Free space on Mac for video editing and music: safe cache cleanup

By Pruneo TeamPublished: October 22, 2026Updated: October 25, 2026

Video and music apps are the fastest way to fill a Mac. Part of that space is your real work: footage, projects, recordings and sample libraries. But a large part is made of files the app creates to play back smoothly and can create again: render files, proxies, optimized media, cache clips, peak files and decoded audio. This guide shows how to free that space in Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere, Logic Pro and Ableton Live, using each app’s own commands.

The golden rule: caches yes, projects and samples never

Before you start, keep this list in mind. Do not delete these by hand, even if they are huge:

• Final Cut Pro libraries (.fcpbundle) and your original media.
• DaVinci Resolve projects, databases and source clips.
• Premiere and After Effects project files and footage.
• Logic Pro projects (.logicx), your recordings and the sound library itself.
• Ableton Live Sets (.als), the Project folders, your User Library, Packs and samples.

What you can delete are the files each app calls cache, render, proxy or optimized media, and it is always best to do it from inside the app. The app knows which files belong to which project and will rebuild them when needed. Deleting them in Finder can confuse it or remove the wrong thing.

Also: close the project, make sure the drives with your media are connected, and have a recent backup. The only real cost of cleaning caches is time: the next playback or export will be slower while the app renders again.

Step 1: find out where the space is

Start by measuring. These commands only read:

du -sh ~/Movies/* 2>/dev/null
du -sh ~/Music/* 2>/dev/null
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Adobe/Common 2>/dev/null

Final Cut Pro libraries live in the Movies folder by default, Logic Pro 12 keeps its sound library in the Music folder, and Adobe apps share a media cache in ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common. If your projects are on an external drive, measure that drive too. If macOS shows a large “System Data” bar, read what System Data on Mac is.

Final Cut Pro: render, optimized and proxy files

Final Cut Pro creates three kinds of generated files: render files (effects and timelines already processed), optimized media (copies in an easier codec) and proxy media (small copies for editing). By default they live inside the library, which is why a library can grow far beyond your footage.

Apple’s guide to managing render files explains how to remove them:

1. In the Libraries sidebar, select a library (or select events, projects or clips).
2. Choose File > Delete Generated Library Files. The command changes with the selection: Delete Generated Event Files, Project Files or Clip Files.
3. In the window, select Delete Render Files and choose Unused Only or All.
4. To remove copies too, select Delete Optimized Media and/or Delete Proxy Media, as described in Create optimized and proxy files.
5. Click OK.

“Unused Only” is the gentle option: it keeps renders that the current timelines still use. Menu names vary between versions (older guides only mention the library command), so check your File menu.

Final Cut Pro also keeps automatic library backups in the Movies folder (Apple’s restore a library page names it “Final Cut Pro Backups”). They only contain the library database, not media, and the app removes old ones itself, so they rarely need attention. You can change the location in the Library Properties inspector, as explained in Set storage locations.

DaVinci Resolve: render cache and CacheClip

DaVinci Resolve stores its render cache in a folder called CacheClip, with files ending in .dvcc. The folder location is set per project in Project Settings > Master Settings > Working Folders > Cache files location. Look there before searching your disk.

To delete the cache from the app, open the project and use the Playback menu, as described in the DaVinci Resolve Reference Manual:

1. Choose Playback > Delete Render Cache.
2. Pick Unused (cache that no longer matches any clip or effect in the timeline), Selected Clips or All.

Start with Unused. Use All when a project is finished or you are archiving it. If you moved the cache folder to another drive, an old CacheClip folder may remain on the internal disk. Open the old projects and delete their cache from the menu before thinking about removing anything in Finder. Menu names can change between Resolve versions; the manual for your version is on the Blackmagic Design support page.

Adobe Premiere and the Media Cache

Adobe apps share a Media Cache: peak files for audio waveforms (.pek), conformed audio (.cfa) and index files (.ims). On macOS the default folder is inside ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common, unless you changed it.

From Premiere, following Adobe’s guide to clear the media cache:

1. Open Premiere > Settings > Media Cache.
2. Next to Remove Media Cache Files, click Delete.
3. Choose Delete unused media cache files (files for media that can no longer be found) or delete all of them.

To stop the cache from growing forever, Adobe’s page on managing media cache files explains the option Automatically delete cache files older than in the same panel (90 days by default in Premiere Pro). Premiere also offers a size limit. The automatic clean starts after a restart and then runs weekly.

Logic Pro: sound packs and the sound library

In Logic Pro, the big item is usually not a cache but the downloadable sound content: instruments, loops and samples. It is safe to manage because Apple can deliver it again.

• Delete packs you do not use. In the Sound Library, click Manage Packs and delete individual packs, as Apple explains in Download additional sound packs. If a patch needs deleted content later, Logic Pro asks you to download it again.
• Move the sound library to an external drive. In Logic Pro 12 (and MainStage 4) all content is in a single file called Logic Pro Library.bundle in your Music folder, according to About the sound library. Apple’s move content article says you drag that file to another location and can then delete the original. In Logic Pro 11.2.2 and earlier, use Logic Pro > Sound Library > Relocate Sound Library instead.

Your projects and recordings stay in their own folders. Do not delete them to save space; archive finished projects to an external drive instead.

Ableton Live: the decoding cache

When you use compressed samples (MP3, AAC and similar), Live decodes them and stores the result in the Decoding subfolder of its Cache folder. The Ableton Live 12 manual explains the controls in Settings > File & Folder (called Preferences in older versions):

1. Maximum Cache Size: turn it on and set a limit, so the cache never grows past it.
2. Minimum Free Space: the space Live must always leave free on the disk.
3. Cleanup: deletes cached files that the open Set does not use.
4. Cache Folder: shows where the cache is. Ableton recommends keeping the default location.

Live also deletes older cache files automatically to make room for new ones. The cache is rebuilt as needed, so the only cost is a short decoding wait. Do not delete your Packs, User Library or the Samples folders inside your Projects: those are your sounds, not cache. The small .asd analysis files next to samples are not worth removing either.

Summary

• Delete only regenerable files: renders, proxies, optimized media, cache clips, media cache, decoded audio.
• Do it from the app: Final Cut’s Delete Generated Files, Resolve’s Delete Render Cache, Premiere’s Media Cache settings, Logic’s Manage Packs, Ableton’s Cleanup.
• Never delete libraries, projects, footage, recordings or samples to save space. Archive them instead.
• Connect your media drives and close the project before cleaning.

If you want to understand the other caches on your Mac, read is it safe to delete Library/Caches and the general guide on how to free up space on Mac. Or download Pruneo to see it all in one scan.

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