How to uninstall AlDente on Mac

AlDente limits how far your MacBook charges through a privileged helper it installs in /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools, outside your user folder. Before removing it, set the charge limit back to 100% so charging is not left capped, and use AlDente's own removal flow so the helper goes with the app. These steps cover the DMG from apphousekitchen.com and the Homebrew cask aldente.

Reset the charge limit, then remove AlDente

AlDente's FAQ says to set the charging limit back to 100%, wait 30 seconds for the change to take effect, quit the app, and delete it from Applications. For a full removal, AlDente's uninstall guide uses the app's built-in flow instead:

  1. Set the Charge Limiter to 100% and turn off AlDente's other settings.
  2. Click the menu bar icon, then the dashboard icon in the upper right.
  3. Click Settings in the lower left, then Remove AlDente.
  4. Check all boxes and click Delete Permanently. This cannot be undone.
  5. Enter your macOS password when the system asks to remove the helper.
  6. Restart your Mac, which AlDente's guide says resets the SMC (System Management Controller).

If you only move AlDente.app to the Trash, the helper at /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro.helper stays, because a Trash move does not reach files owned by root.

Where AlDente keeps its data

In Finder, press Shift + Command + G and open each location that exists.

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Preferences/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro.plist App preferences Back it up if you want your settings after a reinstall
~/Library/Application Support/AlDente A folder named after the app (4 KB in the test) Look inside before removing
~/Library/Caches/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro and ~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro Cache and network storage Safe to remove
~/Library/Preferences/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro_backup.plist and ~/Library/Preferences/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro_stats.sqlite3 A preferences backup and a statistics file, named in Homebrew's zap list Keep them if you want that history after a reinstall
/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro.helper The privileged helper Remove through AlDente's flow, Homebrew or Mole as described on this page, not by hand while it may still be loaded

Check the result

Run these read-only commands in Terminal:

pgrep -il aldente
sudo launchctl list | grep -i aldente
ls -l /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro.helper

sudo asks for your password and the command only reads the list of system jobs. No output from pgrep means AlDente is not running. No output from launchctl list means no AlDente job is loaded; a line naming com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro.helper means the helper is still loaded, so run AlDente's removal flow or one of the methods below. For ls -l, "No such file or directory" means the helper is gone; a listed file means it is still installed.

If you installed it with Homebrew

The aldente cask's own uninstall step, which runs with or without --zap, quits AlDente, unloads the helper's launchd job, deletes /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro.helper and removes the AlDente login item:

brew uninstall --cask aldente

Adding --zap yourself also trashes the Application Support folder, the cache, both HTTPStorages entries, and the preferences, backup and statistics files, whatever you ticked in Mole.

When Mole removes a Homebrew-installed AlDente, that uninstall step always runs. Mole adds --zap only when nothing in the zap list is a row you left unticked, and ~/Library/Application Support/AlDente, the backup file and the statistics file are rows Mole lists unticked, so whenever one of them exists and stays unticked, Mole leaves --zap out. In the test the Application Support folder existed.

What Mole lists

For AlDente installed from the official DMG:

  • ~/Library/Preferences/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro.plist, and the Caches and HTTPStorages entries named after com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro, are listed and selected by default.
  • ~/Library/Application Support/AlDente is listed but not selected, since it is named after the app rather than its bundle id.
  • Mole can also list com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro_backup.plist and com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro_stats.sqlite3, taken from Homebrew's zap list for this app, but does not select them.
  • /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.apphousekitchen.aldente-pro.helper is listed as a review row, not selected. If you tick it while uninstalling the app, Mole asks for your administrator password and its helper moves the file to the Trash after AlDente.app is gone. If Mole also lists a matching launch daemon entry under /Library/LaunchDaemons, tick that as well, because Mole will not move a helper that a remaining launch daemon still points to.
  • AlDente's login helper, which ships inside the app, shows in Mole's startup list for confirmation only.

What this test covered

AlDente was copied from its official DMG, with no Homebrew receipt, and uninstalled on September 19, 2026 with Mole 1.15 Preview (build 277), in a batch of ten menu bar apps. The app and its default-selected rows went to the Trash, and the 4 KB Application Support/AlDente folder was listed but left unticked. Its login helper showed as embedded and confirmation-only and left the startup list after the uninstall. The record does not show whether AlDente's privileged helper had been installed, and that build could not move files from /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools. AlDente's own removal flow, the charge-limit reset and the Homebrew cask were not tested.