How to uninstall Studio 3T on Mac
Export saved connections and keep wanted queries or exports before removing Studio 3T. The Connection Manager documentation explains connection export; include credentials only when you intend to keep them in the exported file. This guide covers the official Mac desktop app and Homebrew cask studio-3t, not Studio 3T Community or the MongoDB server itself.
Save connections before quitting
Use Connection Manager's export action for the connections you need, then quit Studio 3T. Back up ~/.3T outside that directory before any reset. The vendor forum documents saved connections in ~/.3T/roaming and a separate ~/.3T_community location for Community Edition.
Move Studio 3T.app from Applications to Trash after it closes. This removes the client, not your remote databases. Keep query files, database dumps and server data outside the uninstall selection.
Review app data without expanding to MongoDB folders
| Location | Keep or remove |
|---|---|
| ~/.3T | Studio 3T settings and saved connection state. Back up before removing. |
| ~/.3T/studio-3t | Settings leaf named by the cask. Removing this leaf does not prove saved connections in roaming are gone. |
| ~/.3T/roaming | Saved connection data documented by the vendor. Keep when retaining connections. |
| ~/Library/Preferences/3t.mongochef.core.plist | A preference path named by the cask; inspect if present. |
The current cask also names these older enterprise/pro preference files. After quitting and checking the .3T backup, use Shift + Command + G in Finder to open the listed folders or each file’s parent. Move only confirmed Studio 3T data you no longer need to the Trash.
~/Library/Preferences/3t.enterprise.mongochef.plist~/Library/Preferences/3t.mongochef.enterprise.plist~/Library/Preferences/3t.mongochef.pro.plist
Do not delete the shared ~/.mongodb tree, Compass data or every install4j preference: those names alone do not establish Studio 3T ownership. Uninstalling does not cancel a paid license or subscription.
Check the result
pgrep -il 'Studio 3T'
ls -d "/Applications/Studio 3T.app" "$HOME/.3T" "$HOME/.3T_community"
No process output means no matching name is running; check any match in Activity Monitor. A printed path remains, a missing-path error means absence, and a permission error leaves it unknown. A retained Community directory is separate from this app's uninstall.
If you installed it with Homebrew
brew uninstall --cask studio-3t
The ordinary cask uninstall removes the app and requests its quit. Direct brew uninstall --cask --zap studio-3t also removes ~/.3T/studio-3t and the older preference files named by the cask, regardless of Mole's checkboxes; it does not list the whole .3T/roaming root.
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.
What Mole lists
The exact ~/.3T root and display-name support folders are listed but not selected with Remove data and settings with apps off; turning it on can preselect eligible reviewed data. Exact bundle-identified preferences, caches and HTTP storage are selected by default. Mole does not extend the .3T match to .3T_community, the shared MongoDB parent or database documents.
What this test covered
Studio 3T 2026.13.1 from the official package was copied to Applications and uninstalled on September 21, 2026, without connecting to a database, a Homebrew receipt or a full installer run. The app and its bundle-identified preferences, caches, HTTP storage and temporary data went to Trash. A later local inventory found .3T settings and roaming state and added that exact review root; this was not a new official-package uninstall. Saved connection recovery and database-server removal were not tested.