> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/oven-sh/bun/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Global Cache

> How Bun stores downloaded packages in a global cache to speed up installs and save disk space.

All packages downloaded from npm are stored in a global cache at `~/.bun/install/cache`. The cache path can be overridden with the `BUN_INSTALL_CACHE_DIR` environment variable.

Packages are stored in subdirectories named `${name}@${version}`, so multiple versions of the same package can coexist in the cache.

## Minimizing re-downloads

Bun avoids re-downloading packages whenever possible:

* If a version already in the cache satisfies the requested range, Bun uses it directly.
* If a matching version is already installed in `node_modules`, Bun skips both the download and the copy.

Bun checks `node_modules` by quickly parsing `package.json` in each package directory to compare `name` and `version` — without reading the whole file.

## Fast copying into node\_modules

After downloading a package into the cache, Bun links it into `node_modules` using the fastest syscall available on each platform:

* **Linux and Windows**: hardlinks — the package files exist in one place on disk and are linked, not copied
* **macOS**: `clonefile` — copy-on-write, so no additional disk space is consumed

You can override this with the `--backend` flag:

```bash theme={null}
bun install --backend hardlink       # default on Linux/Windows
bun install --backend clonefile      # default on macOS
bun install --backend copyfile       # fallback, slowest
bun install --backend symlink        # for file: dependencies
```

## Disk space savings

Because Bun uses hardlinks on Linux/Windows, the package files exist in exactly one location on disk even across many projects. A dependency used by 10 projects takes up the same space as if it were installed once.

On macOS, `clonefile` is copy-on-write — the OS shares the underlying blocks until a file is modified, so disk usage is also minimal in practice.

## Cache commands

Print the path to the global cache:

```bash theme={null}
bun pm cache
```

Clear the entire global cache:

```bash theme={null}
bun pm cache rm
```

Alternatively, delete the directory manually:

```bash theme={null}
rm -rf ~/.bun/install/cache
```

## Custom cache location

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash theme={null}
  BUN_INSTALL_CACHE_DIR=/path/to/cache bun install
  ```

  ```toml theme={null}
  [install.cache]
  dir = "/path/to/cache"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Disabling the cache

To bypass the cache and always resolve the latest versions from the registry:

```toml theme={null}
[install.cache]
# don't load from the global cache
disable = false

# always re-fetch manifest data from the registry
disableManifest = false
```

Setting `disable = true` means Bun will not read from the cache, though it may still write to `node_modules/.cache`. Setting `disableManifest = true` forces a fresh resolution on every install.