ORIGINAL REDDIT POST
Which app should I use to uninstall Mac apps?
Which app do you use to uninstall Mac apps? I’ve always used AppDelete, but it hasn’t been updated in ages, and besides, it’s only available in an Intel version.
Which app do you use to uninstall Mac apps? I’ve always used AppDelete, but it hasn’t been updated in ages, and besides, it’s only available in an Intel version.
Collected discussion
https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/
In my experience Pearcleaner finds false positives fairly often so you have to be pretty careful in reviewing the file list.
You ventured down the downloader route... This is troubled water you are entering, as it seems the ideal uninstaller still needs to be built. However, looking at the comments below, the more commonly used apps are definitely listed. Here is my experience with uninstallers: Ditch: - brand new app and it's free. The developer claims that it is based on AppDelete, but this is not an area I am going to comment on. It lives in your notch, and a more convenient position for an uninstaller does not exist. AppDelete: - is a hard one to beat. Yes, it has not been updated, and the free price is, of course, a large motivation. It always seems to be a popular go-to app after everything else has been tried. App Cleaner and Uninstaller - from Nektomy is a big favourite, but it does not come cheap. It is, however, solid and uninstalls apps and even deletes files that might have been left behind. Pear Cleaner - I love Pear Cleaner, but reviews of this app are very mixed. A recent post also stated that the developer was scaling back the app's development. I cannot say how true this is, but it is a very solid app at a very nice (free) price point.
I bought AppCleaner & Uninstaller. It really made a great impression; let's see if it actually works well in practice.
That sounds interesting. I'll check out the app. Thanks for the tip.
Sounds good. I'm looking forward to trying out the app.
Great summary. I should have written that myself. I had already uninstalled AppDelete, but I’ve reinstalled it now. Ditch definitely doesn’t delete all the files. Thanks again.
Unfortunately, the app didn't live up to its promises. I uninstalled it again.
I did a comparison between PearCleaner and AppCleaner & Uninstaller. AppCleaner removes a little more of the app's traces, but PearCleaner is almost as good.
I’ve been using Pearcleaner and have been happy. Installed via HomeBrew.
app cleaner
Mole in the terminal or ditch both of which I use . I abandoned app cleaner for ditch since ditch is faster and for deeper cleanup I use mole in Ghostty
Mole!
Most people recommend AppCleaner or Pearcleaner. I’ll take a closer look at them. In any case, thank you very much for the recommendations.
MacOS noob question here : Dropping the program icon to bin isn’t enough?
Raycast also does it pretty well, even though it's a completely different app.
I've been using this https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/ for more than a decade. Very convenient to remove hidden dependencies.
I've been using appzapper for years, it's been good, simple, and makes sure additional files which are normally missed are gone too.
I usually just drag the app to trash and delete its folder under Application Support. For the vast majority of apps that suffices tbh.
I should be releasing an update for my Findertools app by the end of the week, right click on the Finder and select the app you want to remove, done, app and fragments removed
Pearcleaner or Raycast. I prefer Pearcleaner as it cleans homebrew installations as well. No need to separately run brew cleanup.
Onyx
Mole
Mole
Trashme3 by far is the best alternative.