A bloated media cache is the #1 cause of Premiere Pro slowdowns, playback stuttering, and crashes. Managing it properly keeps your system running at peak performance.
What is Media Cache?
Premiere Pro creates temporary files (peak files, conform files, index files) when you import media. These cache files speed up subsequent access. Over months, cache accumulates gigabytes of data from old projects, slowing everything down.
Optimizing Cache Location
- Go to Edit > Preferences > Media Cache (Windows) or Premiere Pro > Settings > Media Cache (Mac)
- Set cache location to a fast SSD — never your boot drive, never an HDD
- Ideally, dedicate a drive partition just for cache
Auto-Cleanup
- Enable Automatically Delete Cache Files Older Than and set to 30 days
- This prevents indefinite accumulation
Manual Cleanup
- Close all projects
- Go to cache preferences
- Click Delete next to "Remove Media Cache Files"
- Restart Premiere Pro
When to Clean
Clean your cache after wrapping each major project, when you notice playback stuttering, or when your cache drive drops below 50GB free space. At Southbound Studios, we do a full cache clear at the start of every new project.