kmosx: Clearing caches with OnyX

Q. I want to use OnyX to clean my computer's caches, but there are many different options and I'm not sure which ones to choose or what each one stores. What do they all mean?

Browser cache
This cache can be cleared if you're using a broadband Internet connection. If you use a phone line, you should leave it. If the computer isn't on the Internet, you won't have a browser cache.

Download cache
This cache can be cleared if you don't need to keep track of where you downloaded files from.

Browser history cache
Clearing this cache is generally only useful if you don't want someone to know what you've accessed with your web browser.

Cookies
A cookie stores information set by a web site you have visited; for example, to automatically log in to a website, or to remember the last thing you did on a specific site. These can be cleared if you don't want them.

Bookmark icons
These are the icons stored from the favicon.ico files included on web sites you've visited. If there are a large number of them, your browser's speed may be impacted. Use this option if your browser is slow or if you're concerned about privacy. Choosing this option won't delete the bookmarks.

System logs
If you aren't experiencing trouble with your system, these can be cleared. You only need the log contents if you have a specific reason to look. If your computer is on in the early morning, these logs will be rotated and deleted; if this isn't done routinely, the log files will become big, but won't have a significant negative impact on performance.

Application logs
If you aren't experiencing trouble with your system, these can be cleared. You only need the log contents if you have a specific reason to look.

Archived logs
If you aren't experiencing trouble with your system, these can be cleared. You only need the log contents if you have a specific reason to look. These log files are archived system logs, and only a handful of these will be retained by the early morning tasks.

System crash reporter logs
These are used if you want to determine exactly why something has crashed or a kernel panic has occurred; you may be asked if you want to submit a report to Apple about the crash. If you aren't experiencing problems, clearing those items will only benefit you if you are short of disk space.

Application crash reporter logs
These are used if you want to determine exactly why something has crashed. See System crash reporter logs for more information.

User caches
These are miscellaneous cache files created by different applications in your home folder. If an application is acting up, you may want to delete them; if not, don't use this command.

System caches
Similar to user caches, but are used by the Mac OS X core system. Choosing this option might help with issues that affect multiple applications. It should only be done if you are having trouble.

Recent servers
These are the FTP, AFP, and other servers you've recently accessed using the Finder. This cache can be cleared if you don't intend to use them again, or know where the ones you want to use again are. This only applies to disks you've mounted on the desktop from a web server. For example, loading ftp://ftp.apple.com in Safari will make one appear.

Recent items
These are the Recent Applications and Recent Documents options in the Apple menu. Clear these only if you are concerned about privacy.

Reset Mac OS help
If you are experiencing trouble with the Help Viewer, performing this command may delete files responsible for the problems. Otherwise, don't use this option.

Links between documents & applications
Unless you've made an incorrect choice when determining which application opens a document or this function seems to be working improperly, do not delete this cache.

Hidden ds_store files
Do not delete these files.

Index of content items
If you use Spotlight or search for files by what they contain, do not delete this one.

Core files
This option clears the contents of the cores folder, which contains additional information about crashed applications and processes. See the entries under crash reporter logs for more information. If you aren't experiencing problems, clearing those items will only benefit you if you are short of disk space.

Temporary files
Choosing this one is generally unnecessary.

Virtual memory files
Do not choose this option. Mac OS X will handle virtual memory swapfiles on its own.

Font cache
This option is useful if one or more fonts looks garbled; there are other possible causes as well. An example of what this looks like and more information about the procedure is available on this page.

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