Is it safe to delete Codex cache on Mac?

Codex cache, temporary files and diagnostic logs can be removed safely; they are recreated as needed. Do not delete configuration, credentials, memories or archived session transcripts unless you intentionally want to reset or remove that information.

Where does Codex store its files on macOS?

Codex CLI data is commonly stored in ~/.codex. The desktop app can also use ~/Library/Caches/com.openai.codex and ~/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex for regenerable data and diagnostics.

Where Codex Stores Files on Mac: What Is Safe to Delete

Start by measuring, not deleting

Codex CLI data typically lives under ~/.codex. Check the top-level footprint first:

du -sh ~/.codex 2>/dev/null
du -sh ~/Library/Caches/com.openai.codex 2>/dev/null
du -sh ~/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex 2>/dev/null

Quit Codex before clearing files so an active process is not writing a log or cache while you remove it.

What is safe to clear

These locations contain data that Codex can rebuild or re-download:

~/.codex/cache
~/.codex/vendor_imports
~/.codex/plugins/cache
~/.codex/plugins/.remote-plugin-install-staging
~/.codex/.tmp
~/.codex/tmp
~/.codex/log
~/Library/Caches/com.openai.codex
~/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex

They are suitable for a SAFE cleanup: the next launch or CLI run may take a little longer while Codex rebuilds metadata or caches.

What to keep unless you mean to remove it

Data	Why it matters	Risk
`~/.codex/config.toml` and settings	Your configuration and preferences	DANGER
Credentials and sign-in files	Authentication and account access	DANGER
`~/.codex/memories`	Stored conversation memories and learned context	WARNING
`~/.codex/archived_sessions`	Past conversation transcripts	WARNING

Warnings are not necessarily dangerous, but they are not disposable cache either. Delete them only if you understand exactly what you are giving up.

Why a generic disk cleaner gets this wrong

A folder visualizer can correctly report that ~/.codex is large, yet it cannot tell you which bytes are cache and which are memories, transcripts or configuration. That distinction is the difference between reclaiming space and unexpectedly losing useful context.

Use a purpose-built scanner

DevCleaner has a dedicated Codex scanner that separates caches, temporary files and logs from memories and archived sessions. Safe categories are selected by default; conversation-related data is visible but opt-in.