How to uninstall Permute 4 on Mac

Permute converts video, audio and image files, and it has little worth saving beyond its own preferences. What needs a separate decision is its Group Containers: the ones named for Permute are shared with other Permute installs, such as Permute 3 or a Setapp copy. These steps cover Permute 4 downloaded from the developer's site, plus a Homebrew section for the permute cask.

Quit and remove Permute

  1. Let any conversion in progress finish, then quit Permute from its application menu.
  2. In Finder's Applications folder, move Permute 4.app to the Trash.

Where Permute keeps its data

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each path that exists. The paths below are the ones the Homebrew cask lists for Permute; a * stands for any text.

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Containers/com.charliemonroe.Permute-4 The app's sandboxed data and settings Remove with the app
~/Library/Containers/com.charliemonroe.Permute.MetadataProcessor Container for Permute's metadata processor Remove with the app
~/Library/Application Scripts/*com.charliemonroe.Permute* Scripts folders for the app and its groups Remove the app's own; leave the ones that belong to a shared group
~/Library/Preferences/com.charliemonroe.Permute-4.plist App preferences Remove with the app
~/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpd/Generated/com.charliemonroe.Permute-4* Generated help cache Safe to remove
~/Library/Group Containers/*.com.charliemonroe.Permute* Groups shared with other Permute installs, such as Permute 3 or a Setapp copy Leave them while another Permute copy is installed

If you installed it with Homebrew

The permute cask's zap list covers every path in the table, including the shared Group Containers, plus Application Scripts folders matching *.com.charliemonroe.eney. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap permute yourself moves all of them to the Trash, whatever you selected in Mole. To remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask permute

Mole runs --zap only when every path in the stanza is under ~/Library, is a row you ticked, is not claimed by another installed app, and uses directives it can review. Otherwise it drops --zap and still removes the rows you ticked.

Check the result

pgrep -il "Permute 4"
ls -d ~/Library/Containers/com.charliemonroe.Permute-4
ls -d ~/Library/Group\ Containers/*Permute*
  • No output from pgrep means Permute is not running. A listed process means it is still open; quit it before deleting data.
  • The first ls -d printing the path means the app's container is still on disk; "No such file or directory" means it is gone.
  • The second ls -d lists any Permute Group Container still present. One is expected while Permute 3 or a Setapp copy is installed; "no matches found" or "No such file or directory" means none are left.

What Mole lists

Mole selects Permute 4's own container, Application Scripts folder and preferences by default. The Group Containers shared with other Permute installs, and their Application Scripts folders, are listed for review and are not selected by default. Even when you tick one, Mole removes it only after confirming that no other installed app claims it; when it cannot confirm that, it keeps the folder and the result reads "Kept: couldn't confirm no other app uses this group".

What this test covered

Permute 4 version 4.0.11 was copied from the developer's official DMG into Applications and uninstalled live on September 20, 2026, with Mole 1.15.0 build 280, with every review row selected. The app and its own rows went to the Trash. The 4 KB Group Container shared with Permute 3 and Setapp copies stayed, blocked by Mole's App Group check, and macOS refused to move Permute's Quick Look extension container to the Trash. Conversions and licensing were not tested.

Permute