How to uninstall Readest on Mac
Back up wanted books, highlights and notes before removing Readest. The official site describes local reading and cloud sync; check the files and annotations you need rather than assuming a sync account is a complete backup. This guide covers the official Mac disk-image build, not the App Store build.
Quit and remove the app
Save or export wanted reading material and verify your backup, then quit Readest with Cmd + Q. Move Readest.app to the Trash. Keep independently saved book files and the cloud account.
Review local reading data
~/Library/Application Support/com.bilingify.readestheld local app data in the test and is selected by default. Inspect and copy wanted library state before removal, or leave this row unchecked.- Exact caches, logs and
~/Library/WebKit/com.bilingify.readestwere observed. - The cask additionally names
~/Library/Caches/com.bilingify.readest,~/Library/Caches/readest,~/Library/Preferences/com.bilingify.readest.plistand~/Library/WebKit/readest. - CloudDocs session records were left behind intentionally: they belong to the iCloud service. Do not delete the CloudDocs parent or infer that removing local support data deletes the cloud library.
After verifying your book and annotation backup and quitting Readest, open each chosen exact path above with Finder’s Shift + Command + G. Copy any wanted local library state outside its support directory, then move the chosen files or folders to the Trash. Keep independent book files, the shared Library parent folders and CloudDocs data.
Check the result
pgrep -ifl Readest
ls -ld /Applications/Readest.app "$HOME/Library/Application Support/com.bilingify.readest" "$HOME/Library/WebKit/com.bilingify.readest"
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. Zap covers exact support data, caches, preferences and WebKit state; it can discard wanted local data. It does not include the shared CloudDocs parent.
To uninstall without zap, use:
brew uninstall --cask readest
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 readest runs Homebrew’s full zap list without consulting Mole’s checkboxes.
Account and sync
Uninstalling the app does not delete a Readest account or cancel a subscription. Confirm wanted synced material separately before removing local copies.
What Mole lists
Mole selects the app, exact-ID support directory and attributable cache/log rows by default. Uncheck support data you want to keep. Shared CloudDocs state and protected system WebKit temporary state are not app-owned removal targets.
What this test covered
On September 25, 2026, Readest 0.12.10 was copied from the official Mac package and tested with a development build of Mole. Selected app data was removed; CloudDocs session records and protected WebKit temporary state were intentionally retained. A populated book library, annotation recovery, cloud deletion and App Store installation were not tested.