How to Clear the Cache in Discord

Discord is a heavy, resource-intensive application. As you browse through dozens of servers, view thousands of custom emojis, and scroll past hundreds of embedded images and videos, Discord downloads all of these media assets and saves them directly to your hard drive. This is called the cache.

The cache allows Discord to load previously viewed channels instantly without re-downloading the same images over and over. However, over several months, this cache folder can easily swell to several gigabytes in size. When the cache becomes too large or contains corrupted files, Discord will begin to lag, freeze, display gray boxes instead of images, or refuse to launch entirely.

Clearing the cache is the fastest way to fix a buggy Discord client and free up valuable storage space. You will not lose your servers, messages, or account settings by doing this.

How to Clear the Cache on Windows (Desktop App)

Unlike web browsers, the Discord desktop application does not have a convenient “Clear Cache” button built into its settings menu. You must manually delete the files from your Windows AppData folder.

1. Close Discord completely: Do not just click the ‘X’ in the corner. You must fully terminate the application. Look at the System Tray (the bottom right corner of your Windows taskbar, near the clock). Right-click the Discord icon and select Quit Discord.
2. Press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
3. Type exactly this into the box: %appdata%/discord
4. Press Enter. A File Explorer window will open directly into Discord’s hidden system folder.
5. Look for a folder named Cache. Right-click the folder and select Delete.
6. Look for a folder named Code Cache. Right-click it and select Delete.
7. Look for a folder named GPUCache. Right-click it and select Delete.
8. Close the File Explorer window.
9. Empty your Windows Recycle Bin to permanently free up the hard drive space.

The next time you open Discord, it will take slightly longer to boot up as it rebuilds the necessary files, but the lag and graphical glitches should be resolved.

How to Clear the Cache on a Mac (Desktop App)

The process on macOS is similar; you must navigate to the hidden Application Support library to delete the folders manually.

1. Quit Discord: Click “Discord” in the top menu bar and select Quit Discord (or press Cmd + Q).
2. Open the Finder app.
3. Press Command (⌘) + Shift + G to open the “Go to Folder” search bar.
4. Paste exactly this path into the search bar: ~/Library/Application Support/discord
5. Press Return.
6. Locate the folders named Cache, Code Cache, and GPUCache.
7. Drag all three folders to the Trash (or right-click and select “Move to Trash”).
8. Right-click the Trash can in your dock and select Empty Trash.

How to Clear the Cache on Mobile (Android & iOS)

If Discord is crashing on your smartphone, clearing the cache is much simpler.

On Android:

1. Open your phone’s Settings app.
2. Tap on Apps (or Apps & Notifications).
3. Scroll down and tap on Discord.
4. Tap on Storage & cache.
5. Tap the Clear cache button. (Do not tap “Clear Data” or “Clear Storage,” as that will log you out of your account).

On iPhone (iOS):

Because of how Apple manages iOS memory, there is no physical “Clear Cache” button for third-party apps in the settings. If Discord is bloated and lagging on your iPhone, the only way to clear its cache is to delete the app entirely and reinstall it.

1. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
2. Tap on Discord.
3. Tap Delete App (this wipes all cached data).
4. Re-download Discord from the App Store and log back in.