SpotlessRemove leftovers from deleted apps
Dragging an app to the Trash removes the app and leaves its settings, caches and helper files behind. Spotless finds those leftovers, shows the proof that the app is gone, and lets you select all of them and remove them in one go. Everything goes to the Trash first.
Where leftovers live
Apps store files in your Library folder: preferences, caches, saved state, containers, launch agents and support folders. A few apps also add helpers in the shared Library. The files are small one by one, and a few apps leave gigabytes of caches and downloaded data.
Find them in Spotless
- Open Installed and choose the banner about leftovers from deleted apps.
- Wait for the check of your Library. It takes a moment.
- Open a group to see its files. Each row has a chip that shows why Spotless thinks the app is gone, and the Details line lists the evidence.
Select and remove
Press Select all at the top to tick every leftover Spotless is confident about, or use the Select menu on a group to tick only its settings and caches. Then press Review… to see the exact list and sizes before anything moves.
Rows with a lock are not offered. Rows marked as possibly holding your own data, such as documents or databases, are listed with a warning, so read them before you remove them.
Items that need your password
A few leftovers sit in the shared Library and need an administrator password. Spotless marks them and removes them permanently, so they cannot be restored. Read that line in the bar before you confirm.
Keep one for good
If a group belongs to an app you plan to reinstall, choose Keep forever in its menu. Spotless stops listing it.
Put things back
Removals go to the Trash and show up under Recently Deleted. Open it and restore anything you need. If you reinstall the app later, it creates fresh settings and starts clean.
Do it by hand
The uninstall guide lists each Library folder and how to search it with Finder, in case you prefer to check by hand first.
Related
- Uninstall a Mac app and find what it left behind: Spotless shows an app and the files it left in your Library, with how sure it is about each one. Only the app is ticked, and shared data is locked.
- How a Spotless clean works: Scan, look, choose, review, Trash.
- Pricing: Every feature for $9, once.