Only the first of these, the app itself, would have been removed if the app had simply been dragged to the Trash. Just look at the files it found (see the bigger picture below). Just click the one that you want to remove and it automatically finds and lists all the files associated with that app in a flyout panel at the side. Alternatively, you can click the Applications button in the toolbar in the top right corner and after a few seconds it displays a list of all the apps that are installed on the Mac. It is an essential utility I would not be without. Run AppCleaner and as it says in the window, just drag and drop apps on it. This app has been around for years and it stll works with the latest version of macOS. It then searches the disk for all the files that the app uses, and you can delete the lot, leaving a nice clean drive. Instead of dragging the app from Applications folder to the Trash icon in the Dock, you drag it to the AppCleaner window instead.
#App cleaner mac os free
This is a free utility and it is a great way to clean up the Mac's disk drive when removing an app you no longer want. You can uninstall apps manually by tracking down all the left-over files, but maybe I am just getting old, or maybe a tad lazy, but these days I just leave the job to AppCleaner. Over time left-over files accumulate with repeated installs and partial uninstalls, and problems may arise.
#App cleaner mac os install
Reinstalling an app will use the same files, so removing left-overs is important if you want a clean install of an app, such as to fix a problem. You would be amazed at all the files that are left behind when you drag a Mac app to the Trash in the Dock and you should never remove apps that way if you really want a clean uninstall. Only if there is no uninstaller utility or Uninstall menu option should you drag files to the Trash to remove them.
This may be provided as a separate app and the popular VirtualBox application comes with a VirtualBox_Unintall.tool which removes the app if you no longer need it.Īn app may have an Uninstall option on one of its menus or within its preferences. First look to see if an app has an uninstaller. It only works with some apps and you should not do this with all apps.
The common advice to drag apps to the Trash to remove them is not always true.
Take uninstalling apps for example, you drag them to the Trash, right? Wrong! That leaves junk on the disk. Verdict:Ĭompetent uninstall tool – finds plenty of leftovers, but not as comprehensive as similar, commercial alternatives.MacOS looks simple compared to Windows. In terms of results, the program wasn't as thorough as AppDelete, a commercial program, but it found plenty of additional files that make it a preferable choice to simply relying on deleting the application folder manually. You can also switch off protection for default and currently running apps too from here. Open the Preferences menu and you'll see a SmartDelete option – switch this on, and the program will leap into action whenever you drag an application folder to the trash, saving you the bother of launching it first. Once done, click Delete and the selected files are dumped in the trash. By default all items are selected – either untick individual entries or use the Options menu to deselect specific types. It's as simple to use as already described – either drop the app on to the icon, or choose Applications, Widgets or Others to select specific items from a list (allowing you to delete multiple items at once). Hey presto, said program quickly searches common folders on your hard drive to list most (if not all) additional files associated with that program, enabling you to delete the lot with one click.ĪppCleaner is one such tool – its biggest selling point over similar products is that it's freeware, so you can now keep your hard drive that bit cleaner without having to pay a penny for the privilege. Trouble is, very few apps limit themselves to installing everything into a single folder, and these days, such an approach basically leaves files and folders scattered all over your hard drive.Īn emerging subset of utilities is the application cleaner tool: instead of dragging the application folder to the trash, you launch this tool first, then drag the program folder on to its window instead. Want to remove an application from your Mac? No problem: the conventional wisdom is to simply open the Application folder and drag the program folder to the trash: job done.