How to uninstall Contour on Mac

Finish shell jobs and copy wanted Contour configuration before closing the terminal. This guide covers the downloaded Mac app, with Homebrew handled separately below.

Quit and remove the app

Keep shell startup files and tools installed from the terminal. Review the configuration folder separately from the app and cache.

Stop jobs in the shell before closing its windows. Closing a terminal window does not prove independently started background services have stopped.

Quit Contour using its own quit action. In System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions, turn off any Contour login entry if present. After backing up, move /Applications/contour.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 contour

This removes the cask-managed app, its contour command, terminal database entry and shell completions without running the 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 contour

The live zap targets are ~/.config/contour, ~/Library/Caches/contour.

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/contour.app'
pgrep -ifl '/Applications/contour[.]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/Caches/contour is selected by default.
• ~/.config/contour is listed for review and not 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.

An empty shell was opened without entering commands. The official app and reviewed caches were removed; the configuration folder was not checked in that test and was retained.