How do I hard refresh in Chrome?

Press Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac. Shift+F5 works too. That reloads the page while ignoring the cached copies of its files.

What is the difference between refresh and hard refresh?

A normal refresh may reuse files the browser already has. A hard refresh asks the server for them again. Neither clears storage such as cookies, localStorage or a service worker's own cache.

Why does a hard refresh still show the old page?

Usually a service worker is serving its own copy, or a CDN is caching the file. Empty cache and hard reload in DevTools handles the first; a cache-busting query or the right Cache-Control headers handle the second.

Hard refresh in Chrome

You changed a file, reloaded, and the browser still shows yesterday's page. Here are the shortcuts, then what to do when they aren't enough.

The shortcuts

System	Hard refresh
Windows and Linux	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`R` or `Shift`+`F5`
macOS	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`R`

This reloads the page and asks the server for its files again instead of reusing cached copies. It does not clear cookies, localStorage, IndexedDB or a service worker's caches.

When that isn't enough

Empty cache and hard reload

Open DevTools (F12), then right-click the reload button and choose Empty cache and hard reload. It appears only while DevTools is open.

Disable cache while you work

DevTools → Network → tick Disable cache. It applies while DevTools stays open, which is the setting most developers want all day.

A service worker is serving the old files

DevTools → Application → Service Workers. Tick Update on reload, or press Unregister and reload. This is the usual reason a hard refresh "doesn't work" on a modern app.

A CDN or proxy is holding the file

Your browser isn't the only cache. Check the response headers for Cache-Control, Age and any CDN header. Fix it at the source with sensible headers:

Cache-Control: no-store            # never cache (HTML you always want fresh)
Cache-Control: max-age=31536000, immutable   # hashed asset files

Testing as if the cache were empty, repeatedly

Instead of reaching for the shortcut every time, you can send Cache-Control: no-cache with your requests to a chosen site, so you keep getting fresh answers while you work.

HeaderForge

A one-click preset sets Cache-Control: no-cache for the sites you pick, and you can switch it off when you're done. It also removes CSP or X-Frame-Options, unblocks CORS, and shows whether each rule actually fired. Free, no analytics.

Get HeaderForge for Chrome

Quick answers

Incognito starts with an empty cache and no service workers, which makes it a fast sanity check.
Ctrl+F5 behaves like a hard refresh in Chrome; in some other browsers it is the same as a normal reload.
Still stale? Confirm you're hitting the server you think: check the address, any proxy, and the Age response header.

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