What's taking up space in AppData — and what's safe to delete

Type %appdata% into the address bar and you'll land in a hidden folder that, on a well-used PC, can hold 20–60 GB. Most of it is app caches you can clear — but some of it is your settings and data, so it pays to know the difference.

The three AppData folders

AppData lives at C:\Users\you\AppData and has three sub-folders:

• Local — the big one. App caches, temporary files, browser data, GPU/shader caches, Electron app storage (Slack, Discord, VS Code, Teams). This is where most reclaimable space hides.
• Roaming — application configuration and profile data meant to follow your account. Usually smaller, and more of it is worth keeping (though app caches sometimes end up here too).
• LocalLow — low-integrity data, mostly browser plugins and some games. Small.

What's usually safe to clear

• Temp files — AppData\Local\Temp is scratch space; apps recreate what they need.
• Browser caches — Chrome/Edge/Firefox Cache and Code Cache folders. Clearing them logs you into nothing out; it just re-downloads assets as you browse.
• Electron app caches — Cache, GPUCache, Code Cache inside Slack, Discord, Teams, VS Code, etc.
• Package / dev caches that land here (npm, pip, some tools).

What to leave alone

• App settings and profiles — most of Roaming\<app> (unless it's clearly a Cache subfolder).
• Password managers, wallets, signal/keys — anything holding credentials.
• Save data / documents some apps tuck into Local. If it isn't obviously a cache, don't bulk-delete it.

How to see the sizes

Windows hides AppData by default. In File Explorer, turn on View → Show → Hidden items, then sort AppData\Local by size — or just run a scan that does it across your whole drive and groups the caches for you.