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pip cache purge: Clear pip’s Wheel Cache

Wipe pip’s cache to reclaim disk or force fresh downloads.

pip cache purge removes everything from pip’s local cache. It is handy on a runner that is out of disk or when you suspect a corrupted cached wheel.

What it does

Deletes all wheels and HTTP responses pip has cached. Related subcommands inspect the cache: "pip cache dir", "pip cache info", and "pip cache list".

Common usage

Terminal
pip cache purge
pip cache info
pip cache dir
pip cache remove "numpy*"

Common CI use: reclaim disk

When a job fails with "No space left on device" mid-install, the pip cache may be the culprit on a reused runner. Purge it, then retry the install.

Terminal
# Reclaim disk then retry:
pip cache purge
pip install -r requirements.txt

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