The DaVinci Resolve cache on a Mac is really four kinds of generated media: the render cache, optimized media, proxy media and gallery stills. Each project's Project Settings › Master Settings › Working Folders says where they go.
By default they land on the first volume in the Media Storage list of Resolve's Preferences, in a folder called CacheClip and a hidden folder called .gallery.
The render cache is the one to clear first, and Resolve clears it itself. Open the project and choose Playback › Delete Render Cache, then All, Unused or Selected Clips. For every project at once, Playback › Manage Render Cache opens the Cache Manager, and a preference can delete cache files older than a number of days.
Optimized media and proxies are different. Blackmagic's manual says both have to be deleted in Finder, outside Resolve, and both can be made again only while the original footage is still there.
Some of what Resolve keeps on disk isn't cache at all. The project library holds every project you've made, project backups are copies of your work, and gallery stills hold your saved grades. Leave those alone, or manage them from Resolve's Project Manager.
What DaVinci Resolve keeps on disk
Resolve is an editor, a grading suite, an audio mixer and a compositor in one app, and each part can generate media to keep playback smooth. All of the facts below come from Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual.
The render cache
What Resolve calls caching, other apps call rendering: Resolve renders clips with their effects baked in, then plays those frames in place of the live effects.
With Playback › Render Cache set to Smart, it does this for formats and effects it judges too heavy for real time. With User, it caches what you flag, and Off disables caching. In the Edit and Color pages, Option-R cycles through the three.
The manual describes three caches that work together. The Fusion Output Cache, formerly called the Source Cache, caches processor-intensive clips before grading. The Node Cache caches grading nodes. The Sequence Cache handles transitions, composites, opacity and speed effects in the Edit page.
Optimized media
Optimized media is a lighter copy of hard-to-play footage, such as camera raw, H.264 or 8K, made so editing runs smoothly. Resolve manages it alongside the original, and Playback › Use Optimized Media if Available switches between the two.
Unlike the render cache, it's made for whole clips in the Media Pool, before they're in a timeline. The manual says it's written to the same folder as the cache files.
Proxy media
Proxies are more compressed, often lower-resolution copies of your footage, linked to the originals through metadata. They're designed to travel: you can move a project to another computer with just its proxies, edit there, and come back to the originals for grading and output.
The manual stresses that proxy media has nothing to do with Timeline Proxy Resolution, a separate playback setting that lowers resolution on the fly and creates no files.
Gallery stills
When you grab a still in the Color page, Resolve saves it, in DPX format by default, in the gallery stills location. Stills carry grades you've saved for reference or reuse, so they're part of your work rather than a disposable cache.
Is it safe to delete the DaVinci Resolve cache?
The render cache, yes: Resolve recreates it whenever it needs it, and clearing it is built into the Playback menu. Optimized media and proxies are safe to delete once you no longer need them, as long as the original footage is safe. Gallery stills, project libraries and backups are your work.
| Item | What it is | Set in | Comes back? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Render cache | Frames with effects baked in | Cache files location | Yes, Resolve caches again |
| Optimized media | Lighter copies of whole clips | Cache files location | Yes, from the originals |
| Proxy media | Portable low-bandwidth copies | Proxy generation location | Only from the originals |
| Gallery stills | Saved grades as DPX stills | Gallery stills location | No, they're your work |
| Project library | Every project you've made | Project Manager | No, it's your work |
Where the DaVinci Resolve cache is on a Mac
There's no single fixed folder. Each project has its own locations, and new projects take their defaults from the Preferences.
The Working Folders settings
Open a project, click the gear button at the bottom right of any page to open Project Settings, and select Master Settings. The Working Folders section lists four locations:
- Project media location: new media Resolve itself creates for the project, such as recordings from the Voiceover tool.
- Proxy generation location: where proxy files are saved.
- Cache files location: render cache files, and optimized media.
- Gallery stills location: stills saved in the Color page.
The manual says the cache files location defaults to a hidden CacheClip folder, and the gallery to a hidden .gallery folder, on the first Media Storage volume in the Preferences.
The Media Storage list
Choose DaVinci Resolve › Preferences, or press Command-Comma, and look at Media Storage in the System pane. Blackmagic describes this list as the scratch disk of your system: the first volume in it is where gallery stills and cache files are stored.
The manual is blunt about the choice: if no scratch disk is set, your system disk is used, which can cause problems with capacity and performance. It recommends making the first scratch disk the largest, fastest storage you have.
What we found on one Mac
On one Mac running DaVinci Resolve 21.0.2, checked in October 2026, Resolve had put CacheClip, the hidden .gallery folder and a Resolve Project Backups folder in the Movies folder of the home folder. On that Mac, CacheClip held a few megabytes, because it had seen little editing.
To see hidden folders in Finder, press Command-Shift-Period. Press it again to hide them. Select a folder and choose File › Get Info to see how much space it uses.
| Setting | Where to find it | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Cache files location | Project Settings › Master Settings › Working Folders | Hidden CacheClip folder on the first scratch disk |
| Proxy generation location | Same section, or Preferences › Media Storage | Set per project or by preference |
| Gallery stills location | Same section | Hidden .gallery folder on the first scratch disk |
| Project backup location | Preferences › User › Project Save and Load | A ProjectBackup folder on the scratch disk |
| Media Storage list | Preferences › System › Media Storage | Your scratch disks, fastest first |
What about the Mac App Store version?
Blackmagic also offers the free version of Resolve through the Mac App Store. The manual says that version keeps some files, such as LUTs, in a different place so the app stays self-contained.
It also doesn't show attached drives automatically. Turning that on in the Media Storage preferences prompts you to add Macintosh HD as a storage location, and the manual warns not to let it become the first volume in the list.
Its Working Folders settings still show where the cache, proxies and stills go, so check those rather than assuming a path.
How to clear the render cache
Resolve has three ways to remove render cache files, all from inside the app. The manual notes that each project's cache is persistent: it's kept when you close the project and used again when you reopen it.
Delete Render Cache: all, unused or selected clips
- Open the project whose cache you want to clear.
- Choose Playback › Delete Render Cache.
- Choose All, Unused or Selected Clips.
All resets every cached clip in the project. Unused removes cache that no longer matches any clip or effect in the timeline, the leftovers of edits you've changed. Selected Clips removes the cache for clips you've selected in the timeline.
Which option should you use?
- Unused while you're still working: it frees the space taken by versions you've moved past and keeps what you're using.
- Selected Clips when one clip looks wrong or out of date.
- All when the project is finished, or when you're archiving it and want the smallest footprint.
The Cache Manager: every project at once
Playback › Manage Render Cache opens the Cache Manager, which shows the size of each project's cache across your project libraries:
- Choose the Location of the libraries to show: Local, Network, Cloud or All.
- Choose a Project Library, or All.
- In the list, check the Render Cache box for each project whose cache you want to delete.
- Click Clear Selected Cache.
Blackmagic warns that, as of this writing, there's no warning dialog or undo for Clear Selected Cache. Check your selection before you click.
Delete old cache automatically
Choose DaVinci Resolve › Preferences, open the User pane, and find Cache Management. Turn on Delete cache older than and set a number of days. Resolve then removes local cache files older than that by itself.
The manual presents it as a set-and-forget cleanup that keeps a drive from filling up with older projects, with the Cache Manager still there for manual control.
What about deleting CacheClip in Finder?
Blackmagic's manual describes clearing the render cache from inside Resolve, and doesn't describe deleting the CacheClip folder in Finder. While Resolve opens, the menu commands are the safer route: they know which files belong to which project.
If you've removed Resolve and its cache folder remains, that folder is leftover generated media. It's still worth checking that no other copy of Resolve or another user's projects point to it.
What happens after you clear it?
Cached sections turn from blue back to red on the timeline ruler, the manual's sign of what still needs caching. With Smart or User mode on, Resolve caches again as you play those sections. It also caches during idle moments if background caching is on in Project Settings, which is the default.
Optimized media and proxy media
These two take the most space, because they're whole copies of your footage. They also need the most care, because Resolve doesn't delete them for you.
How do you create and switch them?
In the Media Pool, select clips, then Control-click one and choose Generate Optimized Media or Generate Proxy Media. The formats and resolutions come from the Optimized Media and Render Cache section of Master Settings.
To switch between optimized and original media, choose Playback › Use Optimized Media if Available. For proxies, choose Playback › Proxy Handling, then Disable All Proxies, Prefer Proxies or Prefer Camera Originals.
Deleting optimized media
The manual says optimized media is persistent, kept for future use even when the project is closed. To free space, you must delete the optimized media manually in your OS, from wherever your project's cache files are located.
Before you do, check one detail. Optimized media is shared across projects in the same project library, so media made in one project is also used by any other project with the same clips. Delete it only when none of them needs it, or be ready to generate it again.
Where do proxies go?
Into the Proxy generation location in Working Folders, organized into subfolders by where the original clips are. The Media Storage preferences can override that with three choices:
- Proxy subfolders in media file locations: a folder named Proxy next to the original media, one per folder of clips.
- Use project settings: the Working Folders location.
- Ask when creating: a folder you choose each time.
Deleting proxies
Unlink Proxy Media in the Media Pool removes the link between a proxy and its clip, but the manual says unlinking doesn't delete the file. Proxy files must be deleted manually in the file system, outside Resolve.
Each time you generate proxies again for a clip, Resolve writes a new file with a name ending in _s00x and keeps the previous versions on disk. Old versions are worth looking for when a proxy folder seems larger than expected.
Is it safe to delete proxies?
Only once the original footage is safe. The manual shows a purple PXY Only badge when only proxy media is available and the camera original is missing. In that situation, the proxy is the only copy of the clip you have, and deleting it loses the shot.
| Method | What it creates | Where | How to remove it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Render cache | Cached frames for timeline clips | Cache files location | Playback › Delete Render Cache |
| Optimized media | Lighter copies of whole clips | Cache files location | Delete manually in Finder |
| Proxy media | Portable copies linked by metadata | Proxy generation location | Delete manually in Finder |
| Timeline Proxy Resolution | Nothing; lowers playback resolution | No files | Set back to None |
Making proxies outside Resolve
Blackmagic also has a separate app, Blackmagic Proxy Generator, that watches folders and makes proxies as new footage arrives. Its proxies are files like any others, in the folders it's set to use, so the same rule applies: delete them only once the project is finished and the originals are safe.
Settings that keep the cache smaller
How much space the cache takes depends as much on its settings as on how much you edit. All of these are in the Optimized Media and Render Cache section of Master Settings, or in the timeline itself.
Which render cache format should you choose?
The Render Cache Format menu offers ProRes, DNxHR and uncompressed 10-bit or 16-bit float formats. The manual explains the trade-off: a higher-quality format plays back at higher quality but needs more storage space and speed, while a more compressed one plays on slower, smaller storage at a slight cost in image quality.
Blackmagic's advice is to choose the highest-quality format your storage can handle. Formats whose names end in HDR keep bright highlights beyond the normal range, which matters for HDR grading, and the manual names 16-bit float, ProRes 4444, ProRes 4444 XQ and DNxHR 444 as the right choices for that work.
Can optimized media and proxies be smaller?
Yes. Optimized media and proxies each have a resolution setting: Original, or Half, Quarter, Eighth or Sixteenth. Choose automatically reduces only clips larger than the timeline resolution, so in a 1080 project, 4K clips become half resolution and 8K clips quarter resolution.
The format matters too. The manual notes that smaller optimized formats take less room on your scratch disk. Proxies can use ProRes and DNxHR, or H.264 and H.265 when small files matter more than decoding speed, such as when you send them over the internet.
Can you stop some tracks from caching?
In User mode, yes. The manual describes Control-clicking a video track's header and choosing Exclude track from caching. It suggests this for a track that already plays in real time, such as a track of titles, so it doesn't waste time and storage being cached.
User mode also caches less in general. It doesn't cache heavy formats automatically, and of its three automatic options, only caching of Fusion effects is on by default. In the Color page, a node set to Node Cache › Off isn't cached in either mode.
Should you render from the cache?
Two options in the Deliver page's render settings reuse what's on disk: Use Render Cached Images writes output straight from the cache, and Use Optimized Media renders from optimized media. Both save time, and Blackmagic suggests a high-quality cache or optimized format if you use them.
If you rely on either, clear the cache after the final render, not before. Otherwise Resolve has to render every effect from scratch.
What does background rendering change in Resolve 21?
Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve 21 New Features Guide adds background rendering, controlled in DaVinci Resolve › Preferences › System › Background Tasks. It can move background renders, quick exports and proxy generation off the main interface, and it's off by default.
It doesn't change where files go. Proxies made in the background still land in the proxy location, and they need the same care when you clean up.
| Setting | Where | Effect on space |
|---|---|---|
| Render Cache Format | Master Settings | Higher quality takes more space |
| Optimized media resolution | Master Settings | Half or lower shrinks the files |
| Proxy media format | Master Settings | H.264 and H.265 make the smallest files |
| Exclude track from caching | Track header, User mode | Skips tracks that play in real time |
| Delete cache older than | Preferences › User | Removes old cache by itself |
Your work: project libraries, backups and gallery stills
These are the folders people regret deleting. None of them is a cache, and Resolve has its own tools for each.
Where your projects live
Resolve keeps projects in project libraries, not as loose files. In the Project Manager, open the Project Libraries sidebar and click the circled i next to a library to see its location. On the Mac we checked, the default local library was in ~/.
That folder is the database of everything you've edited. It's small, a few megabytes on that Mac, and deleting it would remove every project in it. As the post on the Application Support folder explains, an app's own data there isn't a cache.
How do you back up a project library?
- In the Project Manager, open the Project Libraries sidebar.
- Select the library and click the circled i.
- Click Back Up, choose where to save the backup, and click Save.
The backup is a .resolve.backup file. The Restore button at the top of the sidebar brings it back. Blackmagic suggests backing up a library before upgrading it to a new version of Resolve.
Project Backups and Live Save
Live Save, on by default, saves your changes as you make them.
Project Backups is a separate option in DaVinci Resolve › Preferences › User › Project Save and Load. When it's on, Resolve saves a complete project file, without stills and LUTs, every 10 minutes by default, then keeps hourly and daily backups and discards older ones first.
The manual says backups go to a ProjectBackup folder on your scratch disk unless you choose another location. To remove some, Control-click a project in the Project Manager, choose Project Backups, and delete the ones you don't need from that list.
Exporting and archiving finished projects
For a finished project, two Project Manager features beat leaving everything on the internal disk:
- File › Export Project saves the project alone as a self-contained .drp file.
- Archive, from the project's menu in the Project Manager, copies the project and all the media it uses to a folder with a .dra extension, ready to move to a backup drive.
An archive can also be made with proxy media only, which the manual suggests for sending a compact version of a project to another editor.
Gallery stills and PowerGrades
Stills and PowerGrades are grades you chose to keep. They live in the gallery stills location, or in a PowerGrades folder you've chosen, and nothing makes them again. Keep them with the project's other data, and don't treat the .gallery folder as cache.
How much space DaVinci Resolve itself takes
Before any project or cache, the app and its support files take several gigabytes. Here's one Mac, measured while writing this post.
- DaVinci Resolve.app4.3 GB
- Other apps in its Applications folder1.1 GB
- Shared support files in /Library1.1 GB
Measured in October 2026 on one Mac with DaVinci Resolve 21.0.2 installed from Blackmagic's website, before any large projects. Sizes come from the space each item uses on disk.
What's in the Applications folder?
Resolve installs into a DaVinci Resolve folder in Applications, not as a single app. On the Mac we measured, it held the main app, Fairlight Studio Utility, Blackmagic Remote Monitor, DaVinci Control Panels Setup and an Uninstall Resolve app.
What's in the shared support folder?
On that Mac, / held about 1.1 GB, shared by every account. The largest parts were installer prerequisites, files for DaVinci control panels and Resolve's LUT folder, which the manual names as the place for the LUTs Resolve installs and the ones you add.
What about uninstalling Resolve?
On the Mac we measured, the DaVinci Resolve folder in Applications included an Uninstall Resolve app. Before you use it, back up your project libraries and copy anything you want from CacheClip's neighbours: project backups, stills and proxies.
What the uninstaller leaves behind isn't documented in the manual, so check your Movies folder, your Library and any scratch drives afterwards. The post on leftover files after uninstalling apps explains where apps usually leave things.
Moving cache folders to a fast external drive
On a Mac with a small internal disk, moving the cache is often more useful than clearing it, and Blackmagic recommends a fast scratch disk anyway.
For one project
- Connect the drive and create a folder on it for Resolve's media.
- Click the gear button to open Project Settings, and select Master Settings.
- Under Working Folders, set Cache files location, and if you like Proxy generation location, to folders on the drive.
- Save the settings.
New render cache and optimized media go to the new folder from then on. Old cache files stay where they were, so clear them with Delete Render Cache before you change the location, or delete them by hand afterwards.
For every new project
Open DaVinci Resolve › Preferences › System › Media Storage, click Add, and add the fast drive. The manual says the first volume in this list is where gallery stills and cache files go, and that it should be reserved for your fast scratch volume rather than Macintosh HD.
The manual also says Resolve warns you with a dialog if the volume you've chosen for the cache becomes unavailable, so an unplugged drive won't fail silently.
Which format should the drive use?
Blackmagic's manual doesn't require a format for scratch drives. If the drive is used only with your Mac, Apple describes APFS as the file system for current macOS and optimized for SSDs.
If the drive moves between a Mac and a Windows PC, exFAT is the Windows-compatible choice. The post on APFS versus exFAT covers the trade-offs.
What else belongs on that drive?
Footage, proxies, optimized media and finished archives all move easily. The project library is better kept where Resolve expects it unless you set up a new library on purpose. The post on making room with an external drive goes through what moves well and what doesn't.
Do caches belong in Time Machine?
Render cache, optimized media and proxies can all be made again from the originals, so backing them up spends backup space on copies. If your cache sits on the internal disk, the post on excluding folders from Time Machine shows how to leave a folder out.
Mistakes to avoid, and a routine that works
Mistakes to avoid
- Deleting the project library to free space. It holds every project, and it's tiny compared with the cache.
- Using Clear Selected Cache in a hurry. The Cache Manager has no warning or undo.
- Deleting proxies whose originals are gone. A PXY Only badge means the proxy is all that's left.
- Deleting optimized media another project uses. It's shared within a project library.
- Treating .gallery as cache. It holds your saved stills and grades.
- Leaving the cache on a nearly full system disk. Blackmagic warns about capacity and performance problems.
- Expecting a faster Mac. Clearing caches frees space; Resolve then needs time to cache again.
A routine that keeps Resolve in check
- Turn on Delete cache older than in the User pane of the Preferences.
- While a project is active, use Delete Render Cache › Unused now and then.
- When a project is finished, use Delete Render Cache › All, then archive or export it.
- Delete its optimized media and proxies in Finder once the archive is checked and the originals are safe.
- Keep project libraries backed up with Back Up.
A worked example: wrapping up a finished project
Say an editor has just delivered a documentary cut from camera raw footage, edited with optimized media and graded with Smart caching on. Here's the order that frees the most space without risking anything:
- Back up the project library with Back Up, and export the project with File › Export Project.
- Archive the project and its media to an external drive with Archive, and open the archive once to check it plays.
- In Resolve, choose Playback › Delete Render Cache › All for the project.
- In Finder, move the project's optimized media and proxies to the Trash, once no other project in the library uses those clips.
- Move the original footage off the internal disk, now that the archive holds a copy.
- Empty the Trash when you're sure nothing is missing.
The project library, the project backups and the stills stay where they are. They're small, and they're what lets the editor reopen the project later.
How does Resolve compare with Adobe's apps?
Premiere and After Effects keep a shared media cache in the Library folder and can delete it by age or size. Photoshop writes large temporary scratch files instead.
The posts on the Adobe media cache and Photoshop's scratch disk errors cover both. The post on what's taking up space on a Mac shows how to find the rest.
How the app does it
Wombit shows Resolve's folders like everything else on the disk: CacheClip, proxy folders, the project library and the app itself, sized on the map and in the list, with Reveal in Finder and Quick Look. Hard links and APFS clones count once, and file names and paths never leave your Mac.
The catalog has no entry for Resolve's folders yet, so the app never offers them for removal. On a Mac with Apple Intelligence, the inspector can give a Best guess at what a folder is, written on your Mac and labelled as a guess. Clear Resolve's cache with its own Playback menu, as this post describes.
The Applications section lists every app with its size, what it has left around the Mac and when you last opened it, with Uninstall…. Folders that may hold your data, such as Application Support, start unchecked, and everything goes to the Trash, where Undo and Put Back work.
Seeing all of this is free. The uninstaller and Cleanup are PRO: one payment of $4.99 with lifetime access. Every Pro tool's review is free to open, so you see what would go and why before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to delete the DaVinci Resolve render cache?
Yes. The render cache holds frames Resolve rendered so clips play smoothly, and Resolve caches them again when needed. Clear it from inside Resolve with Playback › Delete Render Cache, choosing All, Unused or Selected Clips. Your projects, edits and grades aren't affected.
Where is the CacheClip folder on a Mac?
Resolve's manual says the render cache goes to a hidden CacheClip folder on the first volume in the Media Storage list of its Preferences, unless a project's Working Folders settings point elsewhere. On the Mac we checked, it was in the Movies folder of the home folder. Project Settings › Master Settings › Working Folders shows the path for each project.
How do I delete optimized media in DaVinci Resolve?
Blackmagic's manual says optimized media has to be deleted manually in the file system, from the folder set as the cache files location. Optimized media is shared by projects in the same project library, so check that no other project still relies on it. Resolve can generate it again from the original clips.
Does unlinking proxy media delete the proxy files?
No. Unlink Proxy Media only removes the link between the proxy and its source clip. Blackmagic's manual says proxy files must be deleted in the file system, outside Resolve. Do that only while the original footage is still safe, because a proxy can be the only copy left of a clip.
Can I delete the Resolve Project Backups folder?
Treat it as your work, not a cache. Project backups are complete copies of your projects, saved at intervals so you can go back after a mistake or a crash. Delete individual backups from the Project Backups list in the Project Manager if you need space, rather than the whole folder.
How do I stop the DaVinci Resolve cache from filling my Mac?
Turn on Delete cache older than in DaVinci Resolve › Preferences › User › Cache Management, and set a number of days. For large projects, put the cache files location on a fast external drive in each project's Working Folders, or add that drive first in the Media Storage list of the Preferences.
Why is the DaVinci Resolve app so big?
Resolve is a full editing, color, audio and effects suite in one app. On one Mac measured in October 2026, DaVinci Resolve 21.0.2 took about 4.3 GB, with another 1.1 GB of companion apps in its folder and 1.1 GB of shared support files, before any projects or cache.
Sources
- Free up storage space on Mac · Apple
- File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac · Apple
- DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual · Blackmagic Design
- DaVinci Resolve 21 New Features Guide · Blackmagic Design
- DaVinci Resolve 21 · Blackmagic Design