Clear Steam Download Cache is one of Steam’s built-in troubleshooting options for downloads that are stuck, refuse to start or keep behaving as if old download data is still present. The important part is that the option clears temporary download information rather than uninstalling your installed game library.
You may be asked to sign back into Steam after you clear steam download cache, so make sure you have access to your account and Steam Guard before using the button. It is a maintenance step, not the same thing as deleting a game or formatting a drive.
How to Clear Steam Download Cache
To Clear Steam Download Cache, open the Steam client and go to Settings. Valve places the option in the Downloads section on the current desktop client. The wording may move slightly in future redesigns, but the built-in Clear Download Cache button is the option you want.
- Open Steam.
- Select Steam in the top-left menu, then Settings.
- Open Downloads.
- Select Clear Download Cache.
- Confirm the prompt.
- Sign back into Steam if requested.
- Retry the affected download or update.
Does Clear Steam Download Cache delete games?
No. Clear Steam Download Cache does not uninstall the games already installed in your Steam library. It clears cached download information so Steam can build a fresh download state. Your installed game folders should remain where they are.
That distinction is why the cache tool is a sensible troubleshooting step before reinstalling a 100 GB game. If your problem is a corrupt installed file rather than download metadata, use Verify integrity of game files after the cache reset instead.
Does Clear Steam Download Cache delete saves?
Clear Steam Download Cache is not designed to delete local game saves. Save files normally live in game-specific folders, Documents, AppData or Steam Cloud locations rather than the client’s download cache. Even so, important saves should always be backed up before major troubleshooting, especially for games without Steam Cloud.
Do not manually delete folders named userdata, steamapps or game-specific save folders because you saw the words cache and Steam in the same guide. Those locations serve different purposes.
When should you Clear Steam Download Cache?
Use Clear Steam Download Cache when downloads remain at zero, repeatedly pause, restart unexpectedly, fail to notice a newly available update or show stale queue information after a normal Steam restart. It can also help when Workshop content refuses to refresh.
For Workshop-specific problems, our Steam Workshop Items Not Updating guide gives the correct order of checks. If the entire service appears unreachable, check whether Steam is down before changing local settings.
What to do after you Clear Steam Download Cache
After you the cache reset, sign back in and open Downloads. Retry one affected game or update first instead of immediately starting every paused download. If it works, allow that item to finish before adding more variables.
If the same download still fails, check available disk space, the selected library drive and the game files. A cache reset cannot repair a failing storage device, fix a full SSD or restore a Workshop item that its creator removed.
the cache reset: what it does and does not do
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Clears temporary download data | Yes |
| Uninstalls installed games | No |
| Deletes normal local saves | No |
| May sign you out of Steam | Yes |
| Repairs every corrupt game file | No, verify the game separately |
| Fixes a Steam-wide outage | No |
Official the cache reset support
Valve maintains an official Clear Download Cache support page. Use the client’s built-in option when you need to the cache reset rather than deleting Steam directories manually.
