Mac Cache Recovery: How to Recover Deleted Cache Files on Mac

Part 1: What is Cache on a Mac?

Part 2: Three Types of Cache Files on Mac

Part 3: Beware of System Caches on the Mac

Part 4: How to Recover Deleted Cache Files on Mac

One of the good habits to maintain high performance on macOS and your Mac is to regularly clean caches on your Mac. But what if you accidentally delete a cache that contains important system files, libraries, scripts, or logs? Don't worry. You can try to recover deleted cache files by following the guide here.

What is cache on a Mac?

When you visit websites, open apps, or look at pictures and videos, cache files are generated automatically. On a Mac, a cache is a collection of temporary files that your computer downloads and stores to save time in the future.

In general, there are three types of cache that we deal with on a Mac: browser cache, system cache, and app cache.

Three Types of Cache Files on a Mac

Cache data stored on your Mac saves a lot of time, whether you launch Safari/Google/Firefox browsers or start up your Mac, as it keeps a copy of your earlier activity history. Cache data contributes to speed up the loading of your operating system, web browsers, and apps. However, an excessive number of cache files also has its downsides.

First, it takes up a lot of disk space; second, cache files prevent you from seeing the latest version of a page; and third, cached files on a public computer can compromise your security. These are reasons to clear your cache regularly, if not immediately.

### Clean Up System Caches on Your Mac

While some cache files are necessary for a better browsing experience, others are unnecessary and just take up valuable RAM and storage space. What's more, system caches can be complicated, as wiping them incorrectly can lead to serious boot problems.

This is a post we found on the Apple forums where a user accidentally deleted cache files from their Mac's hard drive, causing system issues.

How to Recover Deleted Cache Files on a Mac

• Recover deleted browser cache files
• Recover deleted system file caches

There are two types of cache that you may mistakenly delete on your Mac. One is the browser cache files, which contain your history, bookmarks, or passwords. The other is system file cache, which consists of scripts, images, logs, temp files, user account data, and startup disk information.

Normally, browser cache doesn't do any harm to your Mac system. Since it might store some crucial work and study records, we need a full recovery after accidental deletion. On the other hand, certain system caches are essential for a normal boot or display of regular font styles, without which they won't function.

In short, if you've deleted browser cache files in Safari or Google Chrome, you might want to restore them from an iCloud backup that's synced or a recent manual Time Machine backup. Alternatively, if you're looking for an automatic way to recover cached files on Mac, you can use some reliable third-party Mac data recovery software. Disk Drill for Mac is the most powerful tool to recover deleted files from the built-in HDD on your Mac and external devices like SD cards from cameras or USB flash drives.

Guide: Automatically Recover Deleted macOS Cache Folders, Log Files, Library Folders, and Browser History

Download the trial version of Mac hard drive recovery software on your MacBook or iMac. After a thorough scan, you can either follow the correct path or locate the cache files that you have mistakenly deleted.

Note: You can create a backup first by clicking “Disk Backup” on the left. The software will recover the deleted files from the backup image. This prevents further damage to your disk and data, making it safer and more reliable.

Step 1: Scan for the deleted files

Select the hard drive, external drive, or SSD from where your important data and files were deleted, and then click “Search Lost Files.”

Select the location and scan for deleted files on your Mac

Step 2: Filter out missing files

The software will scan the selected volume quickly and thoroughly, trying to find as many deleted files as possible. Filter the required files by Type and Path options.

Step 3: Recover the deleted file(s)

Double-click to preview the deleted files and then hit the “Recover” button to get them back.