Spotify's cache is not the same thing as your downloads
One of them comes back for free and one costs you your offline music. Where each lives, and the setting that caps the cache for good.
Spotify stores two different things and the advice online mixes them up constantly. One is a cache of music you streamed, which exists purely so the same track does not download twice. The other is music you deliberately downloaded for offline listening. Clearing the first is free. Clearing the second means downloading it all again.
Where they are
du -sh ~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client \
~/Library/Application\ Support/Spotify 2>/dev/nullThe Caches path is the streaming cache. The Application Support path holds the app's own data, including offline downloads, which is why the two numbers behave differently over time: one grows as you listen and one grows only when you press download.
The setting that caps it
Spotify has a storage limit in its settings, under Storage, and it is worth setting once rather than clearing the cache repeatedly. A capped cache stays capped. An uncapped one grows for as long as you keep the app installed.
The app also shows the current cache size on that screen and offers to clear it, which is the safe route because it will not touch your downloads.
If you want the downloads gone too
Removing downloads is done per album or playlist in the app, by turning the download switch off. Doing it by deleting files works but leaves the app's own record out of step, which shows up as albums that claim to be downloaded and will not play offline.
| What you clear | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cache, from settings | Streamed tracks download again as you listen |
| Downloads, from the app | Offline listening stops until you download again |
| The folders, by hand | Both, plus a chance of a confused app state |
How much this is worth
A few gigabytes at most on a typical Mac, which puts it well below the categories that actually fill a disk. It is worth doing because it is one setting and it stays done, not because it will rescue a full drive. The order to free 100 GB puts the larger categories in sequence, and what is in your Library folder covers the caches this one sits among.
Common questions
Where is the Spotify cache on a Mac?
In ~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client, while the app's own data including offline downloads lives under ~/Library/Application Support/Spotify. They are separate folders and behave differently, since one grows as you stream and one only when you download.
Does clearing the Spotify cache delete my downloaded music?
Not if you clear it from the app's settings, which knows the difference. Deleting the folders by hand can remove both and leave the app believing it still has offline music it no longer has.
How do I stop Spotify using so much space?
Set a storage limit in the app's settings under Storage. A capped cache stays capped, which is better than clearing it every few months, and it does not affect anything you have downloaded on purpose.
Why does Spotify's cache grow if I do not download anything?
Because streamed audio is cached so the same track does not download twice. That is normal behaviour for a streaming app and it is what the storage limit setting is for.