Browser.cache.disk.

parent directory

The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. The correct title is
browser.cache.disk.parent_directory.

This article describes the preference browser.cache.disk.parent_directory. To add, delete, or modify this
preference, you will need to edit your configuration — do not edit this article.

Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Possible values and their effects
3 Caveats
4 UI
4.1 Mozilla Suite and SeaMonkey
5 Recommended settings
6 First checked in
7 Has an effect in
8 Related bugs
9 Related preferences

Background
Mozilla Suite and Firefox store the disk cache in the "Cache" directory located in the profile folder or, in SeaMonkey and
Firefox 1.5 and above, in the "profile temp directory" [1] . The Cache directory location can be viewed in about:cache.
The Cache location can be changed by adding the "browser.cache.disk.parent_directory" preference and entering a folder
path. (In the past, this was specified in the "browser.cache.disk.directory" preference and before that,
"browser.newcache.directory" and "browser.cache.directory" behaved similarly.) Once this preference is specified, a new
directory named “Cache” will be created at the path you set, upon browser restart.
Note: In Windows, if the "browser.cache.disk.parent_directory" value is being set in the prefs.js or user.js file instead of
about:config, the path separator must be two backslashes (e.g., "C:\\Path\\To\\Parent").

Possible values and their effects

Any path with full write permissions by the current user is considered valid. As mentioned above, the actual disk cache
contents will be stored in a directory beneath this path.

Caveats
The disk cache must be turned on for this preference to have an effect.
The disk cache’s capacity must be set to a positive integer for any files to be written to the specified directory.

UI

Mozilla Suite and SeaMonkey

A “Choose Folder” button is available under “Edit → Preferences → Advanced → Cache”.

Recommended settings

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 A fast, local hard disk is the best choice for storing your disk cache files. If you’re concerned about privacy, you may want
to look into creating a RAM disk and using that as the location for your cache.

First checked in
2001-09-19 by Gordon Sheridan

Has an effect in
Mozilla Suite (all versions since 0.9.5)
SeaMonkey (all versions)
Mozilla Phoenix (all versions)
Mozilla Firebird (all versions)
Mozilla Firefox (all versions)
Camino (all versions)

Related bugs
Bug 74085 - [Win] Disk cache should use local directory (CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA)
Bug 78480 - Can’t seem to set the cache directory as of 30042001 build
Bug 216204 - Mac OS X disk cache should use ~/Library/Cache
Bug 239254 - [Linux] Support disk cache on a local path
Bug 291033 - Enable support for profile temp directory on local filesystem
Bug 373512 – 'Local Settings/x.y' directory not created/used immediately after account creation when using
'-profilemanager', for XPC.mfl/XUL.mfl/Cache/...

Related preferences
browser.cache.disk.capacity
browser.cache.disk.enable
browser.cache.disk_cache_ssl

Category: Preferences

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