How do I clear the Gradle cache?

Delete ~/.gradle/caches (dependency and build caches) and ~/.gradle/wrapper/dists (old Gradle distributions). Everything re-downloads on the next build.

How big does the Gradle cache get?

10-40 GB is common - Gradle never evicts anything by itself, keeping every dependency version and wrapper distribution since you installed Android Studio.

← All guides

Clear the Gradle cache

CacheCleaner guides · Updated July 18, 2026

Gradle never evicts anything by itself. Every dependency version, every wrapper distribution, every build-cache entry since you installed Android Studio is still in ~/.gradle – 10-40 GB is common. All of it re-downloads on demand.

See the damage

du -sh ~/.gradle/caches ~/.gradle/wrapper

Delete it

# dependency & build caches – re-downloaded on next build
rm -rf ~/.gradle/caches

# old Gradle distributions (keep the one your projects pin, or let it re-download)
rm -rf ~/.gradle/wrapper/dists

First build afterwards is slow (everything re-resolves), then it's back to normal. Per-project build/ and .gradle/ folders in each repo are separate and also safe to delete.

Android Studio adds its own pile

~/Library/Caches/Google/AndroidStudio*   # IDE caches & indexes
~/.android/avd                           # emulator images – GBs each
~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images      # ⚠️ downloaded system images

⚠️ AVDs and SDK system images aren't caches – deleting them removes emulators you may still use. Check what's listed before removing.

CacheCleaner shows Gradle, Android Studio and SDK storage separately – caches pre-scanned and safe, emulator images clearly marked with warnings – plus every Gradle build/ folder it finds across your projects.

Get CacheCleaner for Mac