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Best Apple Silicon-native app uninstaller

A

Aggedor

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 10, 2020
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Brand new M1 MBA here, and I was wondering what people use as app uninstaller software? I used to use App Zapper on my 2013 MBP, but I don't know if there are any better options, preferably ones that are Apple Silicon native?
 
Aggedor said:
Brand new M1 MBA here, and I was wondering what people use as app uninstaller software? I used to use App Zapper on my 2013 MBP, but I don't know if there are any better options, preferably ones that are Apple Silicon native?
Click to expand...
For something like an app removal tool, I wouldn't worry about being native; it's not as if performance is critical. If you have a tool you like now, there's no reason to change.
 
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chabig said:

Uninstall apps on your Mac - Apple Support

Deleting or uninstalling an app removes it from your Mac and makes the storage space it was using available for other items. You can do this from Launchpad or the Finder.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know how to do that, but some apps leave a trail of caches, extensions, and other support files that simply deleting the app doesn't get rid of. Hence the desire for an uninstaller app that can find all the dependencies and delete those too.
 
chrfr said:
For something like an app removal tool, I wouldn't worry about being native; it's not as if performance is critical. If you have a tool you like now, there's no reason to change.
Click to expand...
Ah, good point!
 
Aggedor said:
Yeah, I know how to do that, but some apps leave a trail of caches, extensions, and other support files that simply deleting the app doesn't get rid of. Hence the desire for an uninstaller app that can find all the dependencies and delete those too.
Click to expand...
Very few. If the thought of leftover files bothers you, just search your home Library for the app name and manually delete them.
 
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chabig said:
Very few. If the thought of leftover files bothers you, just search your home Library for the app name and manually delete them.
Click to expand...
That is not going to get rid of everything. Mac OS needs a built-in uninstaller.
 
Aggedor said:
AppCleaner seems to be working well! One app I deleted had 17 dependencies! All tiny - 4k each - but, phew, that's a lot of litter!
Click to expand...
AppCleaner does not always work very well, find is more reliable, but you need to know what to search for.
Or better, just use both, first AppCleaner then find.
E.g. That Shopping List App, I've removed it with AppCleaner, as you see stuff was left on the disk:
Ignore the .Trash and Safari lines!

find ~/ -iname '*shop*'
/Users/username//Library/Safari/LocalStorage/https_webshop.pointblank.de_0.localstorage
/Users/username//Library/Safari/LocalStorage/https_webshop.pointblank.de_0.localstorage-wal
/Users/username//Library/Safari/LocalStorage/https_webshop.pointblank.de_0.localstorage-shm
/Users/username//Library/Containers/E4E69TTC-AA43-441D-9CF5-9B2CUU4EF6F5/Data/Library/Caches/com.apple.dyld/That Shopping List.closure
/Users/username//Library/Containers/E4E69TTC-AA43-441D-9CF5-9B2CUU4EF6F5/Data/Documents/shoppinglist.json
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/SC_Info/That Shopping List.supf
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/SC_Info/That Shopping List.supp
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/SC_Info/That Shopping List.sinf
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/SC_Info/That Shopping List.supx
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/That Shopping List
 
Last edited:
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Wildkraut said:
AppCleaner does not always work very well, find is more reliable, but you need to know what to search for.
Or better, just use both, first AppCleaner then find.
E.g. That Shopping List App, I've removed it with AppCleaner, as you see stuff was left on the disk:
Ignore the .Trash and Safari lines!

find ~/ -iname '*shop*'
/Users/username//Library/Safari/LocalStorage/https_webshop.pointblank.de_0.localstorage
/Users/username//Library/Safari/LocalStorage/https_webshop.pointblank.de_0.localstorage-wal
/Users/username//Library/Safari/LocalStorage/https_webshop.pointblank.de_0.localstorage-shm
/Users/username//Library/Containers/E4E69TTC-AA43-441D-9CF5-9B2CUU4EF6F5/Data/Library/Caches/com.apple.dyld/That Shopping List.closure
/Users/username//Library/Containers/E4E69TTC-AA43-441D-9CF5-9B2CUU4EF6F5/Data/Documents/shoppinglist.json
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/SC_Info/That Shopping List.supf
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/SC_Info/That Shopping List.supp
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/SC_Info/That Shopping List.sinf
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/SC_Info/That Shopping List.supx
/Users/username//.Trash/That Shopping List.app/Wrapper/That Shopping List.app/That Shopping List
Click to expand...
Great tip, thanks!
 
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