How to uninstall JabRef on Mac
Save your JabRef bibliography and copy its linked PDFs before uninstalling. The official documentation explains that a library is a text file and associated documents can live separately. Keep copies outside any synchronized folder and confirm they open.
Quit and remove the app
After saving and checking the backup, quit JabRef with Cmd + Q and move the Mac app from Applications to the Trash. Leave independently saved work and other applications in place.
Review local data
~/Library/Application Support/jabrefwas observed locally; copy needed settings or data before removing it.- The current cask also lists
~/Library/Logs/jabref,~/Library/Preferences/org.jabref.cli.plistand~/Library/Saved Application State/org.jabref.cli.savedState. ~/.jabrefwas not created in this test. Keep bibliography and attachment locations chosen in your library; do not delete macOS receipt databases by hand.
After confirming your bibliography, PDF and settings backups and quitting, use Shift + Command + G in Finder to open the JabRef support folder above, ~/Library/Logs/jabref, ~/Library/Preferences/org.jabref.cli.plist and ~/Library/Saved Application State/org.jabref.cli.savedState when present. Move only the JabRef item you chose to discard to the Trash; keep bibliography files, linked PDFs, independent Java installations and system receipt databases.
Check the result
pgrep -ifl JabRef
ls -ld /Applications/JabRef.app "$HOME/Library/Application Support/jabref"
No process output means this name was not found, not that every helper has gone. Check any match against the app’s actual executable path. A missing-path error from ls means only that location is absent; permission errors leave its state unknown. A surviving folder can be intentional data to keep.
If you installed it with Homebrew
The cask has no separate uninstall helper. Zap includes the support directory, logs, preferences, saved state and JabRef receipt files under /var/db/receipts. Those system receipt targets are outside Mole’s reviewed user-Library zap boundary. A direct zap does not consult Mole’s selection.
To uninstall without zap, use:
brew uninstall --cask jabref
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. A direct brew uninstall --cask --zap jabref runs Homebrew’s full zap list without consulting Mole’s checkboxes.
What Mole lists
Mole selects the app by default. ~/Library/Application Support/jabref is listed unchecked. The tested package has a short bundle identifier, so Remove data and settings with apps cannot preselect its review data through the normal app-identity check; inspect and select wanted removals individually. Bibliographies and linked PDFs are not blanket targets.
What this test covered
On September 21, 2026, the official arm64 JabRef 5.15 app was opened and removed. The app and a 106 KB display-name support folder were removed. No populated bibliography, attachment recovery, separately installed Java runtime or Homebrew installation was tested.