How to uninstall Linear on Mac
Linear stores your issues, projects and comments on its own servers, so removing the desktop app never deletes your workspace data. What stays local is a small settings and cache footprint, plus the auto-updater's staging cache. This guide covers the official .dmg download from linear.app and the Homebrew cask linear.
Quit and remove the app
Quit Linear from its Dock icon or menu bar, then open Applications in Finder and move Linear.app to the Trash.
Where Linear keeps its data
In Finder, press Shift + Command + G and open each location that exists.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/Linear |
The app's local Electron data | Listed but not selected by default; keep it if you plan to reinstall |
~/Library/Caches/com.linear |
General app cache | Selected by default, removed with the app |
~/Library/Caches/com.linear.ShipIt |
Auto-updater staging cache | Selected by default, removed with the app |
~/Library/Preferences/com.linear.plist |
App preferences | Selected by default, removed with the app |
~/Library/Saved Application State/com.linear.savedState |
Saved window state | Selected by default, removed with the app |
Check the result
pgrep -il linear
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/Linear ~/Library/Caches/com.linear
No output from pgrep means Linear is not running. For ls, "No such file or directory" means that path is gone; a printed ~/Library/Application Support/Linear is expected if you kept it, since it is not removed by default.
If you installed it with Homebrew
Mole skips --zap when its list reaches unchecked or shared data, and still cleans the leftovers you selected.
The linear cask's zap list covers ~/Library/Application Support/Linear, ~/Library/Caches/com.linear, ~/Library/Caches/com.linear.ShipIt, ~/Library/Preferences/com.linear.plist and ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.linear.savedState. Because the Application Support folder is listed but not selected by default, Mole leaves --zap out of its own removal unless you tick that row first.
Running brew uninstall --cask --zap linear yourself moves all five paths to the Trash, whatever you had ticked in Mole. To keep the settings folder, run instead:
brew uninstall --cask linear
Account and workspace
Removing the app does not sign you out of Linear or delete anything from your workspace. Your issues, projects and integrations stay on Linear's servers, reachable again from the web app or a fresh install.
What Mole lists
For a Linear app installed from the official download:
~/Library/Application Support/Linearis listed but not selected by default, the same as any Application Support folder named after an app's display name rather than its bundle id.~/Library/Caches/com.linear,~/Library/Caches/com.linear.ShipIt,~/Library/Preferences/com.linear.plistand~/Library/Saved Application State/com.linear.savedStateare selected by default because they are keyed to the app's bundle id.
For a Homebrew install, the zap list reaches the unselected Application Support folder, so Mole leaves --zap out and that row stays your choice.
What this test covered
Linear was installed from the official download and uninstalled on September 20, 2026, with Mole 1.15.0 (build 280) and Full Disk Access, as part of a ten-app batch. No account was signed in. In that run the reviewer selected every review row before removing, so the Application Support folder went to the Trash along with the bundle-id-keyed cache, preferences and saved window state; left unselected, it would have stayed on disk.