How to uninstall Open WebUI on Mac
Export wanted chats before removing Open WebUI Desktop. The official chat export guide uses Settings › Data Controls › Export Chats; a server backup may also need uploaded files and other data. This guide covers the official Mac desktop app, not an independently installed Docker or Python server.
Quit and remove the app
Check the chat export and stop work in the desktop app, then quit Open WebUI with Cmd + Q. Check any remaining helper against the desktop app’s executable path before moving Open WebUI.app to the Trash. Do not stop or delete a separate server solely because its name matches.
Review desktop data
After checking your chat export and quitting, press Finder Shift + Command + G to open ~/Library/Application Support/open-webui and ~/Library/Preferences/com.openwebui.desktop.plist individually. Copy wanted local state outside the support folder, then move only the desktop folder or preference file you chose to remove to the Trash. Skip missing paths and leave independent server data, uploads and models alone.
~/Library/Application Support/open-webuiis the Mac desktop data directory recorded by the local test and cask. Keep wanted configuration or local state before reviewing the parent.- Its Electron cache children, including
Cache,Code CacheandGPUCache, are listed separately from the parent data. ~/Library/Preferences/com.openwebui.desktop.plistheld desktop preferences.- A connected server can store chats, uploads and knowledge separately. The official backup guide distinguishes persistent server storage and Ollama model volumes; removing this desktop directory is not a backup or deletion of those stores.
Check the result
pgrep -ifl "Open WebUI|open-webui"
ls -ld "/Applications/Open WebUI.app" "$HOME/Library/Application Support/open-webui" "$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.openwebui.desktop.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.
If you installed it with Homebrew
The Mac cask has no separate uninstall helper. Its Mac zap target is ~/Library/Application Support/open-webui, including desktop data. The ~/.config/open-webui stanza applies to Linux, not this Mac guide.
To uninstall without zap, use:
brew uninstall --cask open-webui
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 open-webui runs Homebrew’s full zap list without consulting Mole’s checkboxes.
Connected services
Removing the desktop app does not delete a remote account, cancel provider billing or remove independently hosted server data. Manage each service separately.
What Mole lists
Mole selects the app, exact desktop preferences and attributable Electron caches by default. ~/Library/Application Support/open-webui is listed for review: with Default remove app data off it starts unchecked; with it on, eligible own data can start checked. Inspect and uncheck it to retain local state. The app’s exact recent-document-list file can be listed and selected; the shared parent directory and other Apple system state remain protected.
What this test covered
On September 25, 2026, Open WebUI Desktop 0.0.20 was copied from the official Mac package and tested using a development build of Mole. The recorded selected data was removed, and no attributable leftover remained within the observation window. The run did not prove recovery of populated chats, removal of a remote server, Docker volumes or model stores.