How to Clear Lightroom Cache on Mac in 2 Ways

Have you noticed Lightroom slowing down on your Mac, or wondered, “Why is editing suddenly so sluggish?”

As someone who edits hundreds of RAW files, I once noticed Lightroom suddenly slowing down — it started taking twice as long as usual. After some digging, I found the culprit: a buildup of Lightroom cache on my Mac.

So, what exactly is Lightroom cache, and how can you clear it safely? This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about clearing Lightroom cache on your Mac.

What Is Lightroom Cache?

Cache is temporary data that Lightroom stores to speed things up. For instance, it keeps preview files of RAW images and video data, so you don’t have to wait every time you open or edit a photo.

The downside? Over time, these cache files can grow to tens of gigabytes, eating up disk space and slowing down both Lightroom and your Mac.

Benefits of Clearing Lightroom Cache on Mac

Here are some benefits I noticed after clearing the Lightroom cache on my Mac:

• Launch time dropped from ~20 seconds to just 5 seconds
• Editing lag disappeared
• Freed up over 40GB of storage

Regularly clearing the cache helps keep both Lightroom and your Mac running smoothly.

So, how do you do it? Let’s find out.

How to Automatically Clear Lightroom Cache on Mac

If you don’t want to dig through folders manually, you can use a cache cleaner like BuhoCleaner. It helps you automatically clear caches from the system, browsers, and applications such as Lightroom, Xcode, and the App Store.

Here's how it works:

1. Download and install BuhoCleaner on your Mac.
2. Launch BuhoCleaner, then click the Scan button > View Details.

   

3. Search for Lightroom, select it, and click the Remove button to delete all related cache files at once.

   

How to Manually Clear Lightroom Cache on Mac

If you prefer not to install any third-party software, follow the steps below to clear the cache in Lightroom manually.

1. Open Lightroom Classic.
2. In the top menu, click Edit > Preferences.
3. Go to the Performance tab.
4. Under Camera RAW Cache Settings and Video Cache Settings, click Clear Cache.
5. (Optional but recommended) Manually delete preview cache folders in Finder:
   • ~/Pictures/Lightroom/Lightroom Catalog Smart Previews.lrdata
   • ~/Pictures/Lightroom/Lightroom Catalog Previews.lrdata

Conclusion

Clearing the Lightroom cache on your Mac can provide a smoother Lightroom experience. These two methods make it easy. Simply choose the one that suits you best.