How to uninstall SiYuan (思源笔记) on Mac

SiYuan, 思源笔记, is local-first: your notes live in a workspace folder on the Mac, ~/SiYuan unless you picked another place, and unless you set up SiYuan's sync they exist nowhere else. Removing the app does not touch that folder, and Mole does not list it, so the main decision is yours: keep the workspace for a reinstall, or copy it somewhere safe and then delete it yourself. This guide covers the app downloaded from SiYuan's GitHub releases and the Homebrew cask siyuan.

Find your workspace first

SiYuan records the workspaces it has opened in ~/.config/siyuan, which the newer builds create on first launch. Check both places before you remove anything:

ls -d ~/SiYuan
cat ~/.config/siyuan/workspace.json
  • ls -d printing ~/SiYuan means the default workspace exists. "No such file or directory" means you never used the default location, or it is already gone.
  • cat prints the list of workspace paths SiYuan knows about. Each path in it is a folder of notes to back up before you delete it. "No such file or directory" means this build did not write the list; think back to the folder you chose when you set SiYuan up, and check it before you uninstall.

Quit and remove the app

  1. Quit SiYuan with Command + Q. Status showed it as one row with six processes and about 190 MB; they close with the app.
  2. Move SiYuan from Applications to the Trash.

The recorded tests saw no login item or background item from it.

Where the app keeps its data

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each location, skipping any that is missing. SiYuan does not document these paths; they come from Homebrew's zap list and the recorded tests.

Location What it holds What to do
Your workspace, ~/SiYuan by default Your notes, assets and settings Back it up; delete it only if you are done with these notes
~/.config/siyuan The workspace list and an app log Remove it after you have noted your workspace paths
~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron The desktop shell's own data, 1.9 MB after one launch, with cache subfolders such as Cache and GPUCache Remove it with the app
~/Library/Preferences/org.b3log.siyuan.plist Preferences Remove it with the app

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the app is in the Trash:

pgrep -il siyuan
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron" ~/.config/siyuan
  • No output from pgrep means SiYuan is not running. A listed process means the app or part of it is still up; quit SiYuan properly before you touch the workspace.
  • ls -d prints each folder that still exists. Either one surviving is expected if you left it unticked in Mole. "No such file or directory" means that folder is gone.

If you installed it with Homebrew

When you remove a Homebrew install, Mole runs Homebrew's uninstall and adds --zap only when every path in the cask's zap list sits inside ~/Library, none of them is a row you left unticked, and no other installed app claims it. Otherwise it leaves --zap out and still removes the rows you ticked.

The siyuan cask also links the kernel as a siyuan command in /opt/homebrew/bin, which Homebrew removes with the cask. Its zap list covers ~/.siyuan, ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan, the preferences file and the saved window state. ~/.siyuan is outside ~/Library, so Mole never adds --zap for SiYuan. The zap list does not include ~/SiYuan, the default workspace, so brew uninstall --cask --zap siyuan leaves your notes where they are. To remove only the app and the command link:

brew uninstall --cask siyuan

SiYuan on GitHub · Default workspace path · Homebrew's siyuan cask

What Mole lists

For SiYuan downloaded from GitHub:

  • The preferences file, the recent-items list, the temporary folders macOS keeps for the app and the cache folders inside ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron are selected by default.
  • ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron itself is listed but not selected, because it is matched by the app's name.
  • ~/.config/siyuan is listed but not selected.
  • Mole does not search custom folders for workspaces, and the default ~/SiYuan is outside the candidate list above.

What this test covered

On September 26, 2026, SiYuan 3.8.5 was copied from the official download into Applications, without Homebrew, launched once, and uninstalled with a development build of Mole, with every listed item ticked for the test. Status showed one row, SiYuan, with six processes and about 190 MB. The app and all eleven listed rows went to the Trash, ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron included. ~/.config/siyuan, which this version writes on first launch, was not on the list and stayed, and Mole's row for it was added as a result. No startup item appeared before or after. Two earlier tests used SiYuan 3.8.4 from the official package, on September 20, 2026 with Mole 1.15 Preview build 280 and on September 21, 2026 with Preview build 282; both removed Application Support/SiYuan-Electron with everything ticked, and neither version wrote ~/.config/siyuan or ~/.siyuan. No test created a workspace or notes, sync was not set up, and the Homebrew cask was not tested.