How to uninstall mGBA on Mac
Back up mGBA ROMs, game saves and save states before removing the Mac app. The official FAQ documents shared configuration locations; the emulator also lets you choose separate save paths. This page covers the official Mac disk-image app, keeping other mGBA frontends separate.
Quit and remove the app
Save the current game and any wanted state, check the Save games and Save states locations under Settings › Paths, then quit mGBA. Copy those files and wanted ROMs before moving mGBA.app to the Trash. Do not remove another mGBA command installation along with the GUI app.
Data to keep or review
~/.config/mgbaheld configuration and a game-library database in the recorded test. The official FAQ also allows$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mgbawhen that variable is set.- The default home-config folder is shared with the Homebrew
mgbacommand-line formula. Mole deliberately leaves it outside this GUI app’s uninstall scan; back it up and check other users before any manual removal. - Save games and save states can use their own paths, including the ROM directory. Keep their actual files separately. The GUI cask zap names only
~/Library/Preferences/com.endrift.mgba-qt.plistand~/Library/Saved Application State/com.endrift.mgba-qt.savedState.
After backing up wanted saves and settings, use Finder’s Shift + Command + G to open each full path separately. Inspect the contents before moving unwanted app-owned data to the Trash; keep shared configuration and other installations’ files.
Check the result
pgrep -ifl mgba
command -v mgba
ls -ld /Applications/mGBA.app "$HOME/.config/mgba" "$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.endrift.mgba-qt.plist"
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.
command -v reports the command found by this shell, not a running process. No path means it is absent from this shell’s PATH; a surviving command may belong to another installation.
If you installed it with Homebrew
The GUI cask is mgba-app, distinct from the mgba command-line formula. It has no separate uninstall helper. Its zap removes only exact preferences and saved state, not ~/.config/mgba, ROMs or separately stored saves.
To uninstall without zap, use:
brew uninstall --cask mgba-app
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 mgba-app runs Homebrew’s full zap list without consulting Mole’s checkboxes.
What Mole lists
Mole selects the app and attributable temporary-cache rows by default; exact preferences are selected when present. It does not list the shared ~/.config/mgba directory for this GUI app. Keep ROMs and saves at their actual locations; leaving shared configuration is intentional, not a failed uninstall.
These are the defaults with “Remove data and settings with apps” turned off. Enabling that preference can also select eligible reviewed app data; shared stores, protected profiles and agent archives keep their individual review or remain locked. Check the final list before confirming.
What this test covered
On September 25, 2026, mGBA 0.10.5 was copied from the official Mac disk image and tested with a development build of Mole. The app and observed temporary cache were removed, while shared ~/.config/mgba remained. ROM playback, save-state restoration and a separate command-line installation were not verified.