DiskBroom › What it cleans › Adobe Media Cache: why it's huge and how to clear it

Adobe's media cache: rendered once, kept forever.

~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Media Cache Files (+ Peak Files)

What it is

When Premiere Pro, After Effects, or Audition import media, they generate accelerator files — conformed audio (.cfa), peak waveforms (.pek), and transcoded video — so scrubbing stays smooth. They accumulate across every project you've ever opened.

How big it gets

Commonly 5–30 GB for active editors; long-form or high-bitrate work pushes well past that.

What happens if you delete it

Nothing in your projects or source media is touched — these are derived files. Adobe apps regenerate exactly what a project needs the next time you open it; the cost is a one-time re-conform wait per project.

How to remove it manually — free, no app needed

1. Quit all Adobe video/audio apps first.
2. In Premiere Pro: Settings → Media Cache → Delete (choose "Delete all media cache files").
3. By hand instead: in Finder, Go → Go to Folder… → ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common — move the contents of Media Cache Files and Peak Files to the Trash.
4. Optional prevention: in the same Media Cache settings, set "Automatically delete cache files older than" to 30 days.

Risk rating

Safe. Derived entirely from your source media; regenerates per project on open. Source files are never in this folder.

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