Apps
Unreal Engine Derived Data Cache
Unreal Engine stores a shared Derived Data Cache in the user profile to avoid regenerating expensive build artifacts every time a project opens. That cache holds compiled shader object data, cooked and compressed asset derivatives, texture and mesh build outputs, and other platform-specific derived blobs produced from source assets and engine settings. Kudu removes the contents of this shared DerivedDataCache folder, not your projects, source assets, editor preferences, accounts, or saved passwords.
Why clean Unreal Engine Derived Data Cache?
- Stale shader keys after an engine upgrade or material pipeline change can make the editor pause while it rejects old entries, showing long shader recompiles and a very slow first project open
- Derived asset blobs built against older compression or serialization settings can trigger repeated cache misses, so maps and content browsers take longer to load even though the source assets are unchanged
- A bloated shared cache can grow to many gigabytes from multiple engine versions and projects, filling the system drive and leading to low-disk-space warnings during builds or packaging
- Corrupted cached shader or asset data can cause black materials, incorrect textures, or assets that briefly fail to render until Unreal rebuilds the missing derived data
- When the cache contains entries from old GPU driver assumptions or obsolete shader permutations, editor startup and viewport preparation can stutter while Unreal recompiles large batches of shaders
- Heavy fragmentation inside thousands of small cache files increases random disk reads, which shows up as long 'Loading...' phases when opening projects, switching branches, or importing content
What gets cleaned
Cache paths Kudu targets
Windows
%LocalAppData%/UnrealEngine/Common/DerivedDataCache |
Frequently asked
Common questions about Unreal Engine Derived Data Cache
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