CleanLoupeTo uninstall an app on a Mac completely, quit it, move the .app bundle from Applications to the Trash, then remove the files it created in your user Library: its folders in Application Support, Caches, Containers and Saved Application State, plus its preference file in Preferences. Those folders are named after the app or its bundle ID (for example com.vendor.app), so finding the bundle ID first makes the cleanup quick and accurate. Empty the Trash only once you are sure you will not need anything back.
This guide covers an app you still have installed. If you already dragged an app away months ago and want to clear what it left, the companion guide on removing leftovers from apps you already deleted starts from that situation instead.
Why dragging to the Trash is only half the job
A Mac app is a bundle: one folder ending in .app that holds the program and its resources. Moving it to the Trash removes the program. But while you used it, the app wrote files elsewhere: settings, caches, databases, window state, sometimes a background helper that starts at login. macOS does not delete those when the bundle goes, because it cannot tell whether you plan to reinstall.
For most small apps the leftovers are a few kilobytes of preferences and nobody would notice. For apps with large caches, offline data, or background agents, they can take real space or keep running a helper that no longer has a reason to exist. That is what "completely" means here.
Find the apps worth removing: size and last opened
If you're uninstalling to free space, start with the apps that are both large and unused:
- By size. Open System Settings › General › Storage and click the ⓘ next to Applications. The list sorts apps by size and lets you delete them from there.
- By last use. In Finder, open Applications, choose View › as List, then View › Show View Options and tick Date Last Opened. Sort by that column to see apps you haven't opened in a year or more.
The bundle size is only part of an app's footprint. Its data in your Library can be far bigger. To see the real total for one app, measure its folders too, for example:
du -sh /Applications/Slack.app ~/Library/Application\ Support/Slack ~/Library/Containers/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap 2>/dev/null
Replace the names with the app you're checking. Step 2 below shows how to find an app's bundle ID, which is the name most of its Library folders use. CleanLoupe's Applications list shows each app's size and when you last used it, so the same check takes one sort.
Step 1: Check for the app's own uninstaller
Before anything else, look for a vendor uninstaller. Apps that install drivers, system extensions, kernel-level components or a menu bar helper often ship one: security tools, VPN clients, audio and video capture drivers, and suites that come with their own manager app. Look in three places:
- Inside the app's folder in Applications (some apps install as a folder holding the app and an "Uninstall" app).
- In the app's own menus or settings, often under Help or an Advanced tab.
- On the vendor's support site, searching for the app name plus "uninstall Mac".
If an uninstaller exists, use it. It knows which helpers and extensions it installed outside your Library, and removing those by hand is where things go wrong.
Step 2: Find the app's bundle ID
The bundle ID is the reverse-domain name the app uses for its files. Get it before you remove the app, while macOS can still read it:
osascript -e 'id of app "Slack"'
or, using the path:
mdls -name kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier /Applications/Slack.app
Write it down. Some vendors also use a shorter name for their folders (just the company or product name), so note that too.
Step 3: Quit the app and move it to the Trash
Quit the app fully (Command-Q, and check the menu bar for a helper icon you need to quit separately). Then pick one of these:
- In Finder, open Applications, select the app, and choose File › Move to Trash (Command-Delete), or drag it to the Trash.
- Open Apple menu › System Settings › General › Storage, click the ⓘ button next to Applications, select the app and click Delete.
- For an App Store app, the same Finder method works; you can reinstall it later from your purchase list in the App Store (click your account at the bottom-left).
If you are on macOS 26 Tahoe and used to deleting apps from Launchpad, that option is gone; uninstalling apps on macOS Tahoe without Launchpad walks through what replaced it. See also Apple's own uninstall guide.
Step 4: Remove the leftover files
In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G) and type ~/Library. Then check these folders for items matching the app name or bundle ID:
| Folder | What the app keeps there |
|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support | Databases, downloaded content, profiles, plug-ins |
~/Library/Caches | Rebuildable cache data |
~/Library/Preferences | Settings, as com.vendor.app.plist |
~/Library/Containers | Everything a sandboxed app stores, in one folder |
~/Library/Group Containers | Data shared between apps from the same vendor |
~/Library/Saved Application State | Window positions to restore at relaunch |
~/Library/HTTPStorages | Cookies and web storage from the app's network calls |
~/Library/WebKit | Data from web views inside the app |
~/Library/LaunchAgents | Background helpers that start at login |
To search all of them at once in Terminal, use the bundle ID and the short name:
find ~/Library -maxdepth 3 \( -iname "*com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap*" -o -iname "*slack*" \) 2>/dev/null
Replace the bundle ID and name with your app's. Terminal may need Full Disk Access (System Settings › Privacy & Security › Full Disk Access) to see inside some containers, and macOS may ask before letting it read another app's data.
Before you move anything, check its size with du -sh so you know what you are reclaiming:
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Slack
Then move the matching items to the Trash in Finder rather than deleting them with rm, so you can put them back if you picked the wrong one.
Preferences: delete them the clean way
macOS caches preferences in a background process called cfprefsd, so a plist you trash can be written back from memory. The clean way to clear an app's settings is:
defaults delete com.vendor.app
Then move ~/Library/Preferences/com.vendor.app.plist to the Trash if it is still there. Also check ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost, which holds per-Mac preference files with the bundle ID in their name.
Be careful with Group Containers
A folder in Group Containers is often shared by several apps from one vendor. Microsoft's Office apps, for example, share a group container named UBF8T346G9.Office. If you remove Word but still use Excel, leave that folder alone. Only remove a group container when no other app from that vendor is installed.
Background helpers and login items
If the app added a login item or background helper, open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and look under "Open at Login" and "Allow in the Background". Entries for a deleted app usually disappear on their own; if one stays, the matching .plist in ~/Library/LaunchAgents is the source. The guide to removing launch agents on Mac covers unloading and removing those safely.
Step 5: What not to touch
Some folders in your Library look like leftovers but hold your own data or belong to macOS:
- Anything named
com.apple.*belongs to Apple's apps and services. ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSyncholds iPhone and iPad backups.- Folders for apps you still use, even if you rarely open them.
- Files inside an app's container that you created yourself, such as documents saved in the app's own library.
If you are unsure what a folder in Application Support is, is it safe to delete Application Support explains how to check before removing anything. When in doubt, leave it in the Trash for a week before emptying.
How CleanLoupe does it
CleanLoupe is a free Mac cleaner with an Applications module that works as an uninstaller. It lists the apps in /Applications and ~/Applications with their size and when you last used them, and lets you filter by App Store, Apple and other apps. When you pick an app to remove, it looks up leftovers by bundle ID in the same folders this guide covers: Application Support, Caches, Preferences, Containers, Group Containers, Saved Application State, HTTPStorages, WebKit and LaunchAgents.
A few things it does that help with the cautions above:
- Group Containers are labelled Review, because they can be shared.
- If another app from the same vendor is still installed, that vendor's leftovers are labelled Careful.
- Everything goes to the Trash and is recorded in History, where Put Back restores it until you empty the Trash.
- It also finds leftovers of apps you already removed, skipping Apple components and common developer tools.
What it does not do: it does not run a vendor's own uninstaller or remove system extensions and drivers that an app installed outside your Library. For those apps, use the vendor's uninstaller first (Step 1), then let CleanLoupe or the manual steps catch what is left in your Library. Some app containers can only be read when CleanLoupe has Full Disk Access, which is optional.
The same module can check whether your remaining apps have updates; updating apps on Mac covers that side of app housekeeping.
Other uninstaller apps
If you prefer a dedicated uninstaller, AppCleaner and Pearcleaner are well-known free options, and CleanMyMac includes an uninstaller as part of a larger suite. They work on the same idea: find the files that match an app and offer them for removal. Whichever tool you use, read the list before confirming, especially shared vendor folders.
FAQ
Why does an app take up so much storage?
Usually because of its data, not the app itself. Offline media, message history, caches, game assets and virtual machine images all live in your Library, often in ~/Library/Application Support or ~/Library/Containers. Before deleting any of those folders, read whether it's safe to delete Application Support.
Does deleting an app on Mac delete all its files?
No. Moving an app to the Trash removes the program, but its settings, caches and data in your user Library stay behind. You need to remove those separately, by hand or with an uninstaller that searches by bundle ID.
How do I uninstall an app that won't move to the Trash?
Usually the app or one of its helpers is still running. Quit it, check the menu bar for a helper icon, and if needed force quit it from Apple menu › Force Quit. If Finder says the app is in use by a background item, turn that item off in Login Items & Extensions first.
Is it safe to delete an app's Preferences file?
Yes, for an app you are removing. The app simply starts with default settings if you reinstall it. Use defaults delete with the bundle ID so the cached copy is cleared too.
Do I need an uninstaller app on Mac?
Not strictly. The manual steps in this guide do the same job and take a few minutes per app. An uninstaller saves time when you remove many apps or want a list of leftovers you can review and restore.
Will reinstalling an app bring back my settings?
Only if you left its Library files in place. Once you remove its preferences and Application Support folder, a reinstall starts fresh, unless the app syncs settings through an account or iCloud.
When you are ready to try the guided version, download CleanLoupe; it is free, with no account or subscription.