Why Clear Development Caches?
Disk Space Recovery
Development caches can grow to several GB. Node.js projects alone can accumulate hundreds of MB in node_modules per project.
Fix Build Issues
Corrupted cache files can cause mysterious build failures. Clearing caches often resolves these issues instantly.
Improve Performance
Fresh caches can improve build times and reduce memory usage in your development environment.
Common Development Cache Locations
Here are the most common cache locations you should know about:
Windows Cache Locations
Node.js / NPM
%APPDATA%\npm-cache
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Python pip
%LOCALAPPDATA%\pip\Cache
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Unity
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Unity\cache
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
.NET NuGet
%USERPROFILE%\.nuget\packages
Safe to delete: ⚠ With caution
macOS Cache Locations
Node.js / NPM
~/.npm
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Python pip
~/Library/Caches/pip
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Unity
~/Library/Unity/cache
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Xcode
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Linux Cache Locations
Node.js / NPM
~/.npm
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Python pip
~/.cache/pip
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Unity
~/.cache/unity3d
Safe to delete: ✓ Yes
Docker
/var/lib/docker
Safe to delete: ⚠ Use docker system prune
Safe Clearing Methods
Manual Commands
NPM Cache Clear
npm cache clean --force
Python pip Cache Clear
pip cache purge
Docker System Prune
docker system prune -a
Important Warnings
Never delete: Source code, .git folders, or
active project files.
Be careful with: Global package caches that may
break other projects.
Always backup: Important projects before
cleaning.
Regeneration
Most caches regenerate automatically when needed. Package managers will re-download dependencies, and build tools will recreate cache files on next use.
Automate Cache Cleaning with DevNullifier
Manually clearing caches is tedious and error-prone. DevNullifier automates this process safely across all your development tools.
