# How to Clear Spotify Cache Without Deleting Your Music

> Free up space used by Spotify on your PC. Use Spotify to clear playback cache, review supported interface caches with MangoDisk, and keep offline downloads separate.

Spotify can take up disk space even when you haven't downloaded much music. Streaming songs and podcasts creates a playback cache. To clear it, open **Spotify → Settings → Storage → Clear cache**. You don't need to uninstall the app first.

If the bigger question is “what else is filling up my PC?”, [MangoDisk](/) brings supported app caches into one view, with sizes and paths you can review before cleaning. On Windows, that includes specific Spotify interface caches—not the music playback cache handled by Spotify's own button.

## Cache, downloads, and local music are different things

Before deleting anything, check which kind of data is taking up space.

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      What's using the space?
    </th>
    
    <th>
      What to do
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Cached music and podcasts from playback
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Use Spotify's <strong>
        Clear cache
      </strong>
      
       button
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Albums, playlists, and podcasts downloaded for offline listening
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Remove downloads you no longer need within Spotify; those items will no longer be available offline
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Spotify interface caches on Windows
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Review supported items in MangoDisk, then quit Spotify before cleaning
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Music files you've saved yourself
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Treat these as personal files, not disposable Spotify cache
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

[Spotify's storage guidance](https://support.spotify.com/us/article/storage-information/) distinguishes playback cache from offline downloads. A large Spotify folder isn't a reason to empty the whole thing.

## Check app caches together instead of digging through folders

For Spotify's playback cache alone, its built-in button is enough. MangoDisk helps when your C drive is nearly full and you don't know whether Spotify, a browser, or another app is responsible.

Open [Deep Cleanup](/docs/features/deep-clean) and run a standard scan. Review the sizes by category, then choose what is worth clearing. You don't have to visit every app's settings or guess which folder in AppData is safe to delete.

![MangoDisk Deep Cleanup on Windows, showing cache categories, sizes, and cleanup selections](https://assets.mangodisk.app/images/screenshots/windows/en/light-01-deep-cleanup.jpg)

If Spotify appears in the results, expand its entry to check the size and path. To clean only Spotify, clear the current selection first and select just its items. Quit Spotify completely, then review the confirmation before cleaning.

**MangoDisk's Windows Spotify rule targets caches used to render the app's interface**, including known `Cache`, `Code Cache`, and `GPUCache` locations. It does not include the music storage directory, offline downloads, account data, or settings. It does not empty the whole Spotify folder. You can inspect the [published cleanup rule](https://github.com/harry0703/MangoDisk/blob/v1.1.3/src-tauri/crates/mangodisk-core/rules/filesystem/windows/application/app.spotify-rendering-cache.toml).

Scanning doesn't delete anything. These interface caches can be rebuilt as you use the app; the space you can recover depends on your scan results.

## Clear the playback cache inside Spotify

Spotify gives the same basic steps for its Windows and Mac desktop apps:

1. Click your profile picture and open **Settings**.
2. Scroll to **Storage**.
3. Click **Clear cache** and review any confirmation prompt.

Choose the cache option, not an option to remove all downloads. Manage offline listening separately in Spotify rather than deleting its data folders in File Explorer.

If another drive has more room, Spotify's desktop storage settings also offer **Change location** for the cache. Use that setting instead of dragging the app's data folder to a new drive yourself.

## Still short on space? Find the bigger folders

If Spotify wasn't taking up much room to begin with, repeatedly clearing it won't solve a full drive.

Use MangoDisk's [Disk Space Analysis](/docs/features/disk-analysis) to see the wider picture. Larger blocks represent larger folders or files; open them to find what's behind the space usage. Games, old installers, videos, and app data are easier to compare when you can see them together.

![MangoDisk Disk Space Analysis on Windows, with folder sizes and a treemap showing the largest space users](https://assets.mangodisk.app/images/screenshots/windows/en/light-05-disk-space-analysis.jpg)

Once you've found the large folders, choose the right way to handle them: uninstall games through their launcher, manage offline music in Spotify, and back up personal videos and documents before deleting them. **Deletion in MangoDisk's Disk Space Analysis is permanent and bypasses the Recycle Bin.** Leave unfamiliar files alone and check the [safety guide](/docs/safety) before cleaning.

If app data is the main culprit, see [what to do with a large AppData folder](/blog/windows-11-appdata-too-large). To look for individual files by size, use the [Windows large-file guide](/blog/find-large-files-windows-11).

Keep the music you want. Clear the clutter you don't. [Download MangoDisk](/) to see where your PC's space is going and review cleanup candidates in one place. It's free and open source, with no signup or login required.