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Where Are Temp Files? They are not anywhere on my computer it seems......when using creative cloud?

Forum|Forum|6 months ago
September 2, 2025
5 replies
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I cannot open photoshop, and I am using creative cloud. Says scratch disk is full - but I don't want to switch to my external drive for scratch disk. Where is the scratch disk on my computer if I am using Cloud version of PS? I want to delete all temp files to clear the cache, but I cannot even open PS. Help please! 😃

macOS

Correct answer Conrad_C

To answer your exact question about where the scratch files are on your Mac or on any drive you assign as a scratch disk, the answer is that they work like macOS cache files: They’re intentionally hidden from the user because they’re managed by the software. If a user messes with them, the software could crash.

So the only location to really pay attention to is the list of assigned volumes in the Scratch Disk preferences.

If you really want to know, and you understand the macOS file system at a technical level including hidden paths, you’ll find the Photoshop scratch files in the two places below. But even if you reach them, because of how system permissions work for that type of cache file, you won’t be able to delete them manually. You have to let the software manage them.

On a Mac boot volume, the scratch file path is:

/private/var/folders/…/TemporaryItems/Adobe Photoshop 2025/Photoshop Temp…

The ellipses ( … ) are because those folder/file names are randomized per session.

When assigned to an external volume connected to a Mac, the path is:

/Volumes/[name of external SSD]/.TemporaryItems/folders.501/TemporaryItems/Adobe Photoshop 2025/Photoshop Temp…

Trevor.Dennis

Community Expert

I'll add that Photoshop Temp files can be left behind if Photoshop does nopt close properly. They can be big files, and can soon add up if you have had a series of Photoshop crashes. So check the root directory of your scratch drive, and any Photoshop Temp files that do not have that day's date, or are present when Photoshop is not open, can safely be deleted.

To reinforce what others have told you, Photoshop uses these temp files as additional working memory, and when you consider their large size, having a fast drive for scratch space is super important if you are hoping for a seamless Photoshop experience.

Conrad_C

Correct answer

Community Expert

To answer your exact question about where the scratch files are on your Mac or on any drive you assign as a scratch disk, the answer is that they work like macOS cache files: They’re intentionally hidden from the user because they’re managed by the software. If a user messes with them, the software could crash.

So the only location to really pay attention to is the list of assigned volumes in the Scratch Disk preferences.

If you really want to know, and you understand the macOS file system at a technical level including hidden paths, you’ll find the Photoshop scratch files in the two places below. But even if you reach them, because of how system permissions work for that type of cache file, you won’t be able to delete them manually. You have to let the software manage them.

On a Mac boot volume, the scratch file path is:

/private/var/folders/…/TemporaryItems/Adobe Photoshop 2025/Photoshop Temp…

The ellipses ( … ) are because those folder/file names are randomized per session.

When assigned to an external volume connected to a Mac, the path is:

/Volumes/[name of external SSD]/.TemporaryItems/folders.501/TemporaryItems/Adobe Photoshop 2025/Photoshop Temp…

jane-e

Community Expert

Where is the scratch disk on my computer if I am using Cloud version of PS?
By @Erin Mama Tog

By default the scratch disk is your hard drive, although you can set up other drives. If you want to keep it on your HD, you need to clear space or follow the other suggestions from DFosse.

In addition to the link Dave posted, this help page tells you how to free space on your Mac:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-scratch-disk-is-full.html

Jane

D Fosse

Community Expert

Raster image editing is extremely memory-intensive, and needs a lot more memory than any RAM you may have installed on your system. So Photoshop writes temporary working data to disk - aka the scratch disk.

The scratch file contains all history states for all open documents (plus some overhead). Each history state potentially adds the full uncompressed file size.

As Dave points out, there is nothing to delete. The scratch disk only operates when Photoshop is running.

For casual use, you may get away with 100 GB free disk space. For serious work, you should have 500 GB or more. The official system requirements are barely enough to install the application, but you're not going to be able to do any real work.

If you have to work with limited scratch space, reduce history states to bare minimum. That reduces the number of undo operations accordingly, but also reduces the size of the scratch file dramatically.

davescm

Community Expert

Photoshop's scratch disk file is deleted when Photoshop closes, so you should not find it, until Photoshop is open.
You can change which disk the scratch file uses on opening PS by holding down Cmd+Option on a Mac (Ctrl+Alt on Windows), whilst opening Photoshop. Depending on how you use Photoshop, it should be a fast disk with between 100GB and 500GB free space. Although the help files refer to 6 to 10 GB free space, if that is all you have you will quickly run out of space. If it is shared space with the operating system disk you could also crash your PC.
https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/photoshop/using/scratch-disks-preferences.html
Dave

Erin Mama TogAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thank you! I guess I can change the scratch disk to my external - however I primarily use this only for LR and editing using LR. I don't want my infrequent use of PS to fill the scratch disk on my external. Would that happen? My Mac is also saying that my hard drive is nearly full now too......not sure if it is coincedence?

Conrad_C

Community Expert

My Mac is also saying that my hard drive is nearly full now too......not sure if it is coincedence?
By @Erin Mama Tog

davescm noted that the scratch file is automatically deleted when Photoshop is closed, so if you see that Mac message when Photoshop is running, maybe it’s related to the Photoshop scratch file. But if you see that message when Photoshop is not running, then it could be that the Mac startup volume is just getting full anyway.

To get the best performance, many graphics and video editing applications create large cache files while running. macOS also creates large temporary files for various reasons. To not hold back any software, my own personal rule is to try to keep 200GB free on my MacBook Pro internal drive. That’s not always easy, like right now I’m down to about 150GB free. I will become concerned if I see free space drop below 100GB because I know there will be a chance that might not be enough room when editing some larger files in Photoshop, or some projects in Adobe After Effects.

If I know I will be editing a very large Photoshop document, like large dimensions combined with a high bit depth and lots of layers, then I know Photoshop might want to create a scratch file as large as 400-600GB. In that case I will plug in a 1TB SSD that I only use as an external scratch/cache drive. (I keep my Lightroom Classic files on a different external SSD.)

@Erin Mama Tog wrote:

I guess I can change the scratch disk to my external - however I primarily use this only for LR and editing using LR. I don't want my infrequent use of PS to fill the scratch disk on my external. Would that happen?

It’s the same rule as above: The chance of filling up that external SSD goes up when:

The free space on the external SSD is dropping below 100-200GB.
The open Photoshop document is very large and/or has many layers, and there are many history states.

If those are true, it would be better to plug in an external SSD with more free space and assign that one as a scratch disk. For example if there’s 120GB left on the SSD with Lightroom Classic images, that might not be enough free space to make it worth using that SSD.

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