Speeding Up Your Favourite Chat App
Discord is a remarkably efficient application, capable of streaming high-definition video, hosting massive voice calls, and rendering thousands of text messages simultaneously without slowing down your computer. To achieve this speed, Discord relies heavily on caching. Every time you view a meme, watch a video clip, or download a custom emoji, Discord saves a small copy of that file to your computer’s hard drive.
This means that the next time you open that specific chat channel, Discord does not have to waste time and bandwidth downloading those images again; it simply loads them instantly from the local cache. However, if you are a member of dozens of active servers, this cache can quickly grow to several gigabytes in size. Over time, these temporary files can become corrupted, leading to bizarre software glitches. You might notice images failing to load, emojis appearing as broken links, or the app feeling sluggish and unresponsive.
When Discord starts misbehaving, the fastest and safest troubleshooting step is to clear the cache. This forces the application to delete all its temporary files and download fresh, uncorrupted data directly from the servers.
What Happens When You Clear the Cache?
Before proceeding, it is important to understand that clearing your cache is completely safe.
- You will NOT lose any messages: All your chat history is stored securely on Discord’s servers, not on your local hard drive.
- You will NOT be logged out: Your login credentials and two-factor authentication settings are stored separately.
- You will NOT lose your server memberships or friends: Your account data remains entirely untouched.
The only thing you might notice is that images in older chat logs take a fraction of a second longer to load the first time you scroll past them, as the app must download them again.
How to Clear the Cache on Windows (Desktop App)
Unlike web browsers, the Discord desktop app does not have a convenient “Clear Cache” button built into its settings menu. You must manually delete the temporary folders from your computer’s hidden AppData directory.
- First, you must completely close Discord. Click the X in the top right corner of the app. Then, look at your Windows system tray (the small icons near your clock in the bottom right corner), right-click the Discord icon, and select Quit Discord.
- Press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard simultaneously to open the Run command box.
- In the text box, type exactly this:
%appdata%\discord - Press Enter or click OK. This will open the hidden Discord system folder in File Explorer.
- Look for three specific folders in this directory:
- Cache
- Code Cache
- GPUCache
- Select all three of these folders (you can hold the Ctrl key and click each one).
- Press the Delete key on your keyboard to send them to the Recycle Bin.
- Close the File Explorer window and relaunch Discord. The app will automatically generate fresh, empty versions of those folders as it starts up.
How to Clear the Cache on a Mac (Desktop App)
The process on a Mac is very similar; you simply need to locate the hidden Library folder where macOS stores application data.
- Ensure Discord is completely closed. Right-click (or Control-click) the Discord icon in your Dock and select Quit.
- Open the Finder app.
- Look at the menu bar at the top of the screen and click on Go.
- In the drop-down menu, click on Go to Folder… (or press Shift + Command + G).
- In the search box that appears, type exactly this:
~/Library/Application Support/discord/ - Press Return. This will open the hidden Discord support folder.
- Locate the three cache folders:
- Cache
- Code Cache
- GPUCache
- Select all three folders, right-click them, and choose Move to Trash (or drag them to the Trash icon on your Dock).
- Empty your Trash and relaunch Discord.
How to Clear the Cache on Android and iOS (Mobile Apps)
If you use Discord on your smartphone, clearing the cache is much easier, as the mobile operating systems have built-in tools for managing app data.
On Android:
- Open your phone’s Settings app.
- Navigate to Apps (or “Apps & notifications”).
- Scroll down the list and tap on Discord.
- Tap on Storage & cache.
- Tap the Clear cache button (do not tap “Clear storage” or “Clear data,” as this will log you out and delete your settings).
On iOS (iPhone/iPad):
Because Apple restricts how users can interact with the iOS file system, there is no direct “Clear Cache” button for third-party apps like Discord. The only way to clear the cache is to completely delete the application and download it again from the App Store. When you reinstall the app, it will start with a fresh, empty cache.
