How to uninstall Mendeley Reference Manager on Mac

Export your references and separately copy the PDFs and annotations you need before removing Mendeley Reference Manager. The official export includes reference metadata rather than the PDF files themselves, so an exported bibliography is not a full library backup.

Quit and remove the app

Select the wanted references and choose Export in the action panel, following the official export instructions. Check the saved export and PDF copies, quit Reference Manager, then move Mendeley Reference Manager.app to the Trash. Do not confuse this app with the older Mendeley Desktop.

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.

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/Mendeley Reference Manager.app"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Mendeley Reference Manager"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Logs/Mendeley Reference Manager"

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 mendeley-reference-manager

This removes Homebrew's managed app artifacts without applying its zap list. 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/com.apple.sharedfilelist/com.apple.LSSharedFileList.ApplicationRecentDocuments/com.elsevier.mendeley.sfl*
• ~/Library/Application Support/Mendeley Reference Manager
• ~/Library/Logs/Mendeley Reference Manager
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.elsevier.mendeley.plist
• ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.elsevier.mendeley.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 mendeley-reference-manager. 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.

Remove Mendeley Cite separately

For the Word add-in, open Insert › My Add-ins, select Mendeley Cite, open its three-dot menu, choose Remove and confirm. An Admin Managed installation needs the Office administrator. These are the vendor's add-in removal instructions; removing Reference Manager alone is not this step. App removal does not delete your Elsevier account or cancel separate paid services.

What Mole lists

Mole lists the space-containing Reference Manager support folder for review, not selected by default. Matching logs and exact bundle preferences are selected by default. That does not authorize deleting an Elsevier parent folder or an older Mendeley Desktop profile. 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 universal Reference Manager app was installed and removed without signing in on 21 September 2026. Its selected local support, log and preference entries were removed. The test did not verify a cloud library, attachment recovery, the older Desktop app or Mendeley Cite removal. Homebrew instructions were checked against the current cask, but this record does not establish a Homebrew-managed uninstall or removal of every possible leftover.