Uninstall Rectangle on Mac
Rectangle needs no data backup before you remove it: your window layouts are not files, and its settings can be exported first if you want to reuse them on another Mac. Mole's recorded test uninstalled the Homebrew cask rectangle; the official direct download from rectangleapp.com installs the same app under the same paths, and the steps below apply to both, though only the Homebrew removal was directly exercised.
Export your shortcut settings first (optional)
Rectangle's own Settings window can export your keyboard shortcuts and snap-area configuration to a JSON file, and import it again later. Do this before removing the app if you have customized shortcuts you want to reuse on this Mac or another one.
Quit Rectangle and remove its Accessibility permission
Quit Rectangle from its menu bar icon, then move Rectangle.app from Applications to the Trash. Rectangle needs the Accessibility permission to move and resize windows; removing the app does not revoke it automatically, and a stale entry can point at nothing once the app is gone. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility, find Rectangle in the list, and remove it with the minus (−) button. Rectangle's own documentation also names tccutil as a way to reset this permission from Terminal, which some users prefer over navigating System Settings.
Where Rectangle keeps its data
Rectangle is not sandboxed, so its settings live directly under your Library rather than in a Container.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Preferences/com.knollsoft.Rectangle.plist |
All your keyboard shortcuts and snap-area settings, the file the export feature reads from | Back it up (or export first, see above) if you plan to reinstall and want your shortcuts back |
~/Library/Application Support/Rectangle |
Application state under the app's display name, not its bundle id | Safe to remove once you have exported anything you want to keep |
~/Library/Application Scripts/com.knollsoft.RectangleLauncher and ~/Library/Containers/com.knollsoft.RectangleLauncher |
The embedded login-item helper's sandbox state | Safe to remove with the app |
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -il rectangle
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/Rectangle
defaults read com.knollsoft.Rectangle > /dev/null && echo "preferences remain"
No output from pgrep means Rectangle has quit. ls printing the path means the Application Support folder is still on this Mac; "No such file or directory" means it is gone. A preferences remain line means the plist has not been removed yet; a Domain com.knollsoft.Rectangle does not exist error means it has.
If you installed it with Homebrew
The next Mole update will skip --zap when its list reaches unchecked or shared data, or cannot be fully checked. Mole will still clean the leftovers you selected. Preview 290 does not include this protection.
In Preview 290, Mole removes a Homebrew-installed Rectangle like brew uninstall --cask --zap rectangle. The zap list runs regardless of which rows you check in Mole, and it covers ~/Library/Application Support/Rectangle, the exact preferences plist, and the login-item helper's Application Scripts and Containers paths, along with the login item itself. Back up your shortcut settings first if you want them for a reinstall, or run the command below to keep everything except the app: Homebrew Rectangle cask
brew uninstall --cask rectangle
What Mole lists
This describes Mole 1.15 (currently in Preview):
~/Library/Preferences/com.knollsoft.Rectangle.plistis selected by default; back up or export your shortcuts first if you plan to reinstall.~/Library/Application Support/Rectangleis listed but NOT selected by default: Mole treats an app's exact-name Application Support folder as user data and leaves it for you to review, so tick it yourself if you want it removed too.- The
RectangleLauncherlogin-item helper's Application Scripts and Containers rows are also listed but not selected by default, since Mole treats a helper bundle's own residue as needing review; they are safe to tick and remove with the app. - The login item itself shows in Mole's Startup list only while Rectangle is installed and is an informational row you confirm rather than toggle from Mole; it disappears from that list once Rectangle is uninstalled.
What this test covered
Rectangle was installed from the Homebrew cask rectangle and uninstalled through Mole on September 17, 2026, with the login-item helper's container cleared by the cask's zap step and no leftover files or launchd jobs found afterward. The official direct download was not separately uninstalled in this test; its data paths above come from Rectangle's own published documentation, and reinstalling with an imported settings file was not exercised.