What does Spotify cache in /Storage?

~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client/Storage can get admittedly huge. I can't tell its contents due to the folder scheme. What are its criteria for storing things? Spotify also invariably stores more than I asked it to (in its settings). I saw that it used to cache local music (already on my hard drive, copied again), does it still do that? What else is in here? Is this remnants of a premium-only offline cache, or is Spotify caching everything I listen to anyway?


I think there's more question than answers there but it's Spotify's cache of files consisting of:

  • streamed music saved locally
  • imported songs (your local music)
  • adverts
  • metadata

The obtuse naming convention is purely a method to obfuscate the contents of the cache.

The cache is used in multiple cases, the main ones are:

  • to play already downloaded files instead of re-streaming (saves their bandwidth therfore saves $$$)
  • to allow Offline mode for Premium accounts