How to uninstall CleanShot X on Mac

Screenshots and recordings you already saved are ordinary files in the folder you picked in CleanShot X, and removing the app leaves them there. Before you start, export anything from CleanShot's Capture History that you still want, since the history can hold up to a month of recent captures, and remember that uploads to CleanShot Cloud belong to your Cloud account, not to this Mac. This guide covers CleanShot X downloaded from cleanshot.com and the Homebrew cask cleanshot; the Setapp version was not tested.

License and Cloud uploads

A CleanShot license covers a set number of Macs. You do not need to deactivate anything before uninstalling: activating CleanShot on a new Mac with your license key deactivates the old one, and the License Manager lets you see and manage the Macs using your seats. Removing the app does not delete anything you uploaded to CleanShot Cloud, and Cloud is optional for everything else the app does. CleanShot X FAQ

Quit and remove the app

  1. Quit CleanShot X from its menu bar icon. In the recorded test it ran as seven processes.
  2. Search Activity Monitor for CleanShot and check that they have exited.
  3. Move CleanShot X from Applications to the Trash.
  4. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions. CleanShot X registers a login item, pl.maketheweb.cleanshotx; in the recorded test it was still listed after the app was in the Trash. Turn it off there.

Where CleanShot X keeps its data

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each location, skipping any that is missing. CleanShot does not document these folders, so the list follows Homebrew's zap list and what the test observed.

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Application Support/CleanShot CleanShot's own data folder Look inside before removing it, and keep it if you may reinstall
~/Library/Caches/pl.maketheweb.cleanshotx Cache Safe to remove after quitting
~/Library/Caches/SentryCrash/CleanShot X Crash reports Safe to remove; leave the SentryCrash parent, which other apps also use
~/Library/Preferences/pl.maketheweb.cleanshotx.plist and ~/Library/Preferences/com.getcleanshot.app.plist Preferences Remove them only for a clean start
Your save folder, set in CleanShot's settings The screenshots and recordings you kept Leave it; these are your files

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the app is in the Trash:

pgrep -lf "CleanShot X.app"
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Application Support/CleanShot" ~/Library/Preferences/pl.maketheweb.cleanshotx.plist
  • No output from pgrep means CleanShot X is not running. A listed process means it or one of its helpers is still open.
  • ls -d prints each item that still exists. A surviving support folder or preferences file is expected if you kept them for a reinstall. "No such file or directory" means that item is gone.

If you installed it with Homebrew

Mole skips --zap when the zap list reaches data you left unchecked, a path another installed app uses, or anything Mole cannot check, and it still cleans the leftovers you selected.

The cleanshot cask's zap list includes ~/Library/Application Support/CleanShot, the cache, the SentryCrash reports and both preferences files. brew uninstall --cask --zap cleanshot moves them to the Trash. It does not touch your save folder or CleanShot Cloud. To keep your preferences and CleanShot's data folder, remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask cleanshot

Homebrew's cleanshot cask

What Mole lists

For CleanShot X downloaded from cleanshot.com:

  • The cache and preferences filed under pl.maketheweb.cleanshotx, and Caches/SentryCrash/CleanShot X, are selected by default.
  • ~/Library/Application Support/CleanShot is not selected by default.
  • CleanShot's extension container is listed too.
  • Mole does not search custom screenshot folders or delete files from CleanShot Cloud. Login items are not edited.

Mole's Clean tab can also offer ~/Library/Caches/pl.maketheweb.cleanshotx as an app cache while CleanShot X stays installed.

What this test covered

On September 19, 2026, CleanShot X 5.0 was copied from the official download into Applications, without Homebrew, and uninstalled with Mole 1.15 Preview build 277 using the default selection. Mole's update check recognized its Sparkle feed, and Status showed it as one row with seven processes. The app and its selected leftovers went to the Trash; three empty WebKit temporary caches could not be moved for lack of permission, and the extension container, listed but not selected, stayed. The pl.maketheweb.cleanshotx login item was still listed afterwards, pointing at the app in the Trash. No captures, Capture History or Cloud account were part of the test, and the Homebrew cask was not tested.