How to uninstall RustDesk on Mac

RustDesk keeps its settings in a preferences folder named after the app, and if you turned on its background service it also installs two launch items under /Library. If you point RustDesk at your own server, write down the ID server, relay server and key from its Network settings, or copy the configuration folder below, before removing anything; a fresh install will not remember them. These steps cover the official download from GitHub or rustdesk.com and the Homebrew cask rustdesk, which install the same app.

Quit RustDesk and stop its service

RustDesk runs without a Dock icon, so quit it from its menu bar icon. If you enabled the service in RustDesk's settings so the Mac can be reached before anyone logs in, stop it there first. Then move RustDesk from Applications to the Trash; if macOS says it is still in use, check Activity Monitor.

The service uses these two files, named in the RustDesk removal discussion that the RustDesk maintainers confirmed and in the Homebrew cask. They exist only if the service was installed. Move them to the Trash with Finder (Shift + Command + G, then the folder path) and an administrator password, then restart the Mac so launchd stops them:

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.carriez.RustDesk_service.plist
• /Library/LaunchAgents/com.carriez.RustDesk_server.plist

RustDesk asks for Accessibility, Screen Recording and, on newer macOS, Input Monitoring (RustDesk Mac docs). Those entries can stay in System Settings › Privacy & Security after the app is gone; remove them there with the minus button if you like.

Where RustDesk keeps its data

Note the capital letters in the preferences folder, which differ from the app's bundle identifier com.carriez.rustdesk. In the recorded test RustDesk did not create ~/.config/rustdesk on the Mac, so there is nothing to look for there.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands in Terminal:

pgrep -il rustdesk
ls /Library/LaunchAgents /Library/LaunchDaemons | grep -i carriez
ls -d ~/Library/Preferences/com.carriez.RustDesk
ls -d ~/Library/Logs/RustDesk

• No output from pgrep means RustDesk is not running. A listed process usually means the service is still loaded; remove its two launch items and restart.
• No output from the ls /Library/... line means no RustDesk launch item is installed, which is also the normal state if you never enabled the service.
• For the two ls -d lines, "No such file or directory" means that folder is gone; a printed path means it is still there, which is expected for the preferences folder if you chose to keep your settings.

If you installed it with Homebrew

The rustdesk cask quits the app on uninstall. Its zap list covers the two /Library launch items, ~/Library/Logs/RustDesk, the ~/Library/Preferences/com.carriez.RustDesk configuration folder and the saved window state. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap rustdesk yourself moves all of them to the Trash, whatever you selected in Mole, and asks for an administrator password for the /Library files. To keep your configuration, remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask rustdesk

Mole adds --zap only when everything in the zap list sits in your own ~/Library, is a row you left selected, and is not claimed by another installed app. RustDesk's list includes system-level /Library launch items, so Mole removes it without --zap and moves only the rows you selected.

What Mole lists

When you remove it with Mole:

• ~/Library/Logs/RustDesk and the saved window state are selected by default.
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.carriez.RustDesk does not match a name Mole derives from the bundle identifier. Mole can also list it, taken from Homebrew's zap list for this app, but does not select it, so your configuration stays unless you tick it.
• The service's /Library launch items were not present in the test, so what Mole shows for them has not been observed; check them with the commands above.

What this test covered

RustDesk was installed from the Homebrew cask rustdesk and uninstalled on September 17, 2026, with a Mole Preview build that still ran Homebrew's zap step. The zap step moved ~/Library/Logs/RustDesk and the com.carriez.RustDesk preferences folder to the Trash. The background service was never enabled, so no /Library launch items were written or tested, and RustDesk wrote nothing to ~/.config/rustdesk. Remote sessions, a self-hosted server and the official download were not part of this test.