DiskDudeHow to completely uninstall a Mac app and its leftover files
Dragging an app to the Trash leaves its caches, preferences, and support files behind. Here is where they live and how to remove them in one step.
On a Mac, uninstalling usually means dragging the app to the Trash. That removes the app itself, but macOS does not touch the files the app created while you used it. For a small utility that is a few kilobytes of preferences. For a video editor, a game launcher, or a developer tool, it can be many gigabytes.
Where the leftovers live
Apps write to a predictable set of folders inside ~/Library. Almost all of them are named after the app or its developer.
| Folder | What it holds |
|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support |
Databases, downloaded content, plug-ins, and user data. Often the largest. |
~/Library/Caches |
Temporary files the app can rebuild. |
~/Library/Containers |
Sandboxed app data for Mac App Store apps. |
~/Library/Group Containers |
Data shared between an app and its extensions. |
~/Library/Preferences |
Settings, stored as .plist files. |
~/Library/Logs |
Log files, sometimes years of them. |
~/Library/Saved Application State |
Window positions and open documents. |
~/Library/LaunchAgents |
Background helpers that start at login. |
A second set of folders under /Library holds the same categories for all users. Apps that ask for your password during install often put files there.
Why leftovers matter
Three reasons beyond the space.
- Background helpers keep running. A launch agent left behind will start at login and may try to update an app that no longer exists.
- Reinstalls inherit old problems. If you uninstall an app to fix a bug and its preferences survive, the bug usually survives too.
- Trials remember you. Some apps store trial dates in Application Support, so a reinstall does not start a fresh trial.
The manual way
- Quit the app.
- Drag it from
/Applicationsto the Trash. - In Finder, choose Go → Go to Folder and enter
~/Library. - Search each folder in the table above for the app name and the developer name.
- Move the matching items to the Trash and empty it.
This works, but it takes a while and it is easy to miss a folder named after the developer rather than the app.
The one-click way
DiskDude's Applications view lists every app with its bundle size, the size of its leftover files, its version, and the date you last opened it. Sorting by leftovers shows which apps are storing the most outside their bundle. Sorting by last used shows which ones you have not opened in a year.
Select an app and choose Uninstall. DiskDude finds the matching items in each ~/Library folder, shows them to you, and adds them to Cleanup along with the app. Nothing is removed until you review the list and confirm.
Apps that need their own uninstaller
A few apps install kernel extensions, system extensions, or drivers that a file scan cannot remove cleanly. Antivirus tools, VPN clients, virtual machine software, and audio drivers are the common ones. Check the developer's site for an uninstaller before removing these by hand.