download them automatically the next time you're online. To cleanly remove offline content, toggle the download off inside Spotify, then let the app delete the files itself.
Conclusion
The Spotify cache on Mac is split across two hidden Library folders. The audio cache inside PersistentCache is the larger one and grows silently over time — easily past a gigabyte on an active account. Clearing it from Spotify's Settings is the safest one-click option. Going directly to disk with Terminal gives you more control over exactly what gets removed. Either way, your playlists and account are safe; only locally buffered audio is affected. Setting a cache size cap in Spotify's preferences is the best long-term fix so you're not doing this cleanup on a schedule.