How to uninstall PDFsam Basic on Mac

Finish any split or merge operation and save the output PDFs before removing PDFsam Basic. Input PDFs and output documents are your files; cleaning the editor settings should not include them.

Quit and remove the app

Quit PDFsam Basic, then move PDFsam Basic.app from Applications to the Trash. Keep source PDFs and generated documents in their existing folders. This guide covers the Basic app rather than PDFsam Enhanced or another PDFsam product.

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/PDFsam Basic.app"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Preferences/org.pdfsam.stage.plist"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Preferences/org.pdfsam.tools.plist"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Preferences/org.pdfsam.user.plist"

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 pdfsam-basic

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/Preferences/org.pdfsam.modules.plist
• ~/Library/Preferences/org.pdfsam.stage.plist
• ~/Library/Preferences/org.pdfsam.user.plist
• ~/Library/Saved Application State/org.pdfsam.basic.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 pdfsam-basic. 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 has explicit review rows for these three PDFsam preference leaves, not selected by default. It does not need to select your PDF documents to remove the app. The live cask also names a modules preference, which differs from the tools leaf observed locally. 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 Basic bundle and selected temporary cache were removed on 21 September 2026. The stage, tools and user preference leaves were added to the review rules after observing them. No personal PDF collection was used to verify document recovery. Homebrew instructions were checked against the current cask, but this record does not establish a Homebrew-managed uninstall or removal of every possible leftover.