Media Cache location change to network share in Premiere Pro 2023 and later

Direct Answer

When the configured network share becomes unavailable, Premiere Pro 23.0+ displays a persistent warning dialog, writes new cache entries to the local default fallback folder, and leaves existing cache files untouched on the disconnected share. No automatic migration, deletion, or re-encryption occurs. If share permissions are tightened after files exist, Premiere fails to read those files, regenerates them locally (if source media is still linked), and leaves the orphaned originals on the share until manually cleaned.

Confirmed Behavior (Premiere Pro 23.0 through 25.x)

• No encryption at any version. Security relies entirely on SMB/NFS share permissions and OS-level ACLs.
• Fallback is local and per-session. New cache files go to %AppData%\Adobe\Common\Media Cache Files (Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Media Cache Files (macOS) until the share is reachable again.
• Existing network cache files are never moved or deleted automatically. They remain on the share indefinitely.
• Permission changes cause regeneration, not removal. Unreadable files are regenerated locally; originals become orphans on the share.
• The Media Cache Database (.mcd) stays on the network share. No local duplicate database is maintained for the fallback location, so indexing resets each offline session.
• Only UI notification is a warning dialog/toast. CC 2024 (24.x) and 2025 (25.x) add a more prominent header-bar toast; no email, log event, or secure-erase trigger exists.

Practical Verification Steps

1. In Premiere Pro 23.0+, open Preferences > Media Cache and set the location to a test SMB share.
2. Generate previews for a clip (creates .pek, .ims, .cfa, index files, and .mcd on the share).
3. Disconnect the share (disable NIC, unmount, or revoke permissions).
4. Observe the "Media Cache location is not available" warning and confirm new cache files appear in the local fallback folder.
5. Reconnect the share with read-only permissions; verify Premiere regenerates unreadable files locally while originals persist on the share.
6. Check Preferences > Media Cache > Browse to confirm the .mcd path still points to the network share.

Operational Cautions

• Network latency during cache writes can freeze the UI; Adobe still recommends local NVMe/SSD for active projects.
• Orphaned files accumulate on re-permissioned shares — schedule a manual cleanup script (e.g., delete *.pek, *.ims, *.cfa older than N days).
• Multiple workstations pointing to the same network cache folder cause .lck locking conflicts that corrupt the .mcd; Adobe does not support shared cache databases.
• After restart, Premiere retries the network path first and shows the warning again if still unreachable.

Assumptions & Uncertainty

Behavior described is consistent across 23.0–25.x per Adobe's documented architecture and community verification. No version has added cache encryption, integrity verification, or automatic orphan cleanup. If you are on a pre-23.0 version or using a non-standard cache configuration (e.g., symlinked local folder pointing to network), the fallback path may differ — please confirm your exact Premiere version and OS if the recommendation needs adjustment.