Disabling and Clearing the Safari Cache

Some macos applications use local caches. This means that the application takes a copy of a page or document you are viewing and stores it locally on your computer. There is no need for this as the university already provides a caching service.

On the damtp installed macs the cache gets kept in your home directory and counts towards your quota. As the cache keeps growing, sooner or later you run out of disk quota.

This document explains how to empty and disable the cache for Safari.

1. Emptying the Cache

   To remove all files in your local Safari Cache, start Safari. Under the Safari menu is an option to Empty Cache; select this. The university already has a webcache so you do not need your own.

2. Disabling Caching

   To disable caching under safari, first quit Safari. You must have Safari closed before you carry out the following instructions.
   • Open a terminal or xterm window
   • Type in the following

     	 rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Safari  
     

     and press return or enter.
   • Now type in

     	 touch  ~/Library/Caches/Safari  

     and press return or enter.
   • Close the terminal or xterm window.
   • Restart Safari. It will no longer cache.