How to Clear Cache in Illustrator

Learn how to clear cache in Illustrator on Windows and Mac. This step-by-step guide covers clearing temp files, font cache, and media cache to fix slowdowns and display issues.

If Illustrator has been running slow, showing display glitches, or behaving strangely, the cache is often the first place to look. Clearing the cache in Illustrator removes temporary files that have built up over time and can cause performance problems, font display issues, and occasional crashes. It is one of the quickest things you can try before reinstalling the app or spending an hour diagnosing something more complicated.

This guide shows you exactly where the cache files live on Windows and Mac, and how to clear them properly.

What Cache Does Illustrator Use?

Illustrator does not have a single “clear cache” button the way a browser does. Instead, it stores several types of temporary data in different locations:

Application cache files: Temporary files Illustrator creates during normal operation
Font cache: Stored font data that helps Illustrator load typefaces quickly
Media cache: Stored data related to linked assets and previews
Preferences files: Not technically cache, but corrupted preferences cause similar symptoms and are often cleared at the same time

Most performance and display issues can be resolved by clearing one or more of these.

How to Clear Illustrator Cache on Windows

Step 1: Close Illustrator completely. Make sure it is not running in the background. Check the taskbar and use Task Manager to confirm if needed.

Step 2: Navigate to the Illustrator temp folder.

Open File Explorer and go to:

*C:\Users[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [version]*

The AppData folder is hidden by default. To see it, open File Explorer, click View in the top menu, and check Hidden items.

Inside the Illustrator version folder, look for folders named Cache, Temp, or similar. Delete the contents of these folders. Do not delete the folders themselves, just what is inside them.

Step 3: Clear the font cache.

Adobe’s font cache is stored at:

C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache

This folder may require administrator access. You may also need to stop the Windows Font Cache Service before deleting files here. To do that, open Services (search for it in the Start menu), find Windows Font Cache Service, right-click it, and select Stop. Then delete the cache files, and restart the service.

Alternatively, you can clear the Adobe-specific font cache at:

C:\Users[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Adobe\AdobeFontCache

Deleting the contents of this folder is simpler and resolves most font-related Illustrator issues without touching the Windows system font cache.

Step 4: Restart your computer and reopen Illustrator.

Illustrator rebuilds its cache files fresh on the next launch.

How to Clear Illustrator Cache on Mac

Step 1: Quit Illustrator completely. Press Cmd + Q or go to Illustrator > Quit Illustrator.

Step 2: Open the Library folder.

The Mac Library folder is hidden by default. In Finder, hold the Option key, click the Go menu in the top menu bar, and select Library. This opens your user Library folder.

Step 3: Navigate to the Illustrator cache folder.

Go to:

~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator [version]/

Inside this folder, look for a Cache folder or similar. Delete the contents but leave the folder itself in place.

Step 4: Clear the Adobe font cache on Mac.

Go to:

~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AdobeFontCache/

Delete the contents of this folder. This is the most common fix for fonts not displaying correctly or the font picker running slowly in Illustrator on Mac.

Step 5: Restart your Mac and reopen Illustrator.

How to Reset Illustrator Preferences

Corrupted preferences are often mistaken for cache problems because they cause similar symptoms: slow performance, missing panels, tools behaving unexpectedly. If clearing the cache does not fix your issue, resetting preferences is the next step.

The quick way to reset preferences:

Hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift (Windows) or Cmd + Option + Shift (Mac) immediately when launching Illustrator.
Keep holding the keys until a dialog box appears asking if you want to delete the settings file.
Click Yes.

Illustrator launches with default settings. Your documents are not affected, but your custom workspace, keyboard shortcuts, and preferences will reset to defaults.

If you want to save your preferences before resetting, find the preferences file at:

Windows: C:\Users[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [version]\Settings
Mac: ~/Library/Preferences/Adobe Illustrator [version] Settings

Copy the preferences file to a safe location before deleting it. If the reset does not help, you can restore the original file.

When to Clear the Cache in Illustrator

Clearing the cache is worth trying when you notice:

Illustrator running noticeably slower than usual
Fonts not displaying correctly or the font picker freezing
Display glitches like artifacts, missing fills, or incorrect colors
Crashes on launch or when opening specific files
Linked assets not updating even after the source file has changed

It is also a good habit to clear the cache after a major Illustrator update, since leftover cache files from an older version can occasionally conflict with the new one.

The Short Answer

To clear the cache in Illustrator, close the app, navigate to the Adobe Illustrator folder inside your user’s AppData (Windows) or Library (Mac) directory, and delete the contents of the Cache folder. Clear the AdobeFontCache folder separately if fonts are the issue. Restart Illustrator and it rebuilds everything fresh.

If clearing the cache does not resolve your issue, reset your preferences using the keyboard shortcut at launch. Between those two steps, most Illustrator performance and display problems get sorted out without needing a full reinstall.