Apps
VS Code Insiders
Frequent Insiders builds generate several layers of Electron and Chromium cache, including HTTP disk cache in Cache_Data, V8 bytecode in Code Cache and CachedData, GPU shader and raster data in GPUCache, downloaded extension VSIX packages in CachedExtensionVSIXs, and rotating diagnostic logs. These files speed up startup, webview rendering, extension installation, and GPU-accelerated UI drawing, but they can become stale after rapid channel updates, driver changes, or failed extension downloads. Kudu removes those temporary caches and logs while preserving your settings, installed extensions, accounts, and workspace state.
Why clean VS Code Insiders?
- Invalidated V8 bytecode after a new Insiders build can make the next launch unusually slow or leave windows hanging on a blank frame until code cache is rebuilt
- Stale Chromium disk cache in Cache_Data can break Marketplace pages, settings sync sign-in views, or extension webviews, showing outdated content, missing styles, or endless loading spinners
- GPUCache entries compiled against an older graphics driver can cause flickering text, black editor areas, or choppy window animations after a driver update
- CachedData from previous Electron internals can stop command palette items, notebooks, or built-in views from rendering correctly until the app regenerates fresh compiled data
- Accumulated CachedExtensionVSIXs keep old extension installer packages on disk, so the profile grows unexpectedly large even though your currently installed extensions stay the same
- Corrupted downloaded VSIX archives can make extension installs or updates repeatedly fail with checksum, unzip, or retry errors until the cached package is removed
- Large Insiders log folders preserve renderer, extension host, and update diagnostics from many sessions, wasting space and making it harder to spot current errors when troubleshooting
What gets cleaned
Cache paths Kudu targets
Windows
%AppData%/Code - Insiders/Cache/Cache_Data |
%AppData%/Code - Insiders/Code Cache |
%AppData%/Code - Insiders/GPUCache |
%AppData%/Code - Insiders/CachedData |
%AppData%/Code - Insiders/CachedExtensionVSIXs |
%AppData%/Code - Insiders/logs |
macOS
~/Library/Application Support/Code - Insiders/Cache/Cache_Data |
~/Library/Application Support/Code - Insiders/Code Cache |
~/Library/Application Support/Code - Insiders/GPUCache |
~/Library/Application Support/Code - Insiders/CachedData |
~/Library/Application Support/Code - Insiders/CachedExtensionVSIXs |
~/Library/Application Support/Code - Insiders/logs |
Linux
~/.config/Code - Insiders/Cache/Cache_Data |
~/.config/Code - Insiders/Code Cache |
~/.config/Code - Insiders/GPUCache |
~/.config/Code - Insiders/CachedData |
~/.config/Code - Insiders/CachedExtensionVSIXs |
~/.config/Code - Insiders/logs |
Frequently asked
Common questions about VS Code Insiders
Related cleaners
Free & open source
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.