How to uninstall Buzz on Mac

Buzz is Block's open-source workspace where people and AI agents share channels, from the block/buzz project. On first launch the desktop app creates ~/.buzz, a persistent workspace whose own AGENTS.md says the desktop app made it. It held 292 MB on the test Mac, mostly models, plus folders for guides, plans, research, work logs, an outbox, source checkouts in REPOS and per-agent settings. That is the folder to look through before you remove anything: copy out notes and any checkout with work you have not pushed. Buzz also links its bundled CLI into ~/.local/bin. Messages live on the relay the app connects to, not on this Mac, so removing the app does not delete them. This guide covers the Apple silicon download and the Homebrew cask block-buzz.

Quit and remove the app

1. Look through ~/.buzz and copy anything you want to keep, especially the REPOS, WORK_LOGS, PLANS, RESEARCH and GUIDES folders.
2. Quit Buzz from its menu or press Command + Q. In the test it ran 9 processes, which Mole's Status page groups into one Buzz row.
3. Open Finder, go to Applications and drag Buzz to the Trash.

The app registered no login item or launch agent in the test.

Where the data lives

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder to open each path. Skip any path that is not on your Mac.

Temporary caches for xyz.block.buzz.app and the system web view processes that carry it in their names sit in your per-user cache and temporary folders (getconf DARWIN_USER_CACHE_DIR prints the first), and Mole removes them with the app.

Check the result

pgrep -il buzz
ls -ld "$HOME/.buzz" "$HOME/.local/bin/buzz" "$HOME/Library/Application Support/xyz.block.buzz.app"

• No output from pgrep means no Buzz process is running. A printed line may also be an unrelated process with buzz in its name, so read it before you quit it.
• A path printed by ls still exists. A surviving ~/.buzz is expected if you kept the workspace. No such file or directory means the path is gone.

If you installed it with Homebrew

brew uninstall --cask block-buzz

The cask asks xyz.block.buzz.app to quit and removes the app. Its zap list trashes ~/.local/bin/buzz, ~/Library/Application Support/xyz.block.buzz.app, the cache and ~/Library/WebKit/xyz.block.buzz.app, and removes ~/.buzz only if it is empty, which it is not after a first launch. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap block-buzz therefore leaves your workspace in place and does not read Mole's checkboxes. Mole adds --zap only when every zap path is inside ~/Library; ~/.local/bin/buzz is not, so Mole never runs this cask's zap and removes the rows you selected itself.

What Mole lists

Mole selects the app, ~/Library/Application Support/xyz.block.buzz.app, ~/Library/Caches/xyz.block.buzz.app, ~/Library/WebKit/xyz.block.buzz.app and the temporary caches. It lists ~/.buzz and ~/.local/bin/buzz for review without selecting them.

These defaults assume “Remove data and settings with apps” in General › Cleaning is off. Turning it on still leaves ~/.buzz unticked, because it can hold your repositories and agent work.

What this test covered

On October 20, 2026, the test downloaded Buzz 0.5.28 for Apple silicon from the address the Homebrew cask uses, copied it to Applications without running brew install, opened it past the Gatekeeper prompt without signing in to a relay, and removed it with a source-built Mole with the review rows ticked. Mole moved nine rows and the app to the Trash, ~/.local/bin/buzz included. Only ~/.buzz was left; Mole now lists it, and a build with that rule was checked by putting the app back from the Trash: it listed ~/.buzz and moved it. Status showed one Buzz row with 9 processes. Mole found no update feed for the app, and no update was run. A relay, channels, agent work in ~/.buzz, a Homebrew-managed uninstall and Mole's notarized release build were not tested.