Content caching speeds up the Apple software downloads that are distributed over the Internet. Content caching stores local copies of the software on your Mac, so the downloads are faster for connected clients.
Content types supported by the caching service
macOS includes built-in support for caching the following software.
macOS
- macOS updates and Internet Recovery images*
- System firmware and recovery updates
- macOS installers downloaded from the App Store or
softwareupdate --fetch-full installer - Apps and app updates from the App Store
- GarageBand downloadable content
- iCloud data caching (photos and documents)
- Apple Books content
- Xcode downloadable components such as simulators (Xcode 10.2 or later)
- Rosetta
- Aerial screen savers and wallpaper
iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS
- iOS updates (over the air)
- tvOS updates (over the air)
- Aerial screen savers on Apple TV
- iOS apps, Apple TV apps, and app updates
- On-demand resources support
- iCloud data caching (photos and documents) for iOS 9 or later
- Apple Books content
- Certain mobile assets, such as Siri high quality voices, language dictionaries, and more
- Schoolwork content, including file attachments and multimedia files added to assignments
watchOS
- watchOS apps and app updates
- iCloud data caching
Country and region restrictions
- Not all content is cached in all regions.
- iTunes downloads are not cached in Brazil, Mexico, China mainland, or Portugal. Apple Books downloads are not cached in Canada.
- When macOS content caching is enabled, the IP address and region of a Mac computer are registered with Apple. To cache iTunes and App Store content, the registered region of the macOS content cache must match the region of the client Apple ID accounts.
Learn more
Learn more about content caching.
*After starting up from macOS Recovery over the Internet, clients can use the cached image to install macOS and take other actions in Recovery.