Where apps hide your files

Discord's folders on a Mac

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

Discord has no download library: it has a cache folder that grows quietly and a save dialog for everything else. Here is where each one is and what you can safely clear.

The paths

Discord's app data, including its cache, is here:

~/Library/Application Support/discord/

Files you save from a message (an attachment, an image, a zip) go wherever the save dialog puts them, which is usually your Downloads folder. Discord does not keep a downloads folder of its own, so if a file seems to have vanished, look in ~/Downloads first.

Discord's test builds, PTB and Canary, keep their data in sibling folders named discordptb and discordcanary. Run this to see which exist on your Mac (it lists names only):

ls ~/Library/Application\ Support | grep -i discord

Open it

In Finder use Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G) and paste the path, or in Terminal:

open ~/Library/Application\ Support/discord

What the folders are

Discord for Mac is an Electron app, so its data folder has the same shape as other Electron apps such as Slack. The three that people mean by "the cache" are:

Folder	Holds
Cache	Images, avatars, emoji and other things the app fetched
Code Cache	Compiled JavaScript so the app starts faster
GPUCache	Compiled graphics shaders

Beside them you will usually find folders such as Local Storage, IndexedDB, Session Storage and Service Worker, plus files like Cookies and Preferences. These hold your settings, your logged-in state and the app's own working data. Discord does not document this layout, and the exact list varies by version.

What is safe to clear

The three cache folders are rebuilt on demand. If Discord is slow, glitchy, showing stale images or using a lot of disk, clearing them is a standard first fix.

1. Quit Discord completely: ⌘Q, then check Activity Monitor in case it is still running from the menu bar.
2. Open the discord folder as above.
3. Move Cache, Code Cache and GPUCache to the Trash.
4. Empty the Trash, otherwise the space is not released.
5. Start Discord. The first launch is slower while it fetches things again.

You stay logged in, because the login state is not in those folders. Do not delete Local Storage, Cookies or the rest unless you are happy to log in again and lose app-side settings. Messages are never at risk: they live on Discord's servers, not in this folder.

How big does it get

Heavy servers with lots of images and GIFs push the cache up over time. Check without opening anything:

du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/discord

Discord publishes neither a typical size nor a cap, so measure your own. To size the three cache folders on their own:

cd ~/Library/Application\ Support/discord && du -sh Cache "Code Cache" GPUCache

Getting your own files and messages out

Attachments you want to keep must be saved from the message itself. The Cache folder stores what it fetched under internal names, so it is not an archive, and browsing it rarely finds a specific image.

For your account's history, the supported export is Discord's data package: open User Settings > Data & Privacy and use Request Data. Discord emails a download link for a ZIP archive that includes your messages. Its help pages say a request can take up to 30 days, and you cannot start a second one until the first has finished.

When clearing the cache does not help

If Discord still misbehaves after the cache is gone, the next step is not deleting more folders. Update the app (it normally updates itself on launch), restart the Mac, and check whether the problem happens in Discord in a browser too, which would point at your account or network rather than the local files. Deleting the whole discord folder is a last resort: it signs you out and resets app-side settings, though your servers and messages are untouched. Move it to the Trash rather than deleting it, so you can put it back if it changes nothing.

Moving or changing the location

Discord offers no setting for where the app data lives. The practical options are to change the default save location in macOS dialogs by choosing another folder (the dialog remembers it), or to keep your large attachments in a project folder rather than Downloads.

Edition differences

Discord has no separate Mac App Store edition, so one path covers the app you download from discord.com. Discord in a browser keeps its cache in the browser profile instead, so clearing the desktop app's folders does nothing for it. Apple silicon and Intel Macs use the same path.

Why a search will not show these

Spotlight ignores ~/Library. A search for the attachment you saved will find it in Downloads, but nothing in Discord's cache has a meaningful name to search for.

Finding Discord's folders by name

Typing discord into Everywhere lists the main data folder together with any discordptb or discordcanary siblings, so you can see at once which builds have left data on the Mac. ⌘↵ reveals the one you pick in Finder, where its cache folders can go to the Trash once Discord is quit. It searches names only, so it finds folders, and with Full Disk Access the attachments you saved to Downloads, but never the text of your messages.

Common questions

Where is the Discord cache folder on a Mac?

In ~/Library/Application Support/discord, in the Cache, Code Cache and GPUCache folders. Quit Discord before clearing them.

Will clearing the Discord cache log me out?

No. The cache folders hold downloaded images and compiled code, not your login. Only deleting other items, like Local Storage and Cookies, would sign you out.

Where do files I download from Discord go?

To the folder you pick in the save dialog, which usually defaults to Downloads. Discord does not keep its own downloads folder.

How do I export my Discord messages?

Open User Settings > Data & Privacy and use Request Data. Discord emails a link to a ZIP package that includes your messages, and a request can take up to 30 days.