Here's what you need to know to get your Mac's cache cleared. To clear DNS cache on macOS Yosemite, enter the following syntax: sudo discoveryutil udnsflushcaches. That's because clearing your cache can help protect your identity, make apps run better on your computer, and prevent you from using outdated forms that your Mac collected when you first visited a site. If you are using an older version of macOS, then here are the commands for those. And you'll get the best performance out of it when it's connected to your network using Gigabit Ethernet, according to Apple.īut as long as your Mac is set up to cache, that data needs to be cleared periodically to make your computer run more efficiently. According to Apple, cached data on your Mac computer speeds up the downloading of Apple software and the data stored in iCloud by 'saving content that local Mac computers, iOS devices, and Apple TV devices have already downloaded,' and cached data is 'available for other devices to retrieve without going out over the Internet.'Ĭaching is especially important if your Mac is set up with wired ethernet rather than Wi-Fi.
But what exactly is caching, and why do our devices use it?Ĭached data consists of the various temporary files that exist on a reserved area of your computer. You may have heard that it's important to clear theĬache on your various electronic devices every once in a while.