Where Does Proton Mail Bridge Store Config and Mail Cache?
Proton Mail Bridge config, cache and mail vault paths on Windows, macOS and Linux, including the bridge-v3 folders.
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Proton Mail Bridge keeps three versioned trees per OS: config for vault and certificates, cache for the mailbox database and locks, data for logs and the encrypted mail store. Everything sits under a protonmail/bridge-v3 folder in the standard roots. Credentials stay out of these files entirely, in the OS keychain.
Uninstalls leave leftovers behind on purpose so reinstalls resume cleanly. A true reset means deleting all three bridge-v3 folders yourself. Next launch recreates them and asks for login again.
Where Proton Mail Bridge stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\protonmail\bridge-v3
Config holds vault.enc, certificates and gRPC json; cache holds the mailbox db, locks and user info; data is only logs and updates on this OS. Paste each root into the Explorer address bar to inspect.
~/Library/Application Support/protonmail/bridge-v3
Config and cache split across Application Support and Caches as Apple conventions require. Use Go to Folder in Finder. The encrypted mail itself sits in the data tree beside logs.
~/.config/protonmail/bridge-v3
Follows XDG across config, cache and local share. GNOME keyring (or pass) must be present or Bridge refuses to start, since logins never live in these files.
Frequently asked questions
How do I wipe Proton Bridge settings completely?
Remove the bridge-v3 folders under the config, cache and data roots for your OS. Proton documents all three locations; wiping them resets Bridge to defaults on next launch.
Where is the Bridge offline mail cache?
In the data root under gluon/backend, encrypted and readable only by Bridge itself. Move it through Bridge's own Local cache setting rather than by hand to avoid a resync.
Does deleting Bridge files remove my Proton account?
Yes. Credentials live in the OS keychain (Keychain, Credential Manager, or GNOME keyring), while mail and settings stay in the bridge-v3 trees. Deleting files never leaks the login itself.
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