Where is Google's file cache on OSX?

Question

I opened a PDF the other day in Chrome from a URL. I can view the entire PDF in chrome, but can't save it, as when I do, I get a server error--as the URL the PDF was from is no longer working.

It appears that the 'save file' feature in Google's PDF viewer attempts to re-download the file from the source rather just grabbing the file that's already in my cache.

If I go to view chrome's cache via chrome://cache/ I can see the URL to the PDF, but not the file itself.

Where does this file exist on my system at the moment?

Solution

OS X stores user caches in ~/Library/Caches. The Library folder is hidden, but you can enter it by going to the Finder, click Go, keep ⌥ pressed and click Library.

You said in the comments that the cache is not easy searchable.

You can also try searching from the command line:

cd ~/Library/Caches/$FOLDER
grep -Rl '%PDF' .

If there is a large binary blob cache file, you can try using a Hex Editor (I like Hex Fiend for OS X). Search for Hex 25 50 44 46 (%PDF), start copying from there and store it in a new file. Good luck!

Comments

[DA.]

What does 'click Go' mean in OSX? I'm not familiar with that.

[DA.]

Oh! The 'Go Menu'! I've never actually used that. Good trick! Alas, it looks like Google's media cache doesn't actually store the raw files--instead they are some sort of data file with names like 'f_000e3d'. Any way to find a PDF in that mess?