In my opinion, the most effective method of fully deleting an app, along with all the files and folders it installs, is to do it manually, rather than depending on an app to do the job. One reason is that apps like
AppCleaner,
AppDelete and
AppZapper mostly only delete .plist files along with the app, which are just small text files which don't affect your system and don't take up much space. Those apps ignore much larger files, like cache files, logs and other files in folders such as /Library and /Users/username/Library. None of those three apps are very effective, compared to manual deletion.
From
Best way to FULLY DELETE a program?
I just tested a few of these, using Skype.app as the file to be deleted.
AppZapper found 4 items
AppCleaner found 6 items
AppDelete found 9 items
EasyFind found 16 items
Finder found 17 items
In that thread, you will find a reference to
TrashMe, which only runs on Snow Leopard. I haven't tested it, but some who have report that it's better than the three listed above.
One app that I would
not recommend, based on the number of complaints that have been posted in this forum and elsewhere, is CleanMyMac. As an example:
CleanMyMac cleaned too much
EasyFind is an alternative to Spotlight that makes locating files easier.
To manually remove an application and all associated files:
- Launch Finder and search for the app name (hopefully unique, such as Skype)
- You can narrow the search to specific folders or search your whole Mac
- Searching "File Name" vs "Contents" usually provides better results.
- Click the + button below the search term to add criteria
- Click the "Album" drop-down and select "System files"
- Click the "Don't include" and change to "include"
- Sort by name, kind, date, etc. to identify components of the app, such as folders, .plist files, cache files. etc.
- Delete all files and folders related to the app.
- Don't empty your Trash until you've determined that everything is working OK, in case you need to restore something you deleted by accident.
- A reboot might be necessary to completely remove some apps.
