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How to clear Android Studio cache on Mac

Clearing Android Studio cache on a Mac is the first fix for indexing problems and «red code» in a project that builds fine, and your projects, settings and SDK stay. For disk space, the folders of old Android Studio versions, the Gradle cache and unused emulators matter more, and this guide covers each of them too.

MacWashing, System Junk: Xcode junk, user caches, installers and logs found, 22.83 GB ready to be cleaned
  1. Open MacWashing and choose System Junk in the sidebar.
  2. Click Start Scan.
  3. Look through what it found and click Clean. Anything debatable stays unchecked.
Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

How to clear Android Studio cache with Invalidate Caches

  1. In Android Studio, choose File › Invalidate Caches.
  2. Leave the optional checkboxes unchecked, unless you also want to clear the file system cache and Local History, the VCS Log indexes or the cookies of the built-in browser.
  3. Click Invalidate and Restart.

Android Studio deletes the caches and indexes of every project opened in this version, then restarts. When you open a project, it indexes it again, which takes a few minutes on a big project. Your projects, settings, plugins, SDK and emulators stay. Just restart restarts without deleting anything.

Delete caches of old Android Studio versions

Android Studio keeps its caches in a folder per version, like ~/Library/Caches/Google/AndroidStudio2025.1, and its logs in ~/Library/Logs/Google. After an update the folders of the old version stay behind.

  1. Quit Android Studio.
  2. In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), type ~/Library/Caches/Google and press Return.
Go to Folder with ~/Library/Caches/Google typed
  1. Drag the AndroidStudio… folders of versions you no longer use to the Trash. Do the same in ~/Library/Logs/Google.
  2. Empty the Trash.
The Trash window in Finder with the Empty button

Leave ~/Library/Application Support/Google/AndroidStudio… alone: it holds your settings and plugins, not caches. Preview builds use folders named AndroidStudioPreview….

Clear the Gradle cache

Android projects are built with Gradle, and its cache in ~/.gradle is often bigger than everything Android Studio keeps itself. See how to clear Gradle cache on Mac.

Emulators and the SDK are not cache

Two big folders look like junk but are not:

  • ~/.android/avd holds your virtual devices (emulators) with the apps and data inside them.
  • ~/Library/Android/sdk holds the Android SDK: platforms, build tools and emulator system images.

Don’t delete them in Finder. To delete an emulator you don’t use, choose View › Tool Windows › Device Manager, click the Menu (overflow) button next to it and choose Delete. Wipe Data in the same menu resets an emulator to a new state and keeps it.

To remove old SDK platforms and system images, choose Tools › SDK Manager, clear their checkboxes and click Apply. If you set Android Studio up recently, see how to install Android Studio on Mac for what the setup downloads.

With MacWashing, it’s one click

MacWashing, System Junk: Xcode junk, user caches, installers and logs found, 22.83 GB ready to be cleaned

System Junk in MacWashing lists Android Studio’s caches under App Caches and clears them together with the caches of your other apps and tools. The Gradle cache is listed there too, unchecked until you decide.

Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

Questions and answers

Will MacWashing delete my own files when it cleans?

No. It removes only what it can match to a known app or a known kind of junk, in places apps leave files; macOS and Apple’s files are never touched. Anything debatable is marked and stays unchecked until you decide.

What about apps that are open?

If an open app holds files being cleaned, MacWashing waits for it to quit or quits it at your request, and opens it again afterwards.

Is it free?

Yes, within the free trial: System Junk and the Uninstaller free up to 25 GB in total, with no account or card needed.

Will Invalidate Caches delete my projects?

No. It deletes only the IDE’s caches and indexes, which Android Studio builds again. Projects, settings and Local History stay, unless you check the Local History option.

Why does Android Studio take so much space?

Most of it is not the IDE. Emulator system images, SDK platforms and the Gradle cache each can take several gigabytes, and caches of old versions add more after every update.

Can I clear Android Studio cache when it won’t open?

Yes. Quit it and delete the AndroidStudio… folder in ~/Library/Caches/Google. Android Studio creates a new one on the next start and indexes your projects again.