How to Clear the FiveM Cache (Safe Steps)

Evidence key: Official means Cfx.re / FiveM documentation (Client Issues); community means player-reported paths. Every source below was reviewed October 20, 2026.

When to clear the cache

Clearing the cache is the usual first fix when FiveM shows stale textures, fails to load a server, gets stuck on a loading screen, or crashes on join after an update. Servers push their own resources (models, textures, scripts) to your machine; FiveM stores them locally so repeat joins are fast. When those local files become corrupt, partially downloaded, or simply outdated after a server update, the client can hang or crash instead of fetching a clean copy. Deleting the cache folders forces FiveM to re-download server assets from scratch. Official Client Issues · Checked October 20, 2026.

Steps (safe order)

1. Close FiveM completely. Open Task Manager and make sure no FiveM.exe / FXServer / CitizenFX processes are still running — a leftover process holds the cache files open and the delete will fail.
2. Press Win + R, type %localappdata%\FiveM\FiveM.app\data, and press Enter.
3. Delete the three cache folders: cache, server-cache, and server-cache-priv.
4. Restart FiveM and join the server again. The first join after clearing will take longer because assets re-download.

The folder path above is the standard community-confirmed location; Cfx.re's Client Issues page also refers to the "application data folder" for the same cache files. Use the %localappdata% variable so the path works on any Windows account, not a hard-coded drive letter.

Keep game-storage

Official guidance: do not delete game-storage. That folder holds your downloaded game build data (the large GTA V asset set FiveM needs to run); removing it means FiveM must re-download a large amount of data on next launch, which can take a long time and is never required for a cache fix. Only the three cache / server-cache folders are safe to clear for this fix. Official Client Issues · Checked October 20, 2026.

Specific errors mapped to a fix

Cfx.re's Client Issues page ties some messages to a precise step:

• Error loading component xyz.dll — delete caches.xml from the application data folder; if there is no such file, delete the entire application data folder and run FiveM again. (The same page notes that for adhesive.dll specifically, see the Windows-version check below.)
• Stuck on a rotating splash screen — delete %appdata%\citizenfx\ros_id.dat and %localappdata%\digitalentitlements.
• Error generating ROS entitlement token — usually an antivirus block; submit a Cfx.re support ticket rather than bypassing protection.

The generic "delete cache / server-cache / server-cache-priv" steps above resolve most stale-asset cases. The three specific errors above come from Cfx.re's own Client Issues article and should be used when you see that exact text — they target the precise corrupt file instead of the whole folder.

Server owners: clear server cache too

If you run a server, stop the server and delete its cache folder, then restart — clients will re-download resources. This is the server-side equivalent of the client steps above and fixes the same "players see broken assets after an update" symptom from the other direction. Official Client Issues · Checked October 20, 2026.