[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":345},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-article-\u002Fblog\u002Fclear-jetbrains-cache":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":325,"cover":326,"coverAlt":327,"description":328,"draft":329,"extension":330,"meta":331,"navigation":332,"path":333,"publishedAt":334,"seo":335,"stem":336,"tags":337,"topics":341,"translationKey":343,"updatedAt":334,"__hash__":344},"articles_en\u002Fblog\u002Fclear-jetbrains-cache.md","How to Clear IntelliJ IDEA Cache","Harry",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":317},"minimark",[10,14,21,30,35,38,50,61,64,81,84,104,112,116,127,180,190,206,209,245,249,260,272,275,279,282,304,310],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Your projects haven't grown much, but your drive is running out of space. IDEA's caches are worth checking: indexes and temporary data from projects you've opened can remain in your user folder, away from the source code. Closing a project doesn't clear them.",[11,15,16,20],{},[17,18,19],"strong",{},"You can clear IDEA caches without uninstalling the IDE, deleting projects or resetting your settings."," Save your work, quit the IDE and clear only the cache folders you've checked. IDEA may rebuild indexes when you reopen a project, so code completion and navigation can take time to become available again.",[11,22,23,24,29],{},"If you'd rather skip the folder hunting, ",[25,26,28],"a",{"href":27},"\u002F","MangoDisk"," can show JetBrains cache sizes and paths before you choose what to remove. It's free and open source, with no signup or login.",[31,32,34],"h2",{"id":33},"check-idea-cache-sizes-with-mangodisk","Check IDEA cache sizes with MangoDisk",[11,36,37],{},"IDEA's built-in cache invalidation is useful for index problems. When you need disk space, it helps to see which caches are actually large first. MangoDisk puts supported cache folders in one view instead of making you open each folder and check its properties.",[11,39,40,41,45,46,49],{},"Run a standard scan in ",[25,42,44],{"href":43},"\u002Fdocs\u002Ffeatures\u002Fdeep-clean","Deep Cleanup",", then expand ",[17,47,48],{},"JetBrains IDE cache"," under Developer tools. If you've used several IDEA versions, PyCharm or WebStorm, check the paths to distinguish IDEA's caches from the others. You don't have to clear the whole group.",[11,51,52],{},[53,54],"img",{"alt":55,"decoding":56,"height":57,"loading":58,"src":59,"width":60},"MangoDisk Deep Cleanup on Windows showing cache categories, sizes, paths and cleanup selections","async",1171,"lazy","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mangodisk.app\u002Fimages\u002Fscreenshots\u002Fwindows\u002Fen\u002Flight-01-deep-cleanup.jpg",1746,[11,62,63],{},"Before clearing files:",[65,66,67,71,78],"ol",{},[68,69,70],"li",{},"Save your code, stop builds and quit IDEA and any other running JetBrains IDEs.",[68,72,73,74,77],{},"Choose ",[17,75,76],{},"Select none",", then select only the IDEA cache paths you've checked.",[68,79,80],{},"Review the estimated space to recover and the selected paths, then confirm the cleanup.",[11,82,83],{},"Scanning alone doesn't delete files. JetBrains caches aren't something to select indiscriminately: they may need rebuilding, so check their size before deciding whether the space is worth reclaiming.",[11,85,86,87,90,91,97,98,103],{},"On Windows, MangoDisk's rule targets specific cache, index, temporary, log and compile-server folders in known default locations. On Mac, it targets selected folders containing generated caches. Both rules leave projects, settings, plugins and ",[17,88,89],{},"Local History"," outside their scope; they don't empty the entire JetBrains folder. See the ",[25,92,96],{"href":93,"rel":94},"https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fharry0703\u002FMangoDisk\u002Fblob\u002Fv1.1.6\u002Fsrc-tauri\u002Fcrates\u002Fmangodisk-core\u002Frules\u002Ffilesystem\u002Fwindows\u002Fdevelopment\u002Fdev.jetbrains-cache.toml",[95],"nofollow","Windows rule"," and ",[25,99,102],{"href":100,"rel":101},"https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fharry0703\u002FMangoDisk\u002Fblob\u002Fv1.1.6\u002Fsrc-tauri\u002Fcrates\u002Fmangodisk-core\u002Frules\u002Ffilesystem\u002Fmacos\u002Fdevelopment\u002Fdev.jetbrains-cache.toml",[95],"Mac rule",".",[11,105,106,107,111],{},"Deletion is permanent and bypasses the Recycle Bin or Trash. Keep logs you still need for troubleshooting. The ",[25,108,110],{"href":109},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fsafety","cleanup safety guide"," explains recovery limits.",[31,113,115],{"id":114},"where-intellij-idea-stores-its-caches","Where IntelliJ IDEA stores its caches",[11,117,118,119,123,124,103],{},"These are the default system directories. Replace ",[120,121,122],"code",{},"\u003Cversion-folder>"," with the folder for your installed version, such as ",[120,125,126],{},"IntelliJIdea2026.2",[128,129,130,146],"table",{},[131,132,133],"thead",{},[134,135,136,140,143],"tr",{},[137,138,139],"th",{},"System",[137,141,142],{},"System directory containing caches",[137,144,145],{},"How to open it",[147,148,149,163],"tbody",{},[134,150,151,155,160],{},[152,153,154],"td",{},"Windows",[152,156,157],{},[120,158,159],{},"%LOCALAPPDATA%\\JetBrains\\\u003Cversion-folder>",[152,161,162],{},"Paste it into File Explorer's address bar",[134,164,165,168,173],{},[152,166,167],{},"Mac",[152,169,170],{},[120,171,172],{},"~\u002FLibrary\u002FCaches\u002FJetBrains\u002F\u003Cversion-folder>",[152,174,175,176,179],{},"Press ",[120,177,178],{},"Shift + Command + G"," in Finder and paste the path",[11,181,182,185,186,189],{},[17,183,184],{},"Don't delete these entire directories."," IDEA's system directory can also contain Local History. A folder living under ",[120,187,188],{},"Caches"," doesn't make everything inside it disposable.",[11,191,192,193,196,197,200,201,103],{},"If you've changed the location, open ",[17,194,195],{},"Help → Diagnostic Tools → Special Files and Folders"," in IDEA to check the actual paths. MangoDisk's standard scan covers known default locations, not every custom ",[120,198,199],{},"idea.system.path",". See ",[25,202,205],{"href":203,"rel":204},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jetbrains.com\u002Fhelp\u002Fidea\u002Fdirectories-used-by-the-ide-to-store-settings-caches-plugins-and-logs.html",[95],"JetBrains' directory guide",[11,207,208],{},"Keep these files and folders:",[210,211,212,225,239],"ul",{},[68,213,214,221,222,224],{},[17,215,216,217,220],{},"Project source files and ",[120,218,219],{},".idea",":"," ",[120,223,219],{}," contains project configuration, not disposable IDE cache.",[68,226,227,230,231,234,235,238],{},[17,228,229],{},"Settings and plugins:"," usually under ",[120,232,233],{},"%APPDATA%\\JetBrains"," on Windows or ",[120,236,237],{},"~\u002FLibrary\u002FApplication Support\u002FJetBrains"," on Mac.",[68,240,241,244],{},[17,242,243],{},"Local History:"," it may hold changes you haven't committed to Git.",[31,246,248],{"id":247},"use-intellij-ideas-built-in-cache-cleanup","Use IntelliJ IDEA's built-in cache cleanup",[11,250,251,252,255,256,259],{},"For broken navigation or index problems, open ",[17,253,254],{},"File → Invalidate Caches…",", then choose ",[17,257,258],{},"Invalidate and Restart",". IDEA clears caches for projects used in the current IDE version when it restarts and rebuilds them as needed.",[11,261,262,263,266,267,103],{},"Don't casually select ",[17,264,265],{},"Clear file system cache and Local History",": that extra option removes local edit history too. Normal cache invalidation leaves Local History intact. You also don't need to select unrelated options, such as clearing the embedded browser's cookies, just to reclaim cache space. See ",[25,268,271],{"href":269,"rel":270},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jetbrains.com\u002Fhelp\u002Fidea\u002Finvalidate-caches.html",[95],"JetBrains' cache invalidation instructions",[11,273,274],{},"Use this option when you want IDEA to rebuild its indexes. For comparing cache sizes across installed IDE versions or checking other development tools at the same time, MangoDisk saves you the directory hunting.",[31,276,278],{"id":277},"still-short-on-space-after-clearing-idea-caches","Still short on space after clearing IDEA caches",[11,280,281],{},"Project build output, Gradle dependencies and npm's download cache are separate. Clearing IDEA's cache won't remove them.",[11,283,284,285,289,290,293,294,298,299,303],{},"Check your project folder with MangoDisk's ",[25,286,288],{"href":287},"\u002Fdocs\u002Ffeatures\u002Fdisk-analysis","Disk Space Analysis"," to find the largest directories first. If ",[120,291,292],{},".gradle"," is the main space user, read the ",[25,295,297],{"href":296},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclear-gradle-cache","Gradle cache guide",". For Node.js projects, see ",[25,300,302],{"href":301},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclean-npm-cache","npm caches versus project dependencies",". Don't keep clearing a small IDE cache while overlooking a much larger folder.",[11,305,306,309],{},[25,307,308],{"href":27},"Download MangoDisk"," to check IDEA and other supported development caches in one place. Clear what you no longer need; keep caches for projects you're actively working on if rebuilding them would interrupt your day.",[11,311,312,313,103],{},"More: ",[25,314,316],{"href":315},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftopics\u002Fdeveloper-cleanup","Developer cleanup guides",{"title":318,"searchDepth":319,"depth":319,"links":320},"",2,[321,322,323,324],{"id":33,"depth":319,"text":34},{"id":114,"depth":319,"text":115},{"id":247,"depth":319,"text":248},{"id":277,"depth":319,"text":278},"Developer cleanup","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fclear-jetbrains-cache.webp","An orange brush sweeps away cache blocks beside an IntelliJ IDEA icon while a separate project folder stays intact","Check IntelliJ IDEA cache sizes and paths with MangoDisk on Windows and Mac. Clear selected caches without removing projects, settings or Local History, or use IDEA's built-in option.",false,"md",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fclear-jetbrains-cache","2026-10-07T10:25:00+08:00",{"title":5,"description":328},"blog\u002Fclear-jetbrains-cache",[338,339,340],"IntelliJ clear cache","IntelliJ IDEA","JetBrains cache",[342],"developer-cleanup","article-clear-jetbrains-cache","b9qFvDePokFvRhbXUOqFbzgfvAf3AEuuzlmICr3ouRk",1791340984046]