How to uninstall DeepL on Mac

DeepL for Mac keeps almost nothing locally: in the recorded test its own support folder was 33 KB. Your account, any DeepL Pro subscription and anything saved to your account stay with DeepL, and removing the app does not cancel or delete them. What does need attention is the launcher DeepL registers as a login item and a small shared folder that stays behind. This guide covers the app downloaded from deepl.com and the Homebrew cask deepl.

Quit and remove the app

  1. Quit DeepL from its menu bar icon. The app runs alongside two helpers, com.linguee.DeepLLauncher and com.linguee.DeepLStatusBar, which Homebrew's cask also quits before removing it.
  2. Search Activity Monitor for DeepL and check that nothing is left running.
  3. Move DeepL from Applications to the Trash. DeepL's own instructions for the Mac say only that you can delete it from Launchpad or the Finder. DeepL: troubleshooting desktop apps
  4. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions. In the recorded test the com.linguee.DeepLLauncher login item was still listed after the app was in the Trash. Turn it off.

Where DeepL keeps its data

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each location, skipping any that is missing. DeepL does not document these paths; they come from Homebrew's zap list and the recorded test.

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Application Support/DeepL The app's own support folder, 33 KB in the test Remove with the app
~/Library/Caches/com.linguee.DeepLCopyTranslator Cache Safe to remove
~/Library/Preferences/com.linguee.DeepLCopyTranslator.plist Preferences Remove it only for a clean start
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.linguee.DeepL DeepL's app group folder, 8 KB in the test Remove once DeepL is gone and you do not plan to reinstall
The Finder extension's container in ~/Library/Containers DeepL's Finder extension Remove with the app if macOS allows it

Check the result

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

pgrep -il deepl
ls -d ~/Library/Group\ Containers/group.com.linguee.DeepL "$HOME/Library/Application Support/DeepL"
  • No output from pgrep means neither DeepL nor its launcher is running. A listed process means one of them is still open.
  • ls -d prints each folder that still exists. A surviving group folder is expected after a Mole uninstall, see below. "No such file or directory" means that folder 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 deepl cask quits DeepL and both helpers, and its zap list covers the caches under com.linguee.DeepLCopyTranslator, the preferences file and any ~/Library/Group Containers/*.com.linguee.DeepL folder, which includes group.com.linguee.DeepL. It does not name ~/Library/Application Support/DeepL. brew uninstall --cask --zap deepl moves the listed items to the Trash; to remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask deepl

Homebrew's deepl cask

What Mole lists

For DeepL downloaded from deepl.com:

  • ~/Library/Application Support/DeepL is listed but not selected.
  • The cache and preferences filed under com.linguee.DeepLCopyTranslator are selected by default.
  • The Finder extension's container and Application Scripts folder are selected by default, since the extension ships inside DeepL.app.
  • ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.linguee.DeepL is kept: its name is not DeepL's own group.<bundle ID> form, so Mole leaves it alone. Remove it in Finder once DeepL is gone.
  • Login items are not edited; turn off the launcher in System Settings.

What this test covered

On September 20, 2026, DeepL 26.6 was copied from the official download into Applications, without Homebrew, and uninstalled with Mole 1.15 Preview build 280, with every listed item ticked for the test. The app and the 33 KB support folder went to the Trash. The 8 KB group folder stayed, the Finder extension's 4 KB container could not be moved for lack of permission, and the com.linguee.DeepLLauncher login item was still listed afterwards, pointing at the app in the Trash. No DeepL account was signed in, and the Homebrew cask was not tested.

On September 26, 2026, DeepL was installed again from the official download, opened once, and uninstalled with a development build of Mole with every listed row ticked. Status showed one DeepL row of two processes at about 58 MB. Ten items went to the Trash, including the Finder extension's container; the group.com.linguee.DeepL group container and its Application Scripts folder stayed, as described above, and the com.linguee.DeepLLauncher login item was gone afterwards.