Android Studio
Android Studio builds up several layers of disposable cache under Google-owned cache folders, including IntelliJ index snapshots, Gradle and Android plugin download caches, embedded Chromium GPUCache and Code Cache data, image thumbnails, and temporary emulator-related artifacts. These files exist to speed up code indexing, UI rendering, previews, and package retrieval, but they can become stale after IDE, plugin, JDK, SDK, or graphics-driver changes. Kudu removes those cache files so Android Studio can rebuild fresh indexes, browser-engine caches, and temporary artifacts without touching projects, source code, AVD definitions, settings, accounts, or saved passwords.
Why clean Android Studio?
- Corrupted IntelliJ indexing data can leave classes marked unresolved and code completion missing even though the project still builds from Gradle
- Stale Android Gradle Plugin and repository cache entries can cause repeated sync failures, dependency resolution errors, or a project that hangs on Refreshing Gradle project
- Invalidated Chromium V8 code cache after an Android Studio update can make the first launch or plugin UI panels noticeably slow until the cache rebuilds
- Old GPUCache and shader blobs from a previous graphics driver version can trigger black or blank embedded web views, flickering settings pages, or sluggish Compose and layout previews
- Accumulated image thumbnails, preview artifacts, and temporary installer files can consume multiple gigabytes, leaving users wondering why disk space keeps shrinking after SDK and IDE updates
- Broken cached metadata for SDK components or templates can make package lists display incorrectly, downloads loop, or new-project wizards show outdated components
- SQLite-backed IDE databases can suffer page fragmentation over time; VACUUM rewrites the file compactly without deleting rows, which can reduce bloat and smooth out searches or history lookups
Cache paths Kudu targets
Windows
%LocalAppData%/Google |
macOS
~/Library/Caches/Google |
Linux
~/.cache/Google |
Common questions about Android Studio
Download Kudu and reclaim your disk space.
Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. No account required, no feature gates, no telemetry without consent. All cleaning targets are open source and community-auditable.