---
title: "Cargo cache · MacMelon"
description: "Cargo downloads Rust crates into a registry cache, often under ~/.cargo. Smart Clean can include Cargo caches after a preview."
url: "https://macmelon.com/glossary/cargo-cache"
---

# Cargo cache

Cargo's local copy of downloaded crates and related git checkouts.

Rust's Cargo fetches crates into a registry directory, commonly ~/.cargo/registry, and may keep git checkouts alongside it. Those files let later builds of any Rust project on the machine skip the download. They are not your source. They can be large if you have built many projects over time.

[Disk Housekeeper](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper) treats Cargo caches as part of Smart Clean's developer-cache set. A custom CARGO\_HOME moves the directory. Read the preview. Removing the cache means the next fetch downloads again. It does not remove the Rust toolchain unless that toolchain's path is what the preview shows, which is a reason to read the path.

## Apps

[Make room for what matters. Clear clutter with confidence. ### Disk Housekeeper](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper)

## Related guides

[### How to clean developer files on macOS](https://macmelon.com/guides/how-to-clean-developer-files-on-macos)

## Related use cases

[### Clean npm, Gradle, and Cargo caches](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/clean-developer-caches)

## Related terms

[Files a developer tool keeps so the next build or install can skip a download or a compile. ### Developer cache](https://macmelon.com/glossary/developer-cache)[Gradle's user-level store of dependencies and build outputs. ### Gradle cache](https://macmelon.com/glossary/gradle-cache)[npm's on-disk store of package tarballs, reused by later installs. ### npm cache](https://macmelon.com/glossary/npm-cache)