How to Fully Reset Citra MMJ: Clear Cache vs. Reinstall vs. Wipe Saves

Most Citra MMJ problems have a targeted fix — a specific error code, a specific corrupted folder, a specific setting. But sometimes you’ve tried the specific fixes and the emulator is still acting up across multiple games, or you just want a clean slate. The mistake most people make at that point is reaching straight for “uninstall and reinstall,” which is the most destructive option and usually unnecessary. There are actually four distinct levels of reset, and picking the right one matters — go too light and the problem persists, go too heavy and you lose save data you didn’t need to lose.

The Four Levels of Reset, From Lightest to Heaviest

Level	What It Clears	What It Keeps	When To Use It
1. Clear shader cache	Compiled GPU shaders only	Saves, settings, ROMs	Stuttering, visual glitches after an update
2. Reset settings to default	Your configured graphics/audio/control settings	Saves, shader cache, ROMs	Wrong setting causing crashes or bad performance
3. Clear app data (Android)	Settings and local saves/extdata not backed up elsewhere	The installed app itself, your ROM files (if stored outside app storage)	Persistent freezes/corruption across multiple games, after backing up saves
4. Full uninstall + reinstall	Everything Citra-related, including config, saves, and cache	Only your ROM files (if stored outside Android/data/)	Last resort — corrupted install, failed update, switching build versions

Work from the top down. Most “just reinstall it” problems are actually solved at level 1 or 2.

Level 1: Clear Shader Cache Only

This is the safest reset and fixes the most common symptom: stutter or visual corruption that appeared suddenly, usually right after installing a game update or a new Citra MMJ build.

1. Open Citra MMJ and go to Settings → General.
2. Locate the shader cache option, or manually delete the folder at /Android/data/org.citra.citra_emu.mmj/files/shaders/.
3. Relaunch your game. Expect a brief stutter the first time each area/effect loads again while shaders recompile — this is normal and one-time.

Full details, including per-game vs. global cache, are in our shader cache explained guide.

Level 2: Reset Settings to Default

If you’ve been tweaking graphics backend, resolution scaling, or audio settings and something has gotten unstable, resetting just the settings — without touching saves — is the next step up.

1. In Citra MMJ, go to Settings, and look for Restore Defaults (location varies slightly by build version; check under General or Advanced).
2. If your build doesn’t expose a one-tap reset, manually delete the config folder inside citra-emu/ — Citra regenerates it with defaults on next launch.
3. Reconfigure only what you need (see our Android 14 best settings guide for a known-good starting point rather than guessing again from scratch).

This does not touch saves/ or sysdata/, so your progress is untouched.

Level 3: Clear App Data (Android Settings)

This is the level people usually mean when they say “reset the app,” and it’s more destructive than most expect: Android’s Clear Data wipes everything Citra MMJ has stored in its own app-private storage, including saves and extdata — not just settings.

⚠️ Back up first. Before doing this, follow our save data backup guide to copy your saves/ folder somewhere safe. There is no undo once app data is cleared.

1. Back up your saves (see above).
2. Go to Android Settings → Apps → Citra MMJ → Storage.
3. Tap Clear Data (not just Clear Cache — that’s a lighter, less destructive option that only removes temporary files).
4. Reopen Citra MMJ — it will run first-time setup again. Restore your backed-up saves afterward.

Use this level when problems are happening across multiple unrelated games, since that points to something broken at the app-data level rather than one game’s files.

Level 4: Full Uninstall and Reinstall

Reserve this for cases where the app itself won’t launch, an update failed partway through, or you’re deliberately switching between Citra MMJ build variants (e.g., moving to or from an Antutu-optimized build — see our old versions and build variants guide).

1. Back up saves (Level 3 step above) — uninstalling deletes all app-private data permanently.
2. Uninstall Citra MMJ normally through Android’s app list.
3. Download the current build from our download page.
4. Install fresh, then restore your ROM files and saves.

Because Android app-private storage is removed automatically on uninstall, this always includes everything from Level 3 — there’s no partial version of this step.

Quick Decision Guide

• One game stutters or looks glitchy after an update → Level 1 (shader cache)
• Emulator crashes or runs badly after you changed a setting → Level 2 (settings reset)
• Multiple games freeze/corrupt, or a single game freezes even after a CEC data fix → Level 3 (clear app data, backup first)
• The app won’t open, updates fail, or you’re changing build variants → Level 4 (reinstall)

✅ Rule of thumb: if you haven’t tried the lighter levels yet, don’t jump to reinstalling — it’s the only level that risks losing your ROM organization and app-specific setup for no extra benefit over Level 3 in most cases.