How to uninstall Clearance on Mac

Finish edits and open the saved Markdown files before removing Clearance. This guide covers the downloaded Mac app, with Homebrew handled separately below.

Quit and remove the app

Keep Markdown and text documents in their chosen locations. Clearance auto-saves edits, so checking the files matters more than copying a cache.

Quit Clearance using its own quit action. In System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions, turn off any Clearance login entry if present. After backing up, move /Applications/Clearance.app to Trash in Finder and leave Trash intact until the wanted data is confirmed saved.

Project documentation.

Review local data

Use Shift + Command + G in Finder to inspect each complete path. Copy wanted contents elsewhere before deciding to move that item to Trash. These locations come from the recorded test and the live Homebrew cask. Do not create a missing path. A * marks a matching range, not a literal filename; inspect the actual matches individually.

If you installed it with Homebrew

To uninstall without running zap:

brew uninstall --cask clearance

This removes the cask-managed app and its managed clearance command link, without running its zap data list.

The following direct command applies the cask’s entire zap list independently of Mole’s checkboxes. Use it only after backing up and approving every target.

brew uninstall --cask --zap clearance

The live zap targets are ~/Library/Caches/com.primeradiant.Clearance, ~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.primeradiant.Clearance, ~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.primeradiant.Clearance.binarycookies, ~/Library/Preferences/com.primeradiant.Clearance.plist, ~/Library/WebKit/com.primeradiant.Clearance.

Zap removes the listed targets, including any settings or user data inside them. Use the command without zap when retaining any target. Live cask.

Check the result

ls -ld '/Applications/Clearance.app'
pgrep -ifl '/Applications/Clearance[.]app/'

A listed app path means that bundle remains. “No such file or directory” means that exact path is absent; “Permission denied” leaves the check unconfirmed. This checks one location, not other copies, background services or user data.

A pgrep result means a running command line matches this app path. No output means no such match, not that independent helpers or other app copies are absent; an error leaves this step unconfirmed.

What Mole lists

• ~/Library/Preferences/com.primeradiant.Clearance.plist is selected by default.

These defaults assume “Remove data and settings with apps” is off, which is the default. Enabling it also selects eligible reviewed app data; shared and protected items retain their individual boundaries. Mole invokes Homebrew zap only when the whole zap scope passes its check. Unchecked, shared or out-of-boundary paths and unsupported directives suppress zap; selected remnants still use Mole’s own deletion flow.

What this test covered

Removal used a source-built Mole app. The recorded first-launch scan was partial and does not establish every file the app can create.

The official app process and Status row were observed, but no document window was acquired. The app and reviewed settings were removed; editing and auto-save recovery were not tested.