Uninstall Apps on macOS Using AppCleaner

John John (304)
5 minutes

Uninstalling unused applications is good practice for a number of reasons. First, it allows you to free up valuable space on your hard drive. Second, many applications run background processes that you may not even be aware of, claiming valuable CPU cycles.

Removing specific applications like TotalFinder are sometimes tedious and not straightforward. That said, there are some universal methods for software uninstallation that almost always work.

Fortunately, some applications are easy to uninstall—especially those that ship with an uninstaller. For apps that don't, you can try to safely delete the app using AppCleaner.

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h/mac128 guides
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You can find AppCleaner and download instructions here.

Use AppCleaner to safely delete apps from macOS.

Once AppCleaner is installed you can open in Finder or type cmd + space bar to open Spotlight then search for AppCleaner.

AppCleaner removes multiple files associated with an app.

One way to do this is to open Finder then go to Applications. With both Finder and AppCleaner visible on your screen, just drag the app icon from Finder into AppCleaner.

Clicking "Remove" will prompt you for your password. After you enter your password, AppCleaner will delete the application files so be sure you are ready for it.

John John (304)
10 minutes

Virtual environments are valuable, especially for development, because they allow you to keep your Python environment isolated from other applications and the rest of the system.