Windows Storage Guide · 2025

Delivery Optimization Files
in Windows 10 / 11

What they are, why they consume gigabytes of disk space, and exactly how to delete them safely — step by step.

🪟 Windows 10 🪟 Windows 11 💾 Disk Cleanup ⚙️ Settings App 💻 PowerShell 🛡️ Safe to Delete
Section 01

What Are Delivery Optimization Files in Windows 10 & 11?

Delivery Optimization (DO) is a built-in Windows component that has been part of the operating system since Windows 10 version 1511. Its primary purpose is to make the download of Windows Updates, Microsoft Store apps, and other Microsoft content faster and more bandwidth-efficient by using peer-to-peer (P2P) technology — similar in concept to BitTorrent.

When Windows downloads an update or an app, Delivery Optimization can cache a copy of those downloaded files on your local drive. These cached files are what Windows refers to as Delivery Optimization Files. They serve two purposes:

✦ What they help with

  • Sharing downloaded updates with other PCs on your local network, reducing total bandwidth used
  • Allowing other Windows PCs on the internet to download update pieces from your PC
  • Resuming interrupted downloads without re-downloading everything
  • Speeding up update delivery across corporate or home networks with multiple Windows devices

✦ The trade-offs

  • Can consume several gigabytes of precious disk space over time
  • Uploading to strangers on the internet may use your internet bandwidth
  • Files accumulate silently without visible notification to the user
  • Can grow especially large on SSDs with limited capacity
ℹ️
Good to Know Delivery Optimization is different from Windows Update itself. Disabling or clearing its cache does not prevent Windows from receiving updates — it only changes how those updates are downloaded and shared.
Section 02

How Does Windows Delivery Optimization Work?

Delivery Optimization operates as a background Windows service (DoSvc). When your PC needs to download a Windows Update, a Microsoft Store app, drivers, or other Microsoft content, DO can split the download into chunks and retrieve those chunks from multiple sources simultaneously:

📡 Download Sources

Source Type Description Enabled by Default
Microsoft Servers The traditional update server — always used as the primary source ✅ Yes
Local Network PCs Other Windows 10/11 PCs on the same LAN that already have the file cached ✅ Yes
Internet PCs (P2P) Other Windows PCs anywhere on the internet with the cached content ✅ Yes (can be disabled)
Microsoft Connected Cache A cache server on your ISP's or company's network (if supported) Depends on ISP

After a successful download, Delivery Optimization keeps a local copy of the content in its cache folder. This cache can later be "uploaded" (seeded) in pieces to other Windows devices that need the same update — both on your local network and across the internet, depending on your settings.

⚠️
Bandwidth Note By default, Windows 11 allows Delivery Optimization to upload cached data to other PCs on the internet. If you have a metered or limited internet connection, consider restricting uploads to your local network only, or disabling internet P2P sharing entirely.
Section 03

Where Are Delivery Optimization Files Stored on Your PC?

Windows stores Delivery Optimization cache files in a hidden system folder. You cannot browse this folder with File Explorer under normal settings, as it is protected by the operating system. The default location is:

📁 C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DeliveryOptimization\Cache

Additionally, related database and configuration files are kept at:

📁 C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DeliveryOptimization
🚫
Warning Do not manually delete files from this folder using File Explorer or Command Prompt. Always use the official methods described in Section 6 below. Manually deleting files while the DoSvc service is running can corrupt the cache database and cause update errors.

🔍 How to View the Cache Size Without Deleting

You can check how much space Delivery Optimization is using through PowerShell without touching the files:

PowerShell — Run as Administrator
Get-DeliveryOptimizationStatus

This command outputs a detailed status report, including cache size, upload/download statistics, and peer connectivity information.

Section 04

How Much Disk Space Do Delivery Optimization Files Use?

The size of the Delivery Optimization cache varies widely depending on how long your PC has been running, how many updates have been downloaded, and how Windows manages the cache on your specific drive.

1–3
GB · Typical Home PC
5–10
GB · After Feature Update
10%
Drive limit (default cap)

By default, Windows automatically limits the Delivery Optimization cache to 10% of your total drive capacity. On a 256 GB SSD, that means up to ~25 GB could be reserved. However, Windows is also supposed to clean up old cache entries automatically when disk space runs low — though in practice this doesn't always happen reliably.

💡
Tip After a major Windows feature update (like upgrading from Windows 11 23H2 to 24H2), the cache can temporarily spike to several gigabytes as the system seeds the new update to peers. This is normal and the cache should shrink after a few weeks.
Section 05

Is It Safe to Delete Delivery Optimization Files?

✅
Safe to Delete Yes — Delivery Optimization files are cache files only. Deleting them will not harm Windows, uninstall any updates, or break any applications. If Windows needs them again in the future, it will simply re-download the necessary content from Microsoft's servers.

Think of the Delivery Optimization cache like a browser cache. Clearing your browser cache doesn't break websites — it just means the browser has to re-download page assets the next time you visit. The same principle applies here.

⚡ What Happens After You Delete Them

Scenario What Happens
Windows checks for updates Works normally — downloads from Microsoft servers as usual
Microsoft Store app update Downloads from Microsoft servers directly — no issues
Sharing updates with LAN peers Temporarily unavailable until the cache refills after new downloads
Your current installed updates Completely unaffected — DO cache is separate from installed update files
System stability No impact whatsoever
Section 06

How to Delete Delivery Optimization Files: 3 Methods

There are three official, safe ways to clear the Delivery Optimization cache in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Choose the one that best fits your comfort level.

Method 1 · Easiest

🗑️ Using Storage Sense / Disk Cleanup (Recommended for Most Users)

No Admin Required Windows 10 & 11 GUI Only

Windows 11 — via Settings:

  1. Open Settings → System → Storage
  2. Click Temporary files (Windows may take a moment to scan)
  3. Check the box next to Delivery Optimization Files
  4. Click Remove files and confirm

Windows 10 — via Disk Cleanup:

  1. Press Win + S, type Disk Cleanup, and open it
  2. Select your C: drive and click OK
  3. Wait for the scan to complete
  4. Scroll the list and check Delivery Optimization Files
  5. Click OK → Delete Files to confirm
Method 2 · Fast

💻 Using PowerShell (Recommended for Advanced Users)

Admin Required Windows 10 & 11 Command Line

This method uses a dedicated PowerShell cmdlet that safely stops the DO service, clears the cache, and restarts the service:

PowerShell — Run as Administrator
# View current cache size first (optional)
Get-DeliveryOptimizationStatus

# Delete all cached Delivery Optimization files
Delete-DeliveryOptimizationCache -Force
ℹ️
Note The -Force flag suppresses the confirmation prompt. You can omit it to review what will be deleted before confirming.
Method 3 · Automated

⚙️ Enable Storage Sense to Delete Automatically

Set & Forget Windows 10 & 11 GUI Only

Storage Sense can automatically delete Delivery Optimization files on a schedule so you never have to think about it:

  1. Open Settings → System → Storage
  2. Toggle Storage Sense to On
  3. Click Configure Storage Sense or run it now
  4. Under "Delete files in my recycle bin if they have been there for over:", set your preferred schedule
  5. Scroll down and click Run Storage Sense now for an immediate cleanup
✅
Best Practice Storage Sense is the hands-off solution. Once enabled, Windows will automatically manage the Delivery Optimization cache along with other temporary files, keeping your drive clean without manual intervention.
Section 07

How to Disable or Limit Delivery Optimization in Windows 10 & 11

If you'd rather prevent the cache from accumulating in the first place, you can configure or disable Delivery Optimization. Note that Microsoft does not recommend fully disabling it, as it can slow down update downloads on networks with multiple Windows PCs.

🔧 Option A — Limit Bandwidth and Cache Size (Recommended)

  1. Open Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options
  2. Click Delivery Optimization
  3. Click Advanced options
  4. Under Upload settings, set the monthly upload limit (e.g., 5 GB) and limit background bandwidth
  5. Under Download settings, optionally cap the download bandwidth percentage

🔧 Option B — Disable Internet P2P Sharing Only

  1. Open Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options
  2. Click Delivery Optimization
  3. Toggle Allow downloads from other PCs to On
  4. Select Devices on my local network (this disables internet P2P while keeping LAN sharing)

🔧 Option C — Disable Delivery Optimization Completely

  1. Open Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options
  2. Click Delivery Optimization
  3. Toggle Allow downloads from other PCs to Off
⚠️
Heads Up Fully disabling Delivery Optimization means all Windows Updates and Store apps will download exclusively from Microsoft's servers. On a metered connection this is beneficial, but on a fast home network with multiple PCs it may result in slower update downloads overall.

🔧 Limit Cache Size via PowerShell

You can also set a hard cap on how much disk space the cache is allowed to use:

PowerShell — Run as Administrator
# Set max cache size to 5 GB (5120 MB)
Set-DeliveryOptimizationStatus -CacheMaxSizeInGB 5

# Set max cache age to 7 days (files older than this are auto-purged)
Set-DeliveryOptimizationStatus -MaxCacheAgeDays 7
Section 08

Frequently Asked Questions About Delivery Optimization Files

Q Will deleting Delivery Optimization files break Windows Update? ▼
No. Windows Update will continue to function completely normally. The Delivery Optimization cache only stores copies of already-downloaded update content used for sharing with other PCs. Deleting the cache simply means your PC won't be able to share those specific files with peers until the cache is rebuilt over time through future downloads.
Q Why does the Delivery Optimization cache keep coming back after I delete it? ▼
This is expected behavior. Every time Windows downloads a new update, app, or driver, Delivery Optimization caches a copy for potential peer sharing. If you want to prevent the cache from growing large, use the cache size limit settings described in Section 7, or enable Storage Sense to clean it up automatically on a schedule.
Q Is Delivery Optimization spyware? Does it upload my personal files? ▼
No. Delivery Optimization only caches and shares Microsoft content — Windows Updates, Microsoft Store apps, and drivers. It never accesses, uploads, or shares your personal files, documents, photos, or any user data. It is a legitimate Microsoft technology similar to how Linux distributions use mirror networks to distribute ISO files efficiently.
Q How often should I delete Delivery Optimization files? ▼
If you have ample disk space (500 GB+), there's no urgent need to delete them manually — Windows manages the cache automatically. If you're on a smaller SSD (128–256 GB), consider running a cleanup every 1–3 months or enabling Storage Sense to handle it automatically. You should also run a cleanup after installing a major Windows feature update, as the cache can be especially large right after the upgrade.
Q Can I delete Delivery Optimization files directly from File Explorer? ▼
Technically possible if you take ownership of the folder, but strongly not recommended. Manually deleting files while the Delivery Optimization service is running can leave the internal database in a corrupted state, which may cause errors in future Windows Update operations. Always use Disk Cleanup, the Settings app Temporary Files page, or the Delete-DeliveryOptimizationCache PowerShell cmdlet instead.
Q Does Delivery Optimization work differently on Windows 10 vs Windows 11? ▼
The underlying technology is essentially the same on both versions. The main differences are in the Settings UI location and Windows 11's improved Storage settings page, which makes it easier to view and delete temporary files including the DO cache. Windows 11 also introduced support for Microsoft Connected Cache (formerly DOINC) which allows ISPs and businesses to run local cache servers, reducing internet traffic even further.

🏁 Bottom Line

Delivery Optimization files are harmless cache files that Windows uses to speed up update distribution across multiple PCs. They are completely safe to delete — Windows will simply rebuild the cache over time as new updates are downloaded. For most users, the best approach is to enable Storage Sense and let Windows manage the cleanup automatically. If you're on a small SSD or a metered internet connection, consider limiting the cache size or disabling internet P2P sharing via the Delivery Optimization settings to keep disk usage and bandwidth under control.