I currently have 216GB worth of cache and I am thinking of getting rid of them(Folder > Library > Cache). But I have a concern. I am using iCloud shared folder for storing documents for work, and the shared folder is linked to my colleagues accounts. If I delete all the cache on my mac, would that raise an issue for others using the same shared folder? Or is there a particular cache file that I should not delete?
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 26.2
Clearing the cache is not a solution. The cache will be automatically be rebuilt when that app is used again, so deleting the cache will just result in poor system performance.
I'm guessing your computer is running low on storage space, otherwise why worry about the cache. How much Free storage space do you have on your internal SSD? Ignore the very misleading "Available" storage space value since it is not synonymous with Free. Unfortunately the Free space value is only shown in Disk Utility or the System Profiler.
Also, please provide some more details on the issue your computer is having. You may want to run the third party app EtreCheck and posting the complete report here so we can examine it for clues.
How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting an EtreCheck Report - Apple Community
Clearing the cache is not a solution. The cache will be automatically be rebuilt when that app is used again, so deleting the cache will just result in poor system performance.
I'm guessing your computer is running low on storage space, otherwise why worry about the cache. How much Free storage space do you have on your internal SSD? Ignore the very misleading "Available" storage space value since it is not synonymous with Free. Unfortunately the Free space value is only shown in Disk Utility or the System Profiler.
Also, please provide some more details on the issue your computer is having. You may want to run the third party app EtreCheck and posting the complete report here so we can examine it for clues.
How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting an EtreCheck Report - Apple Community
One thing that slows your Mac is running out of real RAM memory. This is your memory situation
Virtual Memory Information:
Physical RAM: 16 GB
Free RAM: 81 MB
Used RAM: 12.42 GB
Cached files: 3.50 GB
Available RAM: 3.58 GB
Swap Used: 2.43 GB:
That says you are currently simulating a substantial amount of RAM you do not have in a Swap file on disk, which is somewhat slower.
However, the report suggests you still likely have google Chrome AND Safari still open, even if all their windows have been closed:
Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:
Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (9) 93.92 % (Apple)
Adobe Photoshop 2025 53.40 % (Adobe Inc.)
EtreCheckPro 42.46 % (Etresoft, Inc.)
WindowServer 33.02 % (Apple)
Google Chrome Helper (Renderer) (11) 25.92 % (Google LLC)
Top Processes Snapshot by Memory:
Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location)
Google Chrome Helper (Renderer) (11) 2.20 GB (Google LLC)
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (9) 982 MB (Apple)
Adobe Photoshop 2025 701 MB (Adobe Inc.)
EtreCheckPro 552 MB (Etresoft, Inc.)
kernel_task 492 MB (Apple)
AND your disk is getting full and slowing down on Writes.
Best Practice for the boot drive is to leave about 20 percent FREE, and you have only 6.6 percent free at about 66 GB:
disk1s2 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]
Filesystem: APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data
FileVault Disabled
Used: 906.95 GB
Shared values
Size: 1.00 TB
Free: 65.79 GB
Available: 116.99 GB
you need another drive to put some of your MacOS files on.
I see a 32 GB external drive, but the report says it is FAT32 format, useful for interchange but NOT being backed up because it is not a MacOS native format.
Caches are temporary stores of items that may be needed again soon. Caches are used to speed up your Mac. Deleting caches slows down your Mac, because now it needs to go back to the original item rather than accessing quickly from the cache. Deleting caches will NOT solve any of your problems.
Thank you for clearing the misuderstanding. I have checked my "Free" space on Disk Utility. I have 71.11GB left.
I have a total of 1TB.
<Used> 16.32GB
<Other Volumes> 912.81GB
<Free>71.11GB
-------------------------------
Some problems I am recently having.
I use many Adobe software and they have recently been very slow and laggy. Moving a single image takes a few seconds when previously I did not have any problem.
wazato wrote:
Thank you for clearing the misuderstanding. I have checked my "Free" space on Disk Utility. I have 71.11GB left.
I have a total of 1TB.
<Used> 16.32GB
<Other Volumes> 912.81GB
<Free>71.11GB
-------------------------------
Some problems I am recently having.
I use many Adobe software and they have recently been very slow and laggy. Moving a single image takes a few seconds when previously I did not have any problem.
Thanks for confirming. Please run EtreCheck and post the full report here so we can examine it for clues. See my previous post for links & instructions.
What Adobe apps are you using? Video, animation, or photo related?
I mostly use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, AfterEffects, and Premiere Pro.
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EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.13 (68087)
Report generated: 2026-02-16 11:09:40
Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com
Runtime: 5:47
Performance: Below Average
Problem: Computer is too slow
Description:
When using Adobe software especially Photoshop, a simple task takes mu
ch longer than anticipated.
Major Issues:
Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.
Battery failure - Your battery is reporting that it needs to be serviced.
Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed that could be malicious and should be reviewed.
Heavy CPU usage - Some processes are using an unusually high amount of CPU.
Minor Issues:
These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.
Heavy RAM usage - Apps are using a large amount of RAM.
High battery cycle count - Your battery may be losing capacity.
Apps crashing - There have been numerous app crashes.
Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.
System modifications - There are a large number of system modifications running in the background.
Runaway user process - A user process is using a large percentage of your CPU.
Low performance - EtreCheck report took an unusually long time to run.
Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future.
Hardware Information:
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
Status: Supported
MacBook Pro Model: MacBookPro16,1
2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 (i9-9880H) CPU: 8-core
16 GB RAM - Not upgradeable
BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR4 2667
BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR4 2667
Battery: Health = Service Battery - Cycle count = 1146
Video Information:
Intel UHD Graphics 630 - VRAM: 1536 MB
Color LCD (built-in) 3584 x 2240
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M - VRAM: 4 GB
Drives:
disk0 - APPLE SSD AP1024N 1.00 TB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)
Internal PCI-Express 8.0 GT/s x4 NVM Express
S.M.A.R.T. Details: 5% used, 328.16 TB written, 100% health, 133 unsafe shutdowns
disk0s1 - EFI [EFI] 315 MB
disk0s2 [APFS Container] 1.00 TB
disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 1.00 TB (Shared by 6 volumes)
disk1s1 (APFS) [APFS Container] (16.32 GB used)
disk1s1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (16.32 GB used)
disk1s2 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (906.95 GB used)
disk1s3 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (5.15 GB used)
disk1s4 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.45 GB used)
disk1s5 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (4.30 GB used)
disk1s6 - Update (APFS) (88 MB used)
disk2 - Mass Storage Device 31.28 GB
External USB Up to 480 Mb/s
disk2s1 - N*****E (MS-DOS FAT32) 31.28 GB
Mounted Volumes:
disk1s1 [APFS Container]
Filesystem: APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update/mnt1
Encrypted
Used: 16.32 GB
Shared values
Size: 1.00 TB
Free: 65.79 GB
disk1s1s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot]
Filesystem: APFS
Mount point: /
Read-only: Yes
Used: 16.32 GB
Shared values
Size: 1.00 TB
Free: 65.79 GB
Available: 116.99 GB
disk1s2 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]
Filesystem: APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data
FileVault Disabled
Used: 906.95 GB
Shared values
Size: 1.00 TB
Free: 65.79 GB
Available: 116.99 GB
disk1s3 - Preboot [APFS Preboot]
Filesystem: APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot
Used: 5.15 GB
Shared values
Size: 1.00 TB
Free: 65.79 GB
disk1s5 - VM [APFS VM]
Filesystem: APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM
Used: 4.30 GB
Shared values
Size: 1.00 TB
Free: 65.79 GB
disk1s6 - Update
Filesystem: APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update
Used: 88 MB
Shared values
Size: 1.00 TB
Free: 65.79 GB
disk2s1 - N*****E
Filesystem: MS-DOS FAT32
Mount point: /Volumes/N*****E
Size: 31.28 GB
USB:
USB 2.0 Bus
Mass Storage Device
USB 3.0 Bus
<Empty>
USB 3.0 Bus
<Empty>
Apple T2 Bus
Touch Bar Display
Apple T2 Controller
FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Touch Bar Backlight
Ambient Light Sensor
Headset
Unnamed Device
Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Deleting Cache to open storage space
