Apps guide
Uninstall apps on your Mac without leaving traces
On a Mac, uninstalling an app looks trivial: drag it to the Trash and you are done. In reality, the app has often scattered files across half a dozen folders in your Library: preferences, caches, support data, agents that launch at login. These leftovers range from a few KB to several GB.
This guide explains what remains after a standard deletion, where to find it, when to use the developer’s uninstaller, and how to avoid deleting something another app still needs.
Why dragging the app to the Trash is not enough
A Mac app is a bundle (.app) containing its code and resources. That bundle does not contain what the app created while running: your settings, its caches, its databases, its extensions. Those files live in ~/Library (your account’s Library) and sometimes in /Library (shared by all accounts).
In most cases, these remains are harmless but take up space. Some are more annoying:
- a launch agent that keeps starting at every login and looks for an app that is gone;
- a system or network extension (VPN, antivirus, audio driver) that stays active;
- gigabytes of caches left by a video editor, a game or a developer tool.
On the other hand, if you plan to reinstall the app later, keeping its preferences lets you get your settings back. Removing leftovers is not mandatory: it is a choice.
Where the leftovers hide
To open the Library, which is hidden: in the Finder, open the Go menu, hold down Option and choose Library. Or use Go > Go to Folder (Shift + Cmd + G) and type the path.
| Folder | Contents | Typical size |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/ | App data, databases, models, plug-ins | From a few MB to several GB |
~/Library/Caches/ | Temporary files rebuilt on demand | Often 100 MB to a few GB |
~/Library/Preferences/ | Settings, .plist files named after the identifier (e.g. com.developer.app.plist) | A few KB |
~/Library/Containers/ and ~/Library/Group Containers/ | Data from sandboxed apps, including Mac App Store apps | Variable, sometimes several GB |
~/Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchAgents/, /Library/LaunchDaemons/ | Programs launched automatically | A few KB, but they affect startup |
~/Library/Logs/, ~/Library/Saved Application State/ | Logs and window state | Small |
File names usually include the app name or its reverse-DNS identifier (com.developer.appname). To find that identifier before deleting the app, open Terminal and type osascript -e 'id of app "AppName"'.
The manual method, step by step
- Quit the app, including its menu bar icon. Check in Activity Monitor that no process with its name is running.
- Turn off what launches on its own: System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions, remove the app from Open at Login and switch it off under Allow in the Background.
- Delete the app: in the Applications folder, drag it to the Trash (or press Cmd + Delete).
- Look for leftovers in the folders listed above, searching for the app or developer name. Move them to the Trash, but do not empty it yet.
- Restart and use the Mac for a day or two. If everything works, empty the Trash.
Be careful with folders belonging to a developer that publishes several apps (Adobe, Microsoft, Google): a Microsoft folder in Application Support may serve Word as well as Teams. Only remove what clearly belongs to the app you uninstalled.
Use the official uninstaller when there is one
Some apps install components that manual deletion does not remove properly: system extensions, drivers, privileged background services. For those, the developer provides a dedicated tool:
- Adobe Creative Cloud: uninstall each app from the Creative Cloud app, then run the Creative Cloud uninstaller itself.
- Microsoft Office, antivirus software, VPNs, printer or audio interface drivers: look for an “Uninstaller” in the original disk image or on the developer’s website.
- Apps installed with Homebrew:
brew uninstall --cask name, orbrew uninstall --zap --cask nameto remove known support files as well.
If the app installed a system extension, check afterwards in System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions that nothing remains.
Mac App Store apps
Mac App Store apps are sandboxed: their data is grouped in ~/Library/Containers, which makes cleanup easier. To delete them:
- macOS Sequoia and earlier: open Launchpad, hold Option until the icons jiggle, then click the app’s delete button.
- macOS Tahoe, which replaces Launchpad with the Apps view: go to the Applications folder in the Finder and move the app to the Trash (you may be asked for a password).
- In all versions: System Settings > General > Storage > Applications (i), select the app, then click Delete.
The matching Containers folder sometimes remains after deletion. A purchased app can always be downloaded again for free from your purchase history in the App Store.
Apps built into macOS (Safari, Music, Photos and so on) are protected by the sealed system volume: they cannot be deleted, by design.
Reset instead of uninstalling
An app that crashes at launch or behaves strangely does not always need to be removed. Often, its preferences or cache are corrupted. Resetting it means removing that data while keeping the app: it starts again as on day one.
Manually, quit the app, then move its .plist file in ~/Library/Preferences and its folder in ~/Library/Caches to the Trash. To go further, there is its folder in Application Support or Containers, but be careful: that is sometimes where your documents, libraries or configured accounts live. Back up first.
Uninstalling with MacNeat’s Catalogue
The Catalogue module automates this search and shows you everything before acting:
- Complete uninstaller: select an app, MacNeat finds the related files (support data, caches, preferences, containers, agents) and lists the items that will be removed with the application. You untick anything you want to keep.
- Leftovers: this tab lists files whose identifier matches no installed app. Those from a developer that still has apps on the Mac are flagged for review, so you do not break another app.
- App reset: clears an app’s data while keeping the app.
- Inventory: size, last opened, source (App Store, Homebrew, direct download) and Intel-only apps that depend on Rosetta.
Everything goes to the Trash, and every uninstall is logged and can be undone. For an app installed by an administrator, macOS asks for authorization.