How to Clear Cache in Premiere Pro in 3 Steps

Wondering how to clear cache in Premiere Pro? When you edit with Premiere Pro, you want to ensure it’s running at its optimum performance, and one of the factors that allow Premiere Pro to run smoothly is to clear the cache.

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To help maintain optimal performance, clearing old media cache files can help ensure you run Premiere Pro smoothly. Knowing how to clear the media cache in Premiere Pro is a must.

Let’s have a look at what the media cache is in Premiere Pro and how you can clear it.

What is a Media Cache in Premiere Pro?

The Media Cache in Premiere Pro is where audio and video are imported into Premiere Pro. It processes versions of the imported files that can be accessed easily for faster performance.

These files are known as “Media Cache” files. These files are stored in the Media Cache folder with the media cache database files.

Clearing unused old files can help Premiere Pro run at its optimal performance. Remember that deleted cache files are recreated whenever source media requires them.

Where should you store Media Cache files?

Storing your Media Cache files is pretty important as it affects performance. Make sure you choose a fast NVME or a fast SSD drive for storing your Media Cache files (Preferably on a dedicated hard drive).

To change the location of your media cache files. Simply click Browse, then go to your preferred folder location.

Video overview on how to clear cache in Premiere Pro

Here’s a quick 1 minute video on how to clear the cache in Premiere Pro:

Here’s How to Clear Cache in Premiere Pro

It’s the same method for both Windows and Mac. To clear the media cache in Premiere Pro, follow these simple steps:

Step 1:

Open up the pop-up box by clicking on Preferences at the top menu and then move to the Media Cache section.

Step 2:

Now, to remove the media cache files, simply click the Delete button next to the “Remove Media Cache Files” button.

Step 3:

In the Delete Media Cache Files dialogue box that opens, you can choose to:

Delete unused media cache files – This deletes unused media cache files that have been created for source media that no longer exists.
Delete all media cache files from the system – This deletes all the cache files from the current location. The deleted cache files are then recreated wherever the source media needs them. To remove every media cache file, restart Premiere Pro, then select the “Delete all media cache files from the system” before opening up a project.