How to Clear Cursor Cache on Mac Without Losing Projects

Quit Cursor first

Use Cursor → Quit Cursor before touching its files. That prevents a running process from recreating a cache while you remove it and avoids confusing lock errors.

The safe Cursor folders

Cursor is based on VS Code. These folders contain disposable renderer and extension caches; Cursor recreates them when needed:

~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/Cache
~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/Code Cache
~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/CachedData
~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/GPUCache
~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/CachedExtensionVSIXs
~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/Crashpad
~/Library/Logs/Cursor

To inspect their combined size before deleting anything:

du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Cursor/{Cache,Code\ Cache,CachedData,GPUCache,CachedExtensionVSIXs,Crashpad} 2>/dev/null
du -sh ~/Library/Logs/Cursor 2>/dev/null

These are the folders a safety-conscious cleaner can treat as SAFE: the cost is only a slightly slower next launch while caches rebuild.

The folders not to clear blindly

Use Finder's Go → Go to Folder… and paste ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor if you want to look through these folders yourself. Do not use a broad rm -rf command on the whole Cursor directory unless you are intentionally resetting or uninstalling Cursor.

Why Cursor can look much larger than its cache

Disk visualizers often count every byte below Cursor, including workspace storage and local history. That is useful for visibility, but it does not mean all of it should be a default cleanup target. A good cleanup flow shows the total and splits the regenerable cache from the state you may value.

Clean it without memorizing paths

DevCleaner recognizes Cursor's cache and log categories separately, marks only regenerable data Safe by default, and warns if Cursor is running. Workspace state and local history remain an opt-in decision.