Where apps hide your files

Finding the .NET SDK and NuGet folders

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

Two separate places matter for .NET on a Mac: the SDK itself, which the installer puts in a system folder, and the NuGet package cache in your home folder, which is the part that grows.

The location

/usr/local/share/dotnet

Microsoft's macOS install guide says that on an Arm-based Mac the Arm64 SDK installs to this normal folder, and that the x64 SDK, if you install that too, goes into a separate x64 subfolder with its own dotnet command, which is not on your PATH:

/usr/local/share/dotnet/x64/dotnet

The dotnet command is found on your path, so the quickest way to see where it really resolves is:

which dotnet
dotnet --info

dotnet --info prints the SDK and runtime versions and the base path in use. The .NET SDK was not installed on the Mac used for this guide, so the paths here come from Microsoft's documentation rather than a local listing. To open the folder, press ⇧⌘G in Finder and paste the path, or run open /usr/local/share/dotnet.

Inside the dotnet folder

The folder holds the host program and a few subfolders. Their names are stable across releases, though the version folders inside them change.

Folder	What it holds
sdk/<version>	One folder per installed SDK, for example the 9.0 or 10.0 line.
shared/Microsoft.NETCore.App/<version>	The .NET runtime used to run apps.
shared/Microsoft.AspNetCore.App/<version>	The ASP.NET Core runtime, which comes with the SDK.
host/fxr/<version>	The host resolver that picks an SDK and runtime. dotnet --info does not list it.
packs, templates	Targeting packs and the project templates behind dotnet new.

Installing the SDK also installs the matching runtime and ASP.NET Core runtime, according to Microsoft. To list what you have without browsing folders:

dotnet --list-sdks
dotnet --list-runtimes

When the SDK is somewhere else

There are other ways to install .NET, and each lands in a different place:

• The installer package from dotnet.microsoft.com: /usr/local/share/dotnet, as above.
• The dotnet-install.sh script: ~/.dotnet by default, per Microsoft's guide. You then add it to your PATH and set DOTNET_ROOT yourself.
• A manual tarball: wherever you extracted it. Microsoft's example uses ~/Applications/.dotnet.
• Visual Studio Code's C# Dev Kit can use an SDK you already have or install one for you.
• Homebrew: the dotnet-sdk cask runs Microsoft's installer package, so it lands in /usr/local/share/dotnet as above, even on Apple silicon. The dotnet formula is different: it installs under the Homebrew prefix, in /opt/homebrew/opt/dotnet/libexec on Apple silicon, and its caveats suggest setting DOTNET_ROOT to that folder.

If dotnet is not found in a new Terminal window after a script or manual install, the folder is not on your PATH. Microsoft's fix is two lines in your shell profile, such as ~/.zshrc:

export DOTNET_ROOT=$HOME/.dotnet
export PATH=$PATH:$DOTNET_ROOT:$DOTNET_ROOT/tools

Use your own install folder in place of $HOME/.dotnet if you put it elsewhere.

The NuGet package folders

This is where the disk space goes. According to the NuGet documentation, on macOS the folders are:

Folder	Default path
global-packages	~/.nuget/packages
http-cache	~/.local/share/NuGet/v3-cache
plugins-cache	~/.local/share/NuGet/plugins-cache
temp	$TMPDIR/NuGetScratch

All of the home-folder ones are hidden dot-folders. Print the real paths on your Mac:

dotnet nuget locals all --list

Every package a project restores is expanded into ~/.nuget/packages, one folder per package ID and version. Projects share that folder instead of keeping their own copy, so it only grows as you try new packages and versions. See the total with du -sh ~/.nuget/packages.

Other .NET folders you may meet

• bin and obj inside each project folder hold that project's build output and restore files. They are safe to delete, and the next build recreates them, which is the quickest way to shrink a project you have finished with.
• ~/.dotnet/tools is where global tools from dotnet tool install -g are placed, according to Microsoft's tool documentation. It is also what the two PATH lines above add for script installs.
• dotnet new templates you install are kept in your home folder, in a hidden folder created by the template engine. Run dotnet new uninstall to see and remove them instead of hunting for files.

Moving or clearing the package cache

Set the NUGET_PACKAGES environment variable to put global-packages somewhere else, such as an external drive. The NUGET_HTTP_CACHE_PATH variable does the same for the HTTP cache. The NuGet docs list both.

To clear the caches the supported way, close your IDE and run:

dotnet nuget locals http-cache --clear
dotnet nuget locals global-packages --clear

The first is cheap: it holds copies of feed responses, and NuGet typically treats entries older than 30 minutes as expired. The second deletes every downloaded package, so each project must restore, and download, its packages again on the next build. Both are safe, just slow if you are offline.

Removing an SDK version

Microsoft's uninstall guide removes .NET one version folder at a time and recommends against deleting the whole dotnet folder. List what you have with dotnet --list-sdks, then remove the folder for the version you no longer need. This is destructive and asks for your password, so check the version number twice. For an SDK numbered 8.0.100, for example:

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/share/dotnet/sdk/8.0.100

Runtimes are removed the same way from shared/<product>/<version>. Microsoft also publishes the .NET Uninstall Tool (dotnet-core-uninstall) for this job. A script install under ~/.dotnet can simply be moved to the Trash.

Why search misses these files

Spotlight and Finder searches leave out /usr/local/share, hidden folders such as ~/.nuget, and most package contents. Package folders are also named after the package ID, like newtonsoft.json, in lower case.

Finding them next time

Everywhere indexes hidden dot-folders and system locations, so typing newtonsoft shows that package's folder inside ~/.nuget/packages, and typing dotnet lists every dotnet and .dotnet folder, whichever install route you used. Press ⌘↵ to reveal a result in Finder. It matches names only, so use dotnet --list-sdks for versions.

Common questions

Where is the .NET SDK installed on a Mac?

With the official installer (or Homebrew's dotnet-sdk cask), in /usr/local/share/dotnet. The x64 SDK on an Apple silicon Mac goes into its x64 subfolder, and the install script defaults to ~/.dotnet.

Where are NuGet packages stored on a Mac?

In ~/.nuget/packages, a hidden folder. Run dotnet nuget locals global-packages --list to print the path your setup uses.

How do I clear the NuGet cache on a Mac?

Run dotnet nuget locals all --clear, or clear one folder, such as http-cache or global-packages. Packages are downloaded again on the next restore.

How do I find which .NET versions are installed?

Run dotnet --list-sdks and dotnet --list-runtimes, or look at the sdk and shared folders inside the dotnet folder.