# How to Clear Chrome Cache on Windows Without Signing Out

Chrome's cache is the copy of images, scripts and compiled code it keeps so pages you visit again open faster. On Windows it lives in your profile folder and can grow to several gigabytes, especially with more than one Chrome profile. Clearing it is safe and Chrome rebuilds it, but the same dialog also offers cookies and history, and those are the boxes that sign you out or wipe things you wanted to keep.

## Choose What You Want to Remove

| Data | What it is | What clearing costs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cached images and files | Copies of page resources | Sites load their images and scripts again on the next visit |
| Code Cache, GPUCache, shader caches | Compiled scripts and graphics work | Slightly slower first loads while Chrome recompiles |
| Cookies and other site data | Sign-ins, site settings, Web Storage, IndexedDB | You sign in to sites again, and offline site data is gone |
| Browsing history | The list of pages you visited | History, New Tab shortcuts and address bar suggestions for those sites |
| Passwords, bookmarks, extensions | Your saved account data | Not removed by cache cleanup; each has its own page |

If you only want disk space back or a page that keeps showing an old version, the first two rows are enough. Cookies are worth clearing only when a specific site is broken for you, and then only for that site.

## Clear the Cache From Chrome Itself

Google's [delete browsing data instructions](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2392709) use the **More** menu (three dots) at the top right, then **Delete browsing data**. You can also type **Delete browsing data** into the address bar and pick the action it offers, or press **Ctrl + Shift + Delete**.

1. Pick a time range. **All time** clears the whole cache; **Last hour** is enough when one page just started misbehaving.
2. Tick **Cached images and files**.
3. Untick **Cookies and other site data** and **Browsing history** unless you mean to remove them.
4. Select **Delete data**.

Clearing cookies does not sign you out of Chrome itself or turn off sync, but [Google notes](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050) that some site settings go and you may have to sign in to sites again. While sync is on, history you delete is removed from your other signed-in devices as well, which is one more reason to leave that box alone for a cache cleanup.

For one broken site, open it, select the icon to the left of the address, then **Site settings** and **Delete data**. That clears its cookies and storage without touching every other site.

## Find the Cache Folder on Disk

The dialog does not show how much space the cache takes. To measure it, look in Chrome's user data folder. Open **Win + R** and paste:

```text
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data
```

Each profile is a folder here: `Default` for the first one, then `Profile 1`, `Profile 2` and so on. If you are not sure which folder belongs to which profile, open `chrome://version` in that profile and read **Profile Path**. Inside each profile folder the caches are:

```text
Cache
Code Cache
GPUCache
Service Worker\CacheStorage
```

A few caches sit once beside the profiles, directly under `User Data`: `ShaderCache`, `GrShaderCache` and `GraphiteDawnCache`. Right-click a folder and choose **Properties** to see its size. On a work PC the cache may be elsewhere: the Chrome policy `DiskCacheDir` lets an administrator move it, and in that case clear it through Chrome's dialog rather than hunting for the folder.

## Remove the Cache Folders by Hand

Close Chrome first, and make sure it is really closed. Chrome keeps running after its last window closes when **Settings > System > Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed** is on, so check the notification area for its icon and quit from there. While Chrome runs it holds the file `User Data\lockfile` open, and Windows will refuse to delete files it is using.

Then delete the contents of `Cache`, `Code Cache` and `GPUCache` inside each profile, and of the three shader folders under `User Data`. Leave everything else in the profile: `Cookies`, `History`, `Login Data`, `Local Storage`, `IndexedDB`, `Preferences` and `Bookmarks` are your data, not cache. Do not delete the whole `User Data` folder or a profile folder to save time; that is a profile reset, and it removes local passwords and settings that sync may not hold.

`Service Worker\CacheStorage` is different. Sites put files there on purpose so they work offline, such as a web mail app's message store or a music site's saved tracks. It is usually safe to clear, but treat it like cookies: only when you know you will not miss that offline copy.

## Check the Result

Note the free space on drive C: before you start, then refresh it afterwards. If it barely moved, check whether the deleted files went to the Recycle Bin; they still take space there until it is emptied. Open Chrome again and the first pages will be a little slower while the cache refills. It will grow back over the following days, so an empty folder is not the goal, a cache that is not taking more than you can spare is.

If the cache was small and drive C: is still full, Chrome is not the cause. [Windows cache cleanup](/windows/blog/windows-cache-cleanup) covers the other owners, and [Edge running in the background](/windows/blog/edge-running-in-background) explains the same keep-running behaviour for Microsoft's browser.

## Where Mole Fits

Mole for Windows lists Chrome's `Cache`, `Code Cache`, `GPUCache` and WebGPU caches for every profile in **Clean**, together with the shader caches, downloaded component and extension packages, and crash reports older than seven days. Those rows start selected. `Service Worker\CacheStorage` is listed for review and starts unselected, and it goes to the Recycle Bin when you pick it. Clean has no rule for cookies, history, passwords, `Local Storage` or `IndexedDB`. While Chrome runs, the Chrome rows wait with **Chrome holding cache** and an option to quit it. Ordinary caches are deleted permanently by default; for recoverable removal, choose **Settings > Cache removal > Recycle Bin** before cleaning. Edge's caches are handled the same way.

## FAQ

### Will Clearing the Chrome Cache Sign Me Out?

No. Signing out comes from clearing cookies, not cached images and files. Leave **Cookies and other site data** unticked and you stay signed in to your sites.

### Why Did the Cache Come Back So Quickly?

Chrome refills it as you browse; that is what it is for. Clear it again only if it is taking real space or a site keeps showing stale content.

### Does Clearing the Cache Make Chrome Faster?

Usually not. A cache makes repeat visits faster, so right after clearing, pages load a little slower. It helps when one site shows an outdated or broken version, not as a routine speed fix.


Canonical: https://mole.fit/windows/blog/clear-chrome-cache-windows