The short answer
Yes. Rebuilt or re-downloaded automatically when needed.
What is it?
Poetry keeps three things in ~/Library/Caches/pypoetry: cached package metadata and downloads (cache), built and downloaded archives (artifacts), and by default the virtual environments it creates for each project (virtualenvs). With several projects it typically reaches a few gigabytes.
Downloaded packages and the virtualenvs Poetry creates for projects. poetry install recreates them.
What happens if you delete it?
Running poetry install in a project downloads packages again and recreates its virtual environment. Anything installed by hand into that environment, outside Poetry, is lost.
How to remove it properly
Run poetry cache list, then poetry cache clear <name> --all (usually pypi) to empty package caches with Poetry’s own command. Virtual environments are removed per project with poetry env list and poetry env remove --all from the project folder.
Use the tool’s official command: poetry cache clear --all pypi
Before you delete it
Projects configured with virtualenvs.in-project keep their .venv inside the project folder instead, so it is not counted here.
How MoreRoom helps
MoreRoom recognises this item, shows its real size and when it was last used, and labels it “Safe to remove”. In the free version you can move it to the Trash in one click, with Undo; Pro collects every safe item at once.
When the tool is installed, MoreRoom runs its official command for you (poetry cache clear --all pypi) instead of deleting files — and tells you that this step can’t be undone.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to delete Poetry’s cache folder on Mac?
Yes. Rebuilt or re-downloaded automatically when needed. Running poetry install in a project downloads packages again and recreates its virtual environment. Anything installed by hand into that environment, outside Poetry, is lost.
Will Poetry cache and virtualenvs come back after I delete it?
Yes. Running poetry install in a project downloads packages again and recreates its virtual environment. Anything installed by hand into that environment, outside Poetry, is lost.
How do I remove Poetry cache and virtualenvs properly?
Run poetry cache list, then poetry cache clear <name> --all (usually pypi) to empty package caches with Poetry’s own command. Virtual environments are removed per project with poetry env list and poetry env remove --all from the project folder.