How to uninstall darktable on Mac

Keep the photo library and editing setup before removing darktable. The official configuration guide identifies ~/.config/darktable as the default Mac settings location, including library.db, data.db, presets and styles. This is not a disposable thumbnail cache.

Back up photos and editing data

Save wanted edits, finish exports and quit darktable with Cmd + Q. Back up the active configuration directory and your original photographs with wanted sidecars. A custom configuration path overrides the default. Then move darktable.app from Applications to the Trash.

The official guide distinguishes the default cache at ~/.cache/darktable from configuration. The local test also found ~/.local/share/darktable; keep that directory until you have checked its contents and made the intended backup. Do not remove shared .config, .cache or .local parents.

Once the backup is confirmed and darktable has quit, press Shift + Command + G in Finder to open ~/.config/darktable, ~/.cache/darktable and ~/.local/share/darktable when present. Use your actual configuration path if you changed it. Move only the darktable folders you chose to discard to the Trash; keep original photos, wanted sidecars and the shared parent directories.

Check the result

pgrep -ifl darktable
ls -ld /Applications/darktable.app "$HOME/.config/darktable" "$HOME/.cache/darktable" "$HOME/.local/share/darktable"

Inspect matching process paths. Missing locations are absent paths; permission errors leave their state unknown. A retained configuration or photo library is intentional, and a successful app removal does not prove your edits can be restored.

If you installed it with Homebrew

brew uninstall --cask darktable

The cask defines its managed removal. The Mac cask is currently disabled for failing its Gatekeeper check; this command is for an existing Homebrew installation, not a new-install recommendation. Its zap list names all three darktable directories above and ~/Library/Saved Application State/org.darktable.savedState. Resetting the configuration directory deletes database and settings data.

A direct brew uninstall --cask --zap darktable runs its whole zap list regardless of Mole's checkboxes. Mole checks Homebrew's full removal list and skips --zap when it reaches unchecked data, shared files or anything it cannot verify. It still removes the leftovers you selected.

What Mole lists

Mole selects the app and exact bundle-owned cache and preferences when present. The three recognized darktable directories are review rows, unchecked when Remove data and settings with apps in General > Cleaning is off. Turning it on can preselect these eligible app-data rows; shared locations still need individual review. Leave the configuration and data rows unchecked if you want to retain editing state. Original photos are separate from these app-specific directories.

What this test covered

On September 21, 2026, darktable 5.6.1 from the official disk image was copied to Applications, launched and removed. The app and temporary cache were removed; the three dot-directories were found but missing from that run's review list. Their current listing rules were checked in source for this guide, not established by a new physical uninstall. Photo-library use, editing-state recovery and Homebrew installation were not verified.