Where Does Rclone Store Cache Files?
Rclone cache lives in per-OS cache dirs set by cache-dir, separate from rclone.conf. Paths and overrides.
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Rclone splits config from cache. The config file with remotes and secrets lives wherever rclone config file points, commonly ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf. Cache chunks, VFS file buffers and serve temp data live somewhere else: the cache directory controlled by cache-dir.
That split matters because the two need different backup treatment. The conf file is small and precious. The cache dir is large and disposable. Wiping cache only costs re-downloads, while losing the conf file costs every remote definition. This post covers the cache half.
Where Rclone stores this, by platform
%LOCALAPPDATA%\rclone
Default cache-dir on Windows. Override per command with --cache-dir or globally with RCLONE_CACHE_DIR. Legacy cache backend used a cache-backend tree under the same root. Run rclone config paths to print live values.
~/Library/Caches/rclone
Default cache-dir on Mac. VFS mounts with file caching fill this tree during reads and writes. Same --cache-dir and env overrides apply. Config file stays separate, usually ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf.
~/.cache/rclone
Default under $XDG_CACHE_HOME when set, else ~/.cache/rclone. All OSes fall back to $TMPDIR/rclone when the cache dir is unset. Legacy backend paths used a cache-backend subfolder; current VFS caching supersedes it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I change the Rclone cache location?
Pass --cache-dir /new/path on the command line or set RCLONE_CACHE_DIR in the environment. The change applies per invocation, so bake it into mount scripts and systemd units. Confirm with rclone config paths afterwards.
Can I delete the Rclone cache folder?
Yes, with Rclone stopped. Cached chunks and VFS buffers rebuild on next access at the cost of re-downloads. Never delete rclone.conf the same way: that file holds remotes and secrets and does not regenerate.
Where is the Rclone config file then?
Wherever rclone config file reports, by default ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf on Mac and Linux. The cache dir above never holds remotes. Back up the conf file separately and keep it out of shared dotfile repos.
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