Where Does Microsoft Teams Store Cache and Data?
Classic Teams and Teams 2.0 keep their cache in different folders on Windows and Mac. Tell them apart, then clear the right one.
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There are two Microsoft Teams clients, and they keep their data in completely different places. Classic Teams shipped for years as a plain desktop app, and the newer Teams 2.0 replaced it with a packaged app that stores everything inside its own container.
That difference matters the moment something breaks and a forum tells you to clear the Teams cache. Half the instructions point at %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams, which does nothing if you are running the newer client. Work out which one you have before deleting anything.
Where Microsoft Teams stores this, by platform
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams
This is the newer Teams 2.0 client, the packaged build most people have now, and it covers both the free and the work or school app on Windows. Classic Teams kept everything in %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams instead, so clearing that folder does nothing for the newer one. Quit Teams completely before you empty either folder.
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2/Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MSTeams
New Teams on a Mac, cleared together with its group container at ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams. Classic Teams used ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams. Check which of the two exists before you delete anything.
Frequently asked questions
which version of teams am i using
If %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams exists, you have classic Teams. If %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe exists, you have Teams 2.0. On a Mac, look for com.microsoft.teams2 in ~/Library/Containers rather than the old Application Support folder.
does clearing the teams cache delete my messages
No. Chats, files and meetings live on Microsoft's servers, so clearing the cache only drops local copies. You get signed out, personalisation resets, and the first start afterwards is slow while Teams rebuilds its index.
how do i clear the teams cache properly
Quit Teams fully first, including the tray icon, then delete the contents of the cache folder rather than the folder itself. On Windows the newer client also has Settings > Apps > Microsoft Teams > Advanced options > Reset, which does the job for you.
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