Why does SASS cache folder is created?

What is SASS?

The full form of the SASS is Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets. It is a preprocessor or compiler which we can use to compile the SCSS.

Now, the question is that what is the SCSS? The SCSS allows developers to write CSS code in a better way as it contains the variables, nested rules, functions, etc., and similar advanced features.

For example, we can use variables in SCSS, so we don’t need to write a single value multiple times but can access it using the variable name. Similarly, we can create functions in SCSS and stop the repetitions while writing the CSS code.

What is a cache folder, and when is it created in SASS?

One of the features of SASS that often confuses developers is the creation of a cache folder. Before we learn about cache folders, let’s learn what cache is first.

Frequently accessed data are stored in the cache to improve the application's performance. For example, the computer stores the frequently accessed data in the cache memory to improve the response. Whenever we shut down the computer, all data are cleared from the cache memory.

The SASS cache folder is created automatically when the SASS compiler is run for the first time. The location of the cache folder is determined by the operating system and the version of the SASS compiler being used. Generally, the cache folder is located in the same directory where the ‘styles.scss’ file is located.

Why is a cache folder created?

Basically, the cache folder is created in the SASS to store the CSS output generated by the compiler to improve the performance of the compilation process.

So, whenever we recompile the SCSS file, the compiler checks in the cache folder if output already exists for the respected files. If yes, it loads output from the old file. Otherwise, it compiles the SCSS file code if any new code is added or improvements are made in the file.

In this way, we can increase the efficiency of the compilation process and reduce the time for the compilation improving the performance of the compilation of SCSS.

How to recompile all files of SCSS?

Developers should note that deleting the cache folder manually can cause recompiling all SCSS files and increase the compilation time. As we all know, compilation efficiency is essential while developing the application.

However, if users want to ignore the output stored in the cache directory and recompile all files, they can use the below command in the terminal.

sass --force sass/styles.scss:css/styles.css

In the above command, we have added ‘—force’ in the compilation command, forcing all SCSS files to recompile by ignoring all outputs stored in the cache folder.

How to disable creating a cache folder?

Users can also disable the cache directory if they don’t need much compilation efficiency.

Use the below command in the terminal while compiling the SCSS files to disable creating the cache folder.

sass --no-cache sass/styles.scss:css/styles.css

Here, we have used the ‘—no-cache’ option in the above command, which will stop creating the cache directory whenever we recompile the SCSS files after interting the new code or making some changes.

Conclusion

We can conclude that the cache folder is created automatically whenever we compile the SCSS code for the first time to improve the performance of the code. If developers don’t require the cache folder, they can disable it or recompile all the files forcefully.