Where Does GameMaker Store Settings and Cache?
GameMaker Studio data across Roaming, Local and ProgramData, and which folder holds your settings.
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GameMaker Studio spreads data across three roots on Windows. Personal IDE settings live in Roaming AppData with local_settings.json as the headline file. Per run build temp files sit in Local AppData, and downloaded runtimes live in ProgramData shared across users.
Knowing which root you need saves real time. Settings migrations copy the Roaming folder, build failures clear the Local temp and Roaming cache folders, and disk space complaints point at stale runtimes in ProgramData. Default new projects land in Documents, far from all three.
Where GameMaker stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\GameMakerStudio2
Settings file is local_settings.json inside a per user ID subfolder. Build cache lives in %APPDATA%\GameMakerStudio2\Cache\GMS2CACHE, temp builds in %LOCALAPPDATA%\GameMakerStudio2\GMS2TEMP, and runtimes in %PROGRAMDATA%\GameMakerStudio2\Cache\runtimes.
Frequently asked questions
how do i back up gamemaker ide settings
Copy the GameMakerStudio2 folder from Roaming AppData with the IDE closed. That carries local_settings.json, macros and UI state. Runtimes under ProgramData re download on demand, so skip them.
gamemaker builds are failing, how do i clear the cache
Delete the GMS2CACHE and GMS2TEMP folders with GameMaker closed. The IDE rebuilds both on next compile. Never delete the user settings folder by mistake, since cache folders say Cache or TEMP in their names.
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