How to uninstall Jan on Mac

Back up Jan's active data folder before removing the app. The official data-folder guide identifies the default Mac location as ~/Library/Application Support/Jan/data, containing conversations, models and other app data. A custom location overrides this default; check Settings > General > Jan Data Folder.

Keep data, then quit

Stop inference and any local API activity, copy wanted data to a backup location and verify the copy, then quit Jan with Cmd + Q. Follow the official Mac removal flow by moving Jan.app from Applications to the Trash.

To remove conversations and models too, use Shift + Command + G in Finder to open the active data folder you recorded, normally ~/Library/Application Support/Jan/data. Press Command + Up to open its parent, select that data folder and move it to the Trash after checking your backup. Use your recorded custom path if you changed it; keep this folder if you want its data for a reinstall. Do not remove the parent Application Support folder or independently saved models used by other tools.

Keep independently saved models and any custom data location as separate decisions. Removing the app does not establish that all downloaded models or conversations are gone.

Check the result

pgrep -ifl Jan
ls -ld /Applications/Jan.app "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Jan" "$HOME/Library/Application Support/jan.ai.app"

Check the executable path of a match: a three-letter process name alone is weak evidence. Missing-path errors mean only those locations are absent, permission errors leave them unverified. Check the custom data location separately if you set one.

If you installed it with Homebrew

brew uninstall --cask jan

The cask defines its managed removal. The zap list names ~/Library/Application Support/Jan, ~/Library/Preferences/jan.ai.app.plist and ~/Library/Saved Application State/jan.ai.app.savedState. Removing the whole support directory can delete the default data folder, including conversations and models; it does not name a custom data location.

A direct brew uninstall --cask --zap jan runs its whole zap list regardless of Mole's checkboxes. Mole skips zap if it reaches unchecked or shared data, or cannot verify the full list, and still removes the leftovers you selected.

What Mole lists

Mole selects the app and its bundle-named support folder, cache and preferences when present. The ~/Library/Application Support/Jan folder is listed for review and is normally unselected. The default-off Remove data and settings with apps option in General > Cleaning can also select this app-data folder, which includes the default conversations and models. Back it up before selecting it, or leave it unchecked to keep that data; check any custom data location separately.

What this test covered

Jan 0.8.4 from the official Mac package was launched and removed on September 21, 2026. The selected Jan support directory, a small bundle-owned support directory and cache data were removed. Some temporary WebKit locations were refused by macOS permissions. No ~/.jan data was created; downloaded-model use, conversation recovery and Homebrew installation were not verified.