App Cleaner & Uninstaller for Mac

Version 10.0 runs on any Mac with an Apple Silicon or Intel processor that meets the macOS 12 baseline. The application remains a dual-purpose tool: a complete uninstaller and a manager for what loads alongside the system.

Scrubbing library clutter: removing every trace of an app

• Removing every trace of an application, including its service files scattered in Library folders.
• Disabling or deleting extensions that no longer serve a purpose.
• Controlling which apps and helpers launch at startup, with a clear list and simple toggles.

Network tab arrives: uninstaller core stays the course

• The September 2026 release adds a network access tab and menu bar traffic controls; the uninstaller core behaves as before.
• Its updates database now covers Safari extensions and Homebrew command-line tools, broadening the scope beyond regular apps.

Expert mode: quieter scans with fewer false alarms

Out of the box, the application scans thoroughly but trusts you to decide what matters. A few adjustments early on make the experience quieter and more precise.

Open the preferences pane and look for the Expert mode toggle. With it off, the interface hides certain system-level service files from the results list — sensible for most days. Switch it on only when you need to chase down a stubborn leftover from a deeply embedded utility or a driver. The difference in visible items can be stark, and keeping it off by default prevents accidental deletions.

Next, visit the Skip List. This is where you teach the scanner to ignore folders or applications you never want touched. Add your active development directories, virtual machine bundles, or any folder where an app happens to store large user data you intend to keep. The scanner respects the list globally, across both the uninstaller and the leftover-finder modules.

In the startup section, disable the launch agents you recognise as non-essential rather than deleting them outright. Disabling keeps the entry visible and reversible; deletion removes the file entirely. For first-time cleanup, the softer approach saves regret.

Sorting by size: hunting the space hogs after a design sprint

She opens the application after noticing her free space has shrunk faster than expected over a fortnight of testing design tools. The main window lists every application on the disk with its size and last-used date. She sorts by size and spots a long-abandoned 3D renderer occupying nearly four gigabytes.

1. She selects the renderer in the sidebar. The right panel populates with the application itself and a tree of related files: preferences in ~/Library/Preferences, caches in ~/Library/Caches, a plug-in folder buried in Application Support, and two launch agents that kept checking for licence updates.
2. She scans the list once, untoggles a folder she recognises as containing exported project files stored alongside the app data, and clicks the Remove button.
3. A confirmation dialogue lists everything about to be deleted. She glances at the total size reclaimed — just under 3.9 GB — and confirms.
4. The items vanish from the list. She switches to the Leftovers tab to check whether any fragments of apps deleted months ago still linger. The scan finds a preferences file from a font manager she removed in the spring and a cache folder from a video converter. She selects both and removes them in a single action.
5. Before closing, she opens the Startup Programs section, notices a helper from the same renderer still listed as disabled, and deletes it properly now that the parent application is gone.

The whole sequence takes under four minutes, and the free-space counter in the Finder sidebar ticks upward as promised.

Leftovers scan first: learning what the scanner surfaces

Install the application, then use it lightly for a week before attempting a deep system sweep. Familiarity with what the scanner surfaces prevents alarm at the sight of legitimate support files.

Run the Leftovers scan on day one. It searches for orphaned files from applications deleted long before this tool was installed. The results often include innocuous items — old preference panes, a forgotten browser plug-in — but seeing them listed builds trust in the scanner's thoroughness.

When removing a large suite like an Adobe CC installation, use the application's batch mode. Select every component the suite installed — the main app, background updaters, sync helpers, font caches — and remove them together. Removing piecemeal leaves behind interlinked service files that the scanner may not flag as orphans until the next Leftovers pass.

Resist the urge to disable every startup item on the first pass. Some launch agents belong to hardware drivers or security tools that quietly keep the system stable. Disable one or two, restart, and observe the Mac for a day before disabling more.

If you use Homebrew, note that version 10.0 now includes command-line tools in its updates database. The application will not manage them the way it manages regular apps, but it will flag outdated formulae. Check that list weekly alongside your usual brew update routine.

Render engine graveyard: clearing plug‑in caches between projects

A motion designer works across After Effects, Cinema 4D, and a rotating cast of render engines and plug-in bundles. Every project brings a new trial or a specialist tool, and uninstalling them through Finder leaves behind licence files, plug-in caches, and background render helpers that accumulate quietly in the Library.

She has just wrapped a three-month project that required a specific GPU renderer and two particle plug-ins. The renderer installed a launch daemon, a menu bar helper, and a folder of shader presets. The plug-ins scattered their files across the Application Support folders of three host applications. Using the uninstaller, she selects the renderer by name: the scanner finds all five related components, including the daemon she would have missed. She removes them in one pass.

For the plug-ins, she switches to the Extensions section and filters by type. The two particle plug-ins appear under the host applications they modified. She can disable one and completely remove the other, depending on whether a future project might need it. The disabled one stays listed but inert; the removed one frees its disk space immediately.

Before archiving the project drive, she runs a Leftovers scan. It surfaces a preferences file from a utility she tested for two days in October and forgot about. The file is tiny, but its presence confirms that even a disciplined designer accumulates digital dust. She deletes it, checks the startup list one last time to verify no project-specific helpers remain active, and closes the application. Her Mac now reflects the toolset of the next project, not the last one.

Version 10.0 introduces a network access tab alongside a redesigned menu bar app that can control network traffic. The updates database has grown to include Safari extensions and Homebrew command-line tools, and a new incompatible applications filter helps identify software that may not suit the current macOS release.

• macOS 12 or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel processor