Where Teams keeps its junk
Classic Teams was an Electron app and behaved like a browser with no cleanup habits: its profile under %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams held Cache, GPUCache, IndexedDB and several databases, while %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams collected installer leftovers and old update folders. The new Teams runs on WebView2 and lives inside %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe — its LocalCache folder rebuilds the same pile from scratch. Machines that lived through both eras often carry both, doubling the mess.
The good news is what those folders do not contain: your chats, channels and files live server-side, so clearing the cache signs you out and rebuilds local databases, but nothing from your teams is lost. Session logs in the logs folder are the most disposable files on the list — Teams writes a fresh one on every launch and never reads the old ones back. A blank white screen or endless loading spinner after months of uptime is precisely the symptom a cache clear fixes.
- Classic Teams cache — %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams: Cache, GPUCache, IndexedDB, databases — safe to clear wholesale
- Classic Teams logs — %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams\logs, one file per session, pure dead weight
- New Teams data — %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache, rebuilt on the next launch
- Old machine profiles — orphaned profile folders left under Packages after migrations and reinstalls
- Installer leftovers — %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams and the SquirrelTemp update folders of the classic client
A cleanup that breaks nothing
Quit Teams first — fully, from the system tray icon, not just the window X — otherwise half the cache files are locked and the delete dies mid-way. Then remove the cache folders listed above, sign back in, and give Teams a minute to rebuild: the first launch after a cache clear is always slower, the second one is where you feel the difference. Check the log folders while you are in there; they never get smaller on their own.
Orphaned profiles deserve one extra look before deletion: open the folder, confirm nobody stashed real files in it, then remove it. If Teams keeps going blank or stuck on loading even after a clean cache, reset the app through Settings → Apps → Installed apps → Microsoft Teams → Advanced options → Reset — same folders, but this time Windows clears them itself, properly. Reinstalling is the last resort, not the first move.
Questions and Answers
Will clearing the Teams cache delete my chats?
No. Chats, channels and shared files live in the cloud; the cache only holds local copies and settings, which Teams rebuilds after you sign in again.
Where is the Microsoft Teams cache folder located?
New Teams keeps it in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache; the classic client used %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams. Machines that lived through both eras often carry both.
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