The Notion desktop app is a browser, and it caches like one
Notion stores pages, images and file previews locally so the app feels instant. Where the cache is, what it holds, and whether clearing it helps.
The Notion desktop app is the web app in a native wrapper, which means its storage behaves like a browser's: a cache of pages and images, a service worker for offline access, and a local database of what you have opened.
Where it is
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Notion 2>/dev/null
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Notion/* 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -8| Folder | Holds | Clearing it |
|---|---|---|
Cache and Code Cache | Pages, scripts, images | Slower first load, nothing else |
Service Worker | Offline data | Resyncs when online |
IndexedDB | Local page database | Rebuilt from the server |
notion.log | Diagnostics | Safe |
What clearing costs
Nothing permanent. Everything in Notion lives on the server and the local copies exist for speed and offline access, so clearing the cache means a slower first load and a period without offline pages. The app has its own option under settings to clear local data, which is the tidier route than deleting folders.
When it is actually large
Two situations produce a genuinely big folder: a workspace with many image heavy pages, and long use without ever quitting the app. Cached previews of images and PDFs are what fills it, not the text of your pages, which is why a wiki of ten thousand words is tiny and a page of twenty screenshots is not.
The wider pattern
Every app built this way has the same shape, and checking them individually is slow. One command covers all of them, which is the approach in what Slack keeps per workspace and Discord's three caches:
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/* 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -20Common questions
Where does Notion store its cache on a Mac?
In ~/Library/Application Support/Notion, with Cache, Code Cache, Service Worker and IndexedDB folders, in the same structure as any browser based desktop app.
Is it safe to clear the Notion cache?
Yes. Pages live on Notion's servers and the local copies exist for speed and offline access. Clearing means a slower first load and no offline pages until it resyncs.
Why is Notion using a lot of disk space?
Cached images and file previews rather than page text. A workspace with image heavy pages produces a much larger cache than one with a lot of writing.
Does Notion have a built in way to clear local data?
Yes, in the app's settings there is an option to clear local data, which is tidier than removing folders because the app updates its own bookkeeping at the same time.