Chromium Disk Cache
| Format | Chromium Disk Cache |
|---|---|
| Short name | Chrome cache |
| Category | database |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android |
| Crush support | Not yet supported |
| Status | Reviewed |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-05 |
Forensic relevance
The HTTP cache of Chrome, Edge and other Chromium browsers and Electron apps. The blockfile backend (default on Windows) uses an index file and data_0..3 block files; the simple backend (default on all other platforms) stores one file per entry. Entries hold the URL, response headers with server dates and the cached content (pages, images, scripts), also for sites no longer in history. With cache partitioning, keys are prefixed with '_dk_' and the site that loaded the resource, revealing the context in which it was requested. Content is stored as transferred, so it may be gzip-, Brotli- or Zstandard-encoded.
Signatures
| Offset | Hex | ASCII (non-printable as .) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| offset 0 (0x0) | C3 CA 03 C1 | .... | Blockfile index magic 0xC103CAC3 |
| offset 0 (0x0) | C3 CA 04 C1 | .... | Blockfile data file magic 0xC104CAC3 |
| offset 0 (0x0) | 30 5C 72 A7 1B 6D FB FC | 0\r..m.. | Simple cache entry magic 0xFCFB6D1BA7725C30 |
| offset unknown | D8 41 0D 97 45 6F FA F4 | .A..Eo.. | Simple cache end-of-stream magic 0xF4FA6F45970D41D8 (EOF records within entry files) |
Known extensions
None recorded
References
- Chrome Cache file format (libyal/dtformats) https://github.com/libyal/dtformats/blob/main/documentation/Chrome%20Cache%20file%20format.asciidoc
- Disk Cache (Chromium design documents) https://www.chromium.org/developers/design-documents/network-stack/disk-cache/
- Very Simple Backend (Chromium design documents) https://www.chromium.org/developers/design-documents/network-stack/disk-cache/very-simple-backend/
Cite this entry
Crush Format Reference, “Chromium Disk Cache”. https://kalink0.github.io/crush-forensics/formats/chrome-cache/ — source: crush/data/build_formats_db.py at commit 640a2a9928f4e36a976b89901512a8dce824d093, built 2026-10-21 06:46:19 UTC.
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