Glossary
Gradle cache
Gradle's user-level store of dependencies and build outputs.
Gradle downloads dependencies once and reuses them from a cache in the user home, commonly ~/.gradle/caches, unless the installation is configured otherwise. The cache can grow across every Android or Java project on the machine. Deleting it forces a fresh resolve.
Smart Clean in Disk Housekeeper includes Gradle caches among developer caches. Preview the path so you are not removing a directory you customized for a reason. The next build needs network if the artifacts are gone. See Clean npm, Gradle, and Cargo caches.