diff --git a/crates/puffin-cli/src/commands/pip_sync.rs b/crates/puffin-cli/src/commands/pip_sync.rs
index fc01860ae..6c7dbfb55 100644
--- a/crates/puffin-cli/src/commands/pip_sync.rs
+++ b/crates/puffin-cli/src/commands/pip_sync.rs
@@ -138,7 +138,6 @@ pub(crate) async fn sync_requirements(
     };
 
     // Download any missing distributions.
-    let staging = tempfile::tempdir()?;
     let downloads = if remote.is_empty() {
         vec![]
     } else {
@@ -147,9 +146,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn sync_requirements(
         let downloader = puffin_installer::Downloader::new(&client, cache)
             .with_reporter(DownloadReporter::from(printer).with_length(remote.len() as u64));
 
-        let downloads = downloader
-            .download(remote, cache.unwrap_or(staging.path()))
-            .await?;
+        let downloads = downloader.download(remote).await?;
 
         let s = if downloads.len() == 1 { "" } else { "s" };
         writeln!(
@@ -167,6 +164,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn sync_requirements(
     };
 
     // Unzip any downloaded distributions.
+    let staging = tempfile::tempdir()?;
     let unzips = if downloads.is_empty() {
         vec![]
     } else {
diff --git a/crates/puffin-dispatch/src/lib.rs b/crates/puffin-dispatch/src/lib.rs
index 57ac86215..25cf6c3d1 100644
--- a/crates/puffin-dispatch/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/puffin-dispatch/src/lib.rs
@@ -138,7 +138,6 @@ impl BuildContext for BuildDispatch {
             };
 
             // Download any missing distributions.
-            let staging = tempfile::tempdir()?;
             let downloads = if remote.is_empty() {
                 vec![]
             } else {
@@ -148,12 +147,13 @@ impl BuildContext for BuildDispatch {
                     remote.iter().map(ToString::to_string).join(", ")
                 );
                 Downloader::new(&self.client, self.cache.as_deref())
-                    .download(remote, self.cache.as_deref().unwrap_or(staging.path()))
+                    .download(remote)
                     .await
                     .context("Failed to download build dependencies")?
             };
 
             // Unzip any downloaded distributions.
+            let staging = tempfile::tempdir()?;
             let unzips = if downloads.is_empty() {
                 vec![]
             } else {
diff --git a/crates/puffin-installer/src/downloader.rs b/crates/puffin-installer/src/downloader.rs
index 961a6f414..724c6d3f2 100644
--- a/crates/puffin-installer/src/downloader.rs
+++ b/crates/puffin-installer/src/downloader.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ use pep440_rs::Version;
 use puffin_client::RegistryClient;
 use puffin_package::package_name::PackageName;
 
-use crate::cache::WheelCache;
 use crate::distribution::RemoteDistribution;
 
 pub struct Downloader<'a> {
@@ -44,12 +43,7 @@ impl<'a> Downloader<'a> {
     pub async fn download(
         &'a self,
         wheels: Vec<RemoteDistribution>,
-        target: &'a Path,
     ) -> Result<Vec<InMemoryDistribution>> {
-        // Create the wheel cache subdirectory, if necessary.
-        let wheel_cache = WheelCache::new(target);
-        wheel_cache.init()?;
-
         // Sort the wheels by size.
         let mut wheels = wheels;
         wheels.sort_unstable_by_key(|wheel| Reverse(wheel.file().size));