How to uninstall Pulsar on Mac
Before removing Pulsar, copy your projects from their own locations and back up ~/.pulsar if you want to keep packages, config.cson, keymaps or snippets. Pulsar’s documentation names this dot-folder as its configuration home. Do not substitute ~/.atom: it can belong to an earlier Atom setup or another workflow.
The recorded test used the official Mac package; the Homebrew route below is separate.
Remove the app
Quit Pulsar and move Pulsar.app from Applications to Trash. Keep project directories untouched. If the command-line launcher was installed separately, check its owner before removing any shell entry; an app icon going away does not identify that launcher.
Review local data
The path below is documented in the current Homebrew cask. In Finder, use Go › Go to Folder to inspect it. Do not remove its parent directory or another product’s data.
| Location | Decision |
|---|---|
~/.pulsar |
Configuration and package directory documented by Pulsar; cask zap removes it. Back up wanted customizations before selecting it. |
The tested package uses bundle ID dev.pulsar-edit.pulsar. Review only files that actually appear on this Mac. A missing path needs no cleanup.
Vendor documentation · Additional vendor instructions
Check what remains
Run these read-only commands after quitting the app:
pgrep -il 'Pulsar'
ls -d "$HOME/.pulsar"
No process output means there is no matching process running now; it does not prove every helper is gone. A listed process needs its owner checked. If ls prints the path, that item remains and needs review. “No such file or directory” means this path is absent; a permission error means its state was not established.
If you installed it with Homebrew
Ordinary Homebrew removal also removes its managed pulsar and ppm command links; independently installed tools and project files stay separate.
The current pulsar cask has a zap list covering ~/.pulsar, Pulsar support data, preferences, saved state and recent-document history. A direct brew command with --zap applies the cask list without consulting Mole’s checkboxes. After backing up, use this command without --zap:
brew uninstall --cask pulsar
Mole checks each zap path against your selections, other installed apps, and protected locations. An unchecked, shared, or unverifiable path suppresses --zap; selected remnants can still use Mole’s own removal flow. This cask was not the recorded installation channel.
What Mole lists
Mole lists ~/.pulsar and Application Support/Pulsar as review rows. They are selected by default when ownership is clear and bulk selection is allowed, and you can uncheck rows or use Deselect all to keep data. Back up packages and configuration, then review the rows. Exact-ID preferences can be selected by default. The dot-folder and projects are different ownership decisions.
What this test covered
The official arm64 DMG 1.132.1 was removed on September 21, 2026. With review selected, 7.2 MB of Application Support/Pulsar went to Trash. A 9.2 MB ~/.pulsar folder was not listed in that run; a review rule was added after the test. ~/.atom was deliberately not claimed.