Spotify keeps dumping cache in appdata directory even though cache folder is changed

[hayoo]

Swapping the cache folder under advanced settings in the client doesn't actually change where most of the cache files are stored. 10 gigabytes of data is still found under appdata/local and only an irrelevant amount of data (a couple of megabytes) are stored where I wanted them to be.

[JuanSebastian]

Hi @hayoo! Thanks for writing on the Community.

Can you let us know which operating system and Spotify version you're using? Let's try doing a full reinstallation of the app to see if it makes a difference.

Let us know how it goes. 

[hayoo]

Windows 10, anniversary update. I've reinstalled my OS about three times since I first found this bug, about one and a half year ago. I really doubt it is something on my end

[JuanSebastian]

Thanks for the info @hayoo.

Actually, we were talking about reinstalling the Spotify app, not your OS. Can you try this to see if it makes a difference?

Keep us posted. 

[hayoo]

Alright. So I did a reinstall and made sure every folder was gone. reopened the app, changed the cachefolder to a newly created folder (just to make sure spotify had permissions to put files in it) and rebooted.
I began skipping through about 10 songs. by doing this it created 174 Megabytes of data to the appdata/local/spotify/data folder and 3.52 Megabytes to my E:\spotifyTEMP folder, where I wanted it to go.

Edit: If I download a playlist, it will put the data in the correct folder. But if I play a non-downloaded song, it will still put it in the wrong place

[JuanSebastian]

Got it @hayoo.

We'd like to explain something. It's only possible to change the location for the stored cache that's created when downloading offline music on your computer. The location for the cache memory of the app itself (search results, streaming info, etc) will be assigned by default where the app was installed and can't be changed.

If you have other questions, don't hesitate to get back to us. 

[Manipulator]

So it's basically useless in a time where a lot of people have a small SSD for windows and a big HDD for data.

3 remarks:

First change the description in preferences to note that it's ONLY offline cache!

Second "The location for the cache memory of the app itself [...] will be assigned by default where the app was installed" suggests that if I install Spotify on a different HD it will use that for it's cache, which is wrong as it will always use the default appdata directory on the windows drive.

Third will adding 'location.size=xxx' in the prefs file in roaming put a constraint on the size used?

[dsthedev]

Please add the option to change the streaming cache location.  Just like @Manipulator mentioned, most people I know have a smaller SSD for their OS, and a much larger HDD strictly for storage.

Practically every application I use (~100+) offers this option.  I see no reason why Spotify can't do the same.  The only reason I mention this now is because I just found Spotify using >10Gb of space on my 120Gb HDD at work, which filled the remaining space, slowing the entire computer down.  After a bit of searching I found this post finally, only to be dissappointed yet again by Spotify's lack of care for what the community wants.

You're going to start losing customers fast after pulling stunts like this @JuanSebastian, this is still very much an issue.  This kind of complaint/consideration is an important and easy update for Spotify to make.  Please forward this as high up as you can to make it happen!