JetBrains Caches on Mac (IntelliJ, WebStorm, PyCharm)

DeveloperPublished Updated 5 min read

JetBrains IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA, WebStorm, and PyCharm keep several multi-gigabyte directories on a Mac, and only some of them are safe to clear. Caches and indexes rebuild on the next launch; configuration, plugins, and project data do not. The difference is what keeps a cleanup from turning into lost settings or a broken project.

This page is the JetBrains-specific companion to the general dev-caches guide. It uses "Mole" only for Mole for Mac at mole.fit and its own mo command line tool, and it does not quote per-IDE gigabyte figures, because they vary too much to be useful; you measure on your own machine.

JetBrains data on Mac: rebuildable caches and indexes, logs, and Local History, which may contain your own changes.
Caches and indexes can be rebuilt. Config, plugins, and project data need a different decision

What JetBrains stores, and what is not just cache

A JetBrains install is several directories with very different recovery costs. Treating them as one folder is where cleanups go wrong.

Layer What it holds Rebuildable?
Caches Compiled search data and temporary work files Yes, on next launch
Indexes The project index the IDE builds to navigate code Yes, by re-indexing
Logs Diagnostic text for troubleshooting Yes; safe to clear
Config and settings Keymaps, code style, preferences No; this is your setup
Plugins Installed plugins and their data Partly; reinstalling loses local plugin state
Project data .idea folders and Local History No; this is project and personal work

The first three rebuild themselves and are the safe targets. The last three are your setup and your work, and they are not cache no matter which folder they sit in.

Prefer the IDE's own tools

Before deleting any folder, use the IDE's built-in path. File > Invalidate Caches clears the caches and indexes and offers to restart, which is the supported way to fix a stale index without touching settings. Confirm the exact menu wording in your current IntelliJ, WebStorm, or PyCharm version, since menu labels shift between releases.

If you manage several JetBrains products through the Toolbox App, it also exposes per-product cleanup and the location of each install. Quit the IDE before you review any folder by hand, so you are not deleting files the running process still holds open.

Finding the system directory on Mac

JetBrains documents its directory locations per version, and the exact product-and-version subfolder differs on every machine, so locate yours through the IDE (Help points to the log and configuration folders) rather than pasting a stale absolute path. On current versions the parent folders on macOS are ~/Library/Caches/JetBrains and ~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains, with logs under ~/Library/Logs/JetBrains.

Measure the parents to see where the weight actually is before removing anything:

du -sh ~/Library/Caches/JetBrains ~/Library/Application\ Support/JetBrains

That tells you how much is in the system directory versus the configuration directory. The system directory also contains Local History, so its total is not all disposable cache. Application Support holds settings and plugins.

A safe order

  1. Invalidate Caches through the IDE, and re-index once if navigation feels off.
  2. Measure the JetBrains parent folders so you know where the space is.
  3. Clear caches and indexes through the IDE dialog, leaving its optional Local History removal unchecked; review logs separately.
  4. Never delete .idea or Local History casually; that is project and personal work.
  5. Restart the IDE and confirm the space came back before doing more.

The overlap with package managers and stray node_modules folders belongs to a different guide: how to clear developer caches on Mac covers npm, Cargo, pip, and Gradle, and how to clean up Xcode covers DerivedData if you also build with Apple's toolchain. An IDE is not a JDK, so removing a runtime is a separate task in uninstall Java on Mac.

When a disk map helps

Once you know the JetBrains folders are large, a disk map is useful for seeing which product and version holds the weight. Mole's Analyze view surfaces large directories for review with their paths and sizes, and Clean lists cache candidates; scanning is free without a license, and you decide what to remove. That is a different job from mo purge, which sweeps rebuildable project build output rather than IDE caches, as covered in purge on Mac explained. For what Mole reviews versus what it refuses to touch, see is Mole safe.

Further reading

FAQ

Will clearing caches delete my projects?

The default Invalidate Caches action does not delete your project files or Local History. Local History lives inside the IDE's system directory, though, and the dialog has a separate option that deletes it. Leave that option unchecked.

Invalidate Caches or deleting the system directory?

Invalidate Caches is the supported path: it clears caches and indexes on restart without removing settings or plugins, and keeps Local History unless you select its removal option. Deleting the whole system directory by hand can erase Local History. Settings and plugins normally live in Application Support, not that system directory.

Multiple IDEs or Toolbox: one cleanup or per product?

Each product and version keeps its own subfolder, so caches accumulate per product. Clear them per product through each IDE or the Toolbox App, and measure the JetBrains parent folders to see which install is actually large before removing anything.