How to uninstall ImageOptim on Mac
Keep the images you want before uninstalling ImageOptim. The app optimizes files in their original location, and its official help says the previous versions go to Trash. Removing ImageOptim does not undo those changes, so check your pictures and recover any originals you need before emptying Trash. This guide covers the direct Mac download and the Homebrew cask imageoptim.
Finish optimization and quit
Wait for the current image queue to finish, then quit ImageOptim with Command + Q. Move ImageOptim.app from Applications to Trash. If macOS reports that it is in use, check ImageOptim in Activity Monitor and quit it before continuing.
An ImageOptim Finder extension is separate from the main window. If it remains enabled, check System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and turn off that extension there. Do not remove all of ~/Library/Containers to get rid of one extension.
Review its own cache and preferences
In Finder, press Shift + Command + G and inspect the following paths individually. These locations come from the Homebrew cask, rather than a vendor uninstall procedure. A missing path can simply mean that your copy did not create it.
| Location | What to keep or remove |
|---|---|
| ~/Library/Caches/ImageOptimResults.db | An ImageOptim cache entry. Inspect it after quitting; remove it only if you no longer need its state. |
| ~/Library/Caches/net.pornel.ImageOptim | The app's own cache. It can be moved to Trash after quitting. |
| ~/Library/Preferences/net.pornel.ImageOptim.plist | Preferences. Keep it for a reinstall, or remove it for a fresh start. |
| ~/Library/Saved Application State/net.pornel.ImageOptim.savedState | Saved application state. Remove it if you do not want the old window state restored. |
Leave your image folders in place. The recorded test also found a protected App Group and an extension container that macOS refused to remove; neither is a reason to delete the shared parent folders manually.
Check the result
pgrep -il ImageOptim
ls -d /Applications/ImageOptim.app "$HOME/Library/Caches/net.pornel.ImageOptim" "$HOME/Library/Preferences/net.pornel.ImageOptim.plist"
No output from pgrep means no matching process name is running. A listed process needs another look in Activity Monitor. Each path printed by ls still exists; “No such file or directory” means that path is absent, while a permission error leaves its state unknown. These checks do not inspect your images or prove that a Finder extension has been removed.
If you installed it with Homebrew
To uninstall without running the zap list:
brew uninstall --cask imageoptim
The cask's zap list contains the four locations above. A direct brew uninstall --cask --zap imageoptim also removes that local state and does not consult Mole's checkboxes. It does not list your picture folders.
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
ImageOptim's own bundle-identified cache, preferences, HTTP storage and saved state are selected by default when present. An extra path found only through the cask, such as ImageOptimResults.db, waits for review. These review rows are unselected with the Remove data and settings with apps setting off; enabling that option can preselect eligible app data, so inspect the actual checkboxes before removal.
App Group rows remain subject to individual ownership review rather than this data opt-in. Extension containers can still be refused by macOS. Mole's uninstall list does not include the images you optimized.
What this test covered
ImageOptim 1.9.3 from the official package was copied to Applications, opened and uninstalled on September 21, 2026, without a Homebrew receipt. The app, its own cache, HTTP storage and scripts went to Trash. The App Group was protected, and macOS refused removal of an extension container. The test does not establish complete extension removal or recovery of optimized images.