Swift Package Manager Cache
Swift Package Manager stores downloaded package archives, bare Git repository mirrors, registry metadata, and HTTP response caches under org.swift.swiftpm so dependency resolution and fetches do not hit the network every time. Those cached checkouts and metadata speed up package graph resolution, version lookup, and source retrieval, but they can become stale after interrupted downloads, registry changes, or branch and tag updates. Kudu removes the cached package artifacts and metadata in this cache location without touching your source code, Package.swift manifests, accounts, or Xcode project settings.
Why clean Swift Package Manager Cache?
- A partial or corrupted downloaded archive after a failed fetch can make dependency resolution stop with checksum or extraction errors, and cleaning forces SwiftPM to download a fresh copy
- Stale registry metadata or cached package indexes can keep SwiftPM pinned to an older release listing, so new versions do not appear until the cache is rebuilt
- Outdated cached Git mirrors can leave a branch or tag looking unchanged, causing package update commands to report no changes even when the remote repository has moved
- Accumulated package archives and repository mirrors can grow to several gigabytes over time, and users usually notice this as unexpectedly high storage use in Library/Caches
- Interrupted HTTP cache writes can produce repeated fetch retries and slow dependency resolution, showing up as builds that hang longer than usual on resolving packages
- If a package source was fixed upstream but SwiftPM keeps reusing a bad cached copy, builds can continue failing with the same compiler or manifest errors until the cache is cleared
- Cached SQLite-backed metadata can become fragmented over time; a VACUUM-style rewrite compacts pages without deleting rows, while clearing the cache simply removes rebuildable metadata and often reduces disk usage immediately
Cache paths Kudu targets
macOS
~/Library/Caches/org.swift.swiftpm |
Common questions about Swift Package Manager Cache
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.