How to uninstall pgAdmin 4 on Mac

pgAdmin 4 keeps its settings in a SQLite database outside ~/Library, in ~/.pgadmin; on the test Mac that folder held pgadmin4.db. Before removing the app, export your server list so you can bring it back later. The export never includes passwords, so note those separately. This guide covers the build downloaded from pgadmin.org, the channel this test used, and the Homebrew cask pgadmin4.

Quit pgAdmin 4 and remove the app

  1. In pgAdmin 4, choose Tools › Import/Export Servers and export your servers to a file. Password fields are never exported. Import/Export Servers
  2. Quit pgAdmin 4 from its menu or with Command + Q.
  3. Drag pgAdmin 4 from Applications to the Trash, or run brew uninstall --cask pgadmin4 if you installed it with Homebrew.

Where pgAdmin 4 keeps its files

pgAdmin's configuration documentation describes its SQLite database as the store for user accounts and settings, and its FAQ puts the log at ~/.pgadmin/pgadmin4.log on macOS. config.py · pgAdmin FAQ

Location What it holds What to do
~/.pgadmin pgadmin4.db, the settings database, and pgadmin4.log Keep it if you plan to reinstall; otherwise remove it after exporting your servers
~/Library/Application Support/pgAdmin 4 App data named after the app Look inside before removing
~/Library/Caches/pgAdmin 4 Cache Remove with the app
~/Library/Preferences/org.pgadmin.pgadmin4.plist and ~/Library/Saved Application State/org.pgadmin.pgAdmin4.savedState Preferences and saved window state Remove for a clean reinstall

Check the result

pgrep -il pgadmin
ls -d ~/.pgadmin "$HOME/Library/Application Support/pgAdmin 4"
  • No output from pgrep means pgAdmin 4 has quit. A listed process means pgAdmin or the local server it starts is still running; quit it again before removing folders.
  • ls -d prints each folder that still exists and reports "No such file or directory" for the rest. A surviving ~/.pgadmin still holds your settings database, which is expected if you left its row unticked.

If you installed it with Homebrew

The pgadmin4 cask's zap list reaches ~/.pgadmin, ~/Library/Application Support/pgAdmin 4, ~/Library/Caches/pgAdmin 4, the recent-documents list, the preferences file and saved window state. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap pgadmin4 yourself moves all of them to the Trash, your settings database included, whatever you ticked in Mole. Homebrew pgAdmin 4 cask

When Mole removes a Homebrew install, it checks the zap list first. ~/.pgadmin sits outside ~/Library, so Mole always leaves --zap out for pgAdmin 4: Homebrew removes the app and its receipt, and only the rows you ticked in Mole go to the Trash.

What Mole lists

For pgAdmin 4 installed from pgadmin.org or the Homebrew cask:

  • ~/Library/Caches/pgAdmin 4, the org.pgadmin.pgadmin4 preferences file and saved window state are selected by default.
  • ~/.pgadmin and ~/Library/Application Support/pgAdmin 4 are listed but not selected.

What this test covered

pgAdmin 4 was copied from its official download into Applications and uninstalled on September 19, 2026, with Mole Preview 277, alongside other apps in the same batch; there was no Homebrew receipt. ~/Library/Application Support/pgAdmin 4 was listed as an unselected row and stayed. ~/.pgadmin, holding pgadmin4.db, was not listed by that build and stayed on disk. Registered servers, the Import/Export Servers feature and a Homebrew install were not tested.