Where Is the Composer Cache Stored?
Composer cache and global config home on Windows, macOS and Linux, plus the commands that print the live paths.
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Composer splits its footprint two ways: a home directory for global config and packages, and a cache directory for downloaded zips. Both move with environment variables.
Because overrides are common in CI images and shared hosts, the config commands below are the reliable source. Defaults are a starting guess, not ground truth.
Where Composer stores this, by platform
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Composer\files
Default cache layout; files subdirectory holds the zips. Confirm with composer config --global cache-dir. COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR overrides it.
~/.cache/composer/files
Default only. Confirm with composer config --global cache-dir, since COMPOSER_HOME moves both home and cache.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check my real Composer paths?
Run composer config --global cache-dir and composer config --global home. Output reflects COMPOSER_HOME and COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR overrides, so trust it over any documented default.
How do I clear the Composer cache?
Run composer clear-cache. It empties the download cache safely. Installed vendor directories in your projects are untouched.
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