How to uninstall Insomnia on Mac

Where your Insomnia projects live decides what removing the app can lose. Kong's storage guide describes three kinds: Local Vault projects stay entirely on this Mac, Git Sync projects live in your own repository, and Cloud Sync projects are stored in Kong's cloud. Local Vault data exists only in the app's data folder, so export it before you remove anything. This guide covers Insomnia from Kong's disk image and the Homebrew cask insomnia.

Export local projects first

In Insomnia, open Preferences › Data and click Export all data, as described in Kong's import and export reference. Save the file outside Insomnia's folders and check that it opens. Git Sync projects are already in your repository; push any unpushed changes. Cloud Sync projects stay in your Kong account after the app is gone.

Quit Insomnia and remove the app

  1. Quit Insomnia from the Insomnia menu.
  2. Search Activity Monitor for Insomnia and check that its processes have exited.
  3. Move Insomnia from Finder's Applications folder to the Trash.

Removing the app does not cancel an Insomnia subscription or delete your Kong account. Manage both from your account on the web.

Where Insomnia keeps its data

Kong documents the macOS data folder as ~/Library/Application Support/Insomnia, with files named insomnia.<resource>.db. Help › Show App Data Folder opens it. Kong also notes that project data sits unencrypted on disk.

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Application Support/Insomnia Every local project, request, environment and history in insomnia.*.db files Keep it until your export opens; remove it last, or keep it for a reinstall
~/Library/Caches/com.insomnia.app and ~/Library/Caches/com.insomnia.app.ShipIt Caches and the updater's download area Safe to remove after quitting
~/Library/Preferences/com.insomnia.app.plist App preferences Remove only for a clean start
~/Library/Saved Application State/com.insomnia.app.savedState Saved window state Safe to remove after quitting

Because the database files are unencrypted, move the data folder to the Trash and empty it once you are sure you no longer need it, rather than leaving it on a shared or handed-over Mac.

Check the result

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

pgrep -il insomnia
ls "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Insomnia"
  • No output from pgrep means no Insomnia process is running. A listed process means the app is still open; quit it before touching its data.
  • ls listing insomnia.*.db files means your local data is still there, which is expected if you kept it. "No such file or directory" means the folder is gone. A permission error is a different result; investigate it before assuming anything.

If you installed it with Homebrew

The insomnia cask's zap list includes ~/Library/Application Support/Insomnia, the com.insomnia.app caches and ShipIt caches, cookies, the ShipIt ByHost preferences, both preferences files and the saved window state. brew uninstall --cask --zap insomnia moves all of them to the Trash, local projects included.

To keep your local data, remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask insomnia

Mole adds --zap only when every path on the zap list sits inside ~/Library, none of them touches a row you left unchecked, and no other installed app claims them. ~/Library/Application Support/Insomnia is listed but unselected by default, so Mole leaves --zap out unless you tick that row yourself. A brew command you type yourself never consults Mole's checkboxes.

What Mole lists

For Insomnia from Kong's disk image:

  • ~/Library/Application Support/Insomnia is listed but not selected. The Chromium cache folders inside it, such as Cache, Code Cache and GPUCache, are separate rows selected by default; the insomnia.*.db files stay with the unselected folder row.
  • Caches, preferences, cookies and saved window state filed under com.insomnia.app, and the ShipIt updater caches, are selected by default.

What this test covered

On September 19, 2026, Insomnia was copied from Kong's disk image into Applications, opened, and uninstalled with a Preview build of Mole 1.15. There was no Homebrew receipt. ~/Library/Application Support/Insomnia, about 2.4 MB, was listed, left unselected and stayed on disk. No account sign-in, Cloud Sync, Git Sync or Homebrew install was tested.