How to Clear Arc Browser's Cache on Mac

Arc is built on Chromium, which means underneath the slick interface, it caches like Chrome. But Arc doesn’t follow Chrome’s exact folder layout, and the in-app cache controls are different. If you’ve been using Arc as your daily driver since The Browser Company released it, your Arc folder probably hit 2GB+ a while ago.

Here’s where it actually stores everything on macOS Sonoma 14 and Sequoia 15.

Where Arc caches data on Mac

Arc’s main cache locations:

• ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/User Data/Default/Cache/Cache_Data/ — primary HTTP cache
• ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/User Data/Default/Code Cache/ — compiled JavaScript
• ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/User Data/Default/GPUCache/ — GPU shaders
• ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/User Data/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage/ — embedded asset cache
• ~/Library/Caches/company.thebrowser.Browser/ — system-level cache

The Spaces feature (Arc’s tab containers) doesn’t get separate cache folders — everything lives under Default unless you set up profiles.

If you’re using multiple Arc profiles, each has its own cache. They live in Profile 1, Profile 2, etc. alongside Default.

Clearing Arc cache from inside the app

Arc inherits Chromium’s clear-browsing-data dialog, just with Arc’s styling.

1. Open Arc.
2. Press Cmd+Shift+Delete (the Chromium standard shortcut).
3. In the dialog, set Time range to All time for a full clear.
4. Check Cached images and files.
5. Optionally check Cookies and other site data for a deeper clear.
6. Click Clear data.

Same flow as Chrome. Clears the HTTP cache and some related data without touching bookmarks, saved passwords, or your Spaces setup.

Clearing cache for one site only

Arc has its own twist on this:

1. Click the URL bar of the misbehaving site.
2. Click the lock or info icon to the left of the URL.
3. Click Site Settings.
4. Click Clear data for that site.

Arc reloads with fresh state for just that domain. Useful when one web app (Notion, Figma, Linear) is acting up.

Manual cache clear

If the in-app option isn’t doing it, or you want to clear Arc’s cache without the app open:

1. Quit Arc completely (Cmd+Q).
2. Open Finder, press Cmd+Shift+G.
3. Paste ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/User Data/Default/.
4. Move these to the Trash: Cache, Code Cache, GPUCache, Service Worker, Application Cache (if it exists).
5. Empty Trash.
6. Reopen Arc.

Your Spaces, pinned tabs, bookmarks, saved passwords, and login state are all preserved. Those live in different files in the same Default folder — files you didn’t touch.

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Don’t delete these folders

While you’re in ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/User Data/Default/, leave these alone:

• History — your browsing history (SQLite database)
• Bookmarks — bookmarks file
• Login Data — saved passwords
• Cookies — session cookies (deleting logs you out everywhere)
• Local Storage — site-specific persistent storage
• IndexedDB — for web apps that store data locally
• Sidebar.json — your Arc sidebar configuration with Spaces

If you delete those, you lose actual data, not just cache.

Why Arc’s cache grows fast

Same reasons Chromium-based browsers always do:

1. Chromium’s cache is generous by default. It uses a percentage of disk space, not a fixed cap.
2. Every site you visit caches assets. YouTube, Twitter, news sites, Figma — all leave a trail.
3. Service Worker cache is persistent. Web apps like Notion or Linear store significant data there.
4. Multiple Spaces don’t share cache. Each Space’s tabs cache independently.

A heavy Arc user with 100+ pinned tabs across multiple Spaces can hit 2-3GB of cache in a few months.

Resetting Arc completely

If something’s really broken, you can do a full reset. Heavy-handed, but it works.

1. Quit Arc.
2. Drag ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/ to the Trash.
3. Empty Trash.
4. Reopen Arc. You’ll need to sign in and rebuild your Spaces.

This wipes everything — bookmarks, Spaces, sidebar, login state. Don’t do this unless you’ve already tried lighter approaches and you’ve exported anything you want to keep.

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When clearing Arc helps

• Pages loading old versions
• Service Worker stuck on a broken state
• Storage pressure on your Mac
• A specific site behaving weirdly (use the per-site clear)
• Arc launching slowly

When it won’t help: extension issues (manage those in Arc Settings → Extensions), keyboard shortcut conflicts, profile sync problems with The Browser Company’s account system.

Arc alongside other browsers

Most Arc users still have Safari and Chrome installed. Each has its own cache:

• Safari: ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Caches/
• Chrome: ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome/ and ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Cache
• Firefox: ~/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/

Clearing one doesn’t touch the others. If you’re maintaining multiple browsers, you’re maintaining multiple caches.

Doing this efficiently

Arc alone is fine to clean manually — the in-app Clear Browsing Data covers it. Across multiple browsers and a Mac full of Electron apps, doing it manually every quarter gets old.

Sweep scans every browser cache (Arc, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi), every app cache in ~/Library, and Apple’s own system cache locations. Shows you the list. Clears with your approval. Free download for macOS — works on Sonoma 14 and Sequoia 15.

Bottom line

Arc’s main cache is at ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/User Data/Default/Cache/. The cleanest way to clear it is Cmd+Shift+Delete inside Arc. Or quit and delete the cache folders manually if you want to verify it’s all gone.

Either way, your Spaces, sidebar, and saved data stay intact. The cache rebuilds as you use Arc — you’ll never notice it’s gone.