How to uninstall Kate on Mac
Save all open files and preserve the Kate settings you want to reuse before removing the editor. This Mac guide does not remove your source repositories or every KDE application that shares the same vendor name.
Quit and remove the app
Quit Kate after saving, then move the Mac bundle kate.app from Applications to the Trash. If Homebrew supplied the kate command wrapper, use its cask uninstall route to remove that managed entry as well.
Review the local data
In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder and open each exact path below. Copy anything you need first, then move only the app-owned item you have decided to discard to the Trash. These locations come from the Homebrew removal list or the recorded local check; a missing location needs no cleanup.
| Location | What to keep or remove |
|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/kate |
Support data observed locally; preserve your useful editor setup. |
~/Library/Preferences/kate |
Locally observed Kate preferences folder; inspect before removing. |
~/Library/Preferences/katerc |
Explicitly identified Kate configuration; back up custom settings. |
~/Library/Preferences/katevirc |
Explicitly identified vi-mode configuration; retain if needed. |
~/Library/Preferences/kate-externaltoolspluginrc |
Locally observed external-tool settings; preserve command definitions you need. |
Check the result
These commands only list the app and the locations discussed above. The app filename comes from the cask; adjust it if your official-download bundle has a different name.
ls -ld "/Applications/kate.app"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Application Support/kate"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Preferences/kate"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Preferences/katerc"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Preferences/katevirc"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Preferences/kate-externaltoolspluginrc"
An entry printed by ls still exists at that path. No such file or directory means that exact item is absent; Permission denied or Operation not permitted means the check could not establish its state. A retained data folder is expected if you chose to keep it. This check does not search every disk or cloud account.
If you installed it with Homebrew
Uninstall without running zap:
brew uninstall --cask kate
This removes Homebrew's managed app artifacts without applying its zap list. Homebrew also removes its managed command links or wrapper; a separately installed command-line package is independent. A “not installed” error means Homebrew has no matching cask installation; use the Finder route for a manually copied app.
The live cask source names these additional zap targets:
~/Library/Application Support/kate~/Library/Caches/kate~/Library/Preferences/org.kde.kate.plist~/Library/Saved Application State/org.kde.kate.savedState
Some targets can hold settings or personal data. Keep the paths you still need and back them up before considering brew uninstall --cask --zap kate. That direct command applies the cask's entire zap list regardless of Mole's checkboxes. Mole uses zap only when its complete scope passes its selection and shared-data checks; unchecked, shared, out-of-boundary or unsupported targets suppress zap, while selected remnants use Mole's own removal path.
What Mole lists
Mole lists the display-name support folder for review and selects the exact display-name preferences folder by default. katerc and katevirc are explicit review rules as well. Matching app caches are selected by default; a KDE parent is not an app-specific cleanup target. These defaults describe the app-data option switched off. Opting into Remove data and settings with apps also selects eligible reviewed app data; shared stores and protected data retain their individual review or protection.
What this test covered
The official Apple-silicon Mac bundle was removed on 21 September 2026 along with the support and preference items selected in that run. No XDG store was created in the test. The record does not verify personal source-code recovery or every KDE component. Homebrew instructions were checked against the current cask, but this record does not establish a Homebrew-managed uninstall or removal of every possible leftover.