Catalogue · Apps
Catalogue: your apps, from inventory to the very last file
Dragging an app to the Trash only removes the .app bundle. Preferences, caches, containers, application support files and agents stay in the Library, sometimes for years. Catalogue starts from the other end: it takes an inventory of everything installed, shows you what is outdated or incompatible, then removes an app together with everything it left behind.
The module has four tabs: Inventory, Updates, Incompatible and Leftovers, plus two actions on every app: Uninstall and Reset.
Inventory and incompatible apps
The inventory lists all your apps with their icons, instant search and three sort orders: Name, Size and Last opened. Sorting by last opened quickly reveals software you haven't touched in a year.
Click an app to see its details: version, identifier, size, last opened, location, architecture and source (App Store, Homebrew, Setapp or direct download). The architecture tells you whether the app is Apple Silicon, Universal or Intel only.
The Incompatible tab gathers precisely the apps without an Apple Silicon version: they run through Rosetta or no longer launch at all. It's the right moment to check for a newer version, or to let them go.
Available updates
Catalogue compares installed versions with published ones, using verified sources only:
- the App Store, if the
mascommand-line tool is installed; - Homebrew, for apps installed as casks;
- built-in update feeds inside apps (Sparkle and similar).
Each row shows "installed version → available version" and an Open button that takes you to the update. An app that isn't covered by these sources simply doesn't appear: we would rather show nothing than show something unreliable.
Complete uninstaller and leftovers
The Uninstall button first searches for every file linked to the app: preferences, caches, application support, containers, logs, agents. You see the detailed list, the number of items and the total size, untick anything you want to keep, then confirm. An app installed by an administrator asks for authorization.
The Leftovers tab tackles the problem from the other side: it lists files whose identifier matches no installed app, typically the remains of apps removed by drag and drop. Files from a developer that still has apps on your Mac are flagged "to review", because another of their apps may use them. For the full method, read how to uninstall apps cleanly.
App reset
An app that crashes on launch, corrupted settings, a stuck trial period: often, all you need is a fresh start without reinstalling. Reset clears the app's data (preferences, caches, saved state) while keeping the app itself. The list of affected items appears before anything happens, just like for an uninstall.
Note: resetting also erases your personal settings in that app. If it stores documents inside its container, check the list before you confirm.
Safety: the Trash first, always
- Everything goes through the Trash: the app and its files are moved there, nothing is erased directly (unless you explicitly turn on permanent deletion).
- Logged, undoable operations: the last operation can be undone from within the app.
- Simulation mode to see what would be removed without touching anything.
- Apple Silicon and Intel; free scan, actions with a license (7-day trial); everything is processed on your Mac.
Background agents from an app that is already gone also show up in Élan.