Uninstall Docker Desktop on Mac

Back up named volumes before you remove Docker Desktop. The longer article is Uninstall Docker Desktop on Mac without losing volumes.

Quit Docker Desktop and move it from Applications to the Trash only after that backup. The app’s own uninstaller is what removes the VM. This page records what Mole adds around that.

What Mole lists

Mole lists ~/Library/Application Support/Docker Desktop and does not preselect it. One settings file in that folder is enough for Mole to treat the directory as user data. Mole does not list ~/.docker or ~/.orbstack.

What this test covered

The recorded removal on September 18, 2026 used the official disk image and removed the app. It did not claim the command-line data in ~/.docker. Docker Desktop for Mac