Hard refresh: shortcuts for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge
Short answer
A hard refresh reloads a page and ignores the copy your browser saved. On Windows and Linux press Ctrl+Shift+R or Ctrl+F5. On a Mac press Cmd+Shift+R. In Safari press Cmd+Option+R. Use it when a page still shows old content after the site has been updated.
Browsers keep copies of images, scripts and styles so pages load faster. Sometimes that copy is out of date. A hard refresh asks the server for everything again. This page lists the shortcut for each browser, explains how it differs from a normal reload and from clearing the cache, and covers what testers should do on phones and in apps.
Hard refresh shortcut by browser
| Browser | Windows and Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Ctrl+Shift+R, Ctrl+F5 or Shift+F5 | Cmd+Shift+R |
| Firefox | Ctrl+Shift+R or Ctrl+F5 | Cmd+Shift+R |
| Edge | Ctrl+Shift+R or Ctrl+F5 | Cmd+Shift+R |
| Safari | Not available on Windows or Linux | Cmd+Option+R (Reload Page From Origin) |
With a mouse, hold Shift and click the reload button in Chrome, Firefox or Edge. In Chrome and Edge you can also open developer tools (F12), right-click the reload button and choose Empty cache and hard reload.
Laptop keyboards often need the Fn key for F5. If Ctrl+F5 does nothing, use Ctrl+Shift+R instead.
Normal reload, hard refresh and clearing the cache
These three are often mixed up. They differ in how much saved data they ignore.
| Action | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Normal reload (F5, Ctrl+R, Cmd+R) | Reloads the page and may reuse saved files after checking they are still valid | You only want to see the page again |
| Hard refresh | Reloads the page and every file on it, ignoring saved copies | A page shows old content, layout or scripts after an update |
| Empty cache and hard reload (developer tools open) | Clears the saved files for the site, then reloads | A hard refresh is not enough, or you are debugging caching |
| Clear browsing data | Deletes saved files for the chosen period, and cookies or history if you tick them | You want a clean browser state or are fixing a stuck site |
What a hard refresh does not clear
A hard refresh only affects saved page files in your browser. It does not clear cookies, so you stay logged in. It does not clear local storage or session storage, which web apps use to remember settings. It cannot clear a copy held somewhere else, such as a CDN or a service worker, which can still serve an old version.
If you need a clean first visit, clear the site data for that one site, or open a private window.
Why QA teams hard refresh before they test
If you test an old cached build, you can miss a bug that only exists in the new one, or report a bug that was already fixed. That wastes everyone's time and quietly lowers trust in the results.
- Check the version first. Confirm the build number or commit shown by the app or the version endpoint matches what was deployed.
- Hard refresh, then test. Do this after every deploy to the test environment, and again when a result looks like a bug you thought was fixed.
- Write it into the test plan. Put the step in the setup of your test cases, so every tester starts from the same state.
- Let automation start clean. Tools such as Playwright open each test in a fresh browser context with an empty cache, so a scripted test does not carry a stale cache from the last run.
When a page still looks stale after all of this, the cause is usually upstream: a CDN, a reverse proxy or a service worker. Hard refresh is the first check, not the last. Our test automation work builds the version check and the clean start into the pipeline.
Hard refresh on mobile and in desktop apps
There is no hard refresh shortcut on a phone, so you clear the saved data instead.
- Safari on iPhone. Clear history and website data in Safari's settings (the menu location depends on the iOS version). Pulling the page down only does a normal reload.
- Chrome on Android. Open the Chrome menu, then Settings, Privacy and security, Delete browsing data, and tick Cached images and files.
- Native iOS app. Settings, General, iPhone Storage, choose the app and tap Offload App (keeps your data) or delete and reinstall.
- Native Android app. Settings, Apps, the app, Storage, Clear Cache.
- Desktop app. Look for a clear cache option in the app's settings. On macOS the cache often lives in
~/Library/Caches. - Progressive web app. Unregister the service worker in the browser's developer tools (Application tab), then reload.
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