How to uninstall Tableau Desktop on Mac

Keep workbooks and data sources before removing Tableau Desktop. Tableau's Mac uninstall instructions allow renaming My Tableau Repository instead of deleting it. This guide covers Desktop, not Public, Prep or Server.

Remove the intended version

Save your work and inspect ~/Documents/My Tableau Repository while Desktop is available. Copy wanted workbooks, data sources and other user files elsewhere, or rename the repository as the vendor describes, and confirm the backup. Then quit with Cmd + Q and move only the intended Desktop app from Applications to the Trash. Keep other Tableau versions and products still in use.

The vendor's complete reset also removes preferences and saved state. With several Tableau products installed, inspect each item's ownership and keep files another version or product still uses.

Review its data

  • ~/Documents/My Tableau Repository can hold user-created files, not disposable cache.
  • ~/Library/Caches/com.tableau.caching appeared in the test. An empty MapTiles folder was not counted as a populated leftover.
  • The cask names ~/Library/Preferences/com.tableau.Tableau-<major.minor>.plist, where <major.minor> is the version being removed, such as 2026.2. Replace the placeholder before using the path.
  • It also names ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.tableausoftware.tableaudesktop.savedState and ~/Library/Tableau. Check whether another Desktop installation needs them before removing them. Keep shared registration preferences such as ~/Library/Preferences/com.tableau.Registration.plist while another Tableau product uses them.

After confirming the backup and quitting Desktop, press Shift + Command + G in Finder to open those locations and move only the Tableau items you choose to remove to Trash. Keep the repository backup and other versions' files. Leave system preferences under /Library to the matching installer or package removal flow.

Check the result

pgrep -ifl Tableau
find /Applications -maxdepth 1 -iname '*Tableau*.app' -print
ls -ld "$HOME/Documents/My Tableau Repository" "$HOME/Library/Caches/com.tableau.caching" "$HOME/Library/Tableau"

Check the executable path of any process match, especially with several Tableau products installed. A missing-path error means that location is absent; a permission error leaves its state unknown. Keeping workbooks is intentional.

If you installed it with Homebrew

brew uninstall --cask tableau

Ordinary uninstall already names package receipts for ODBC drivers, FLEXNet, extensions and telemetry, so its scope exceeds moving the app alone. A direct brew uninstall --cask --zap tableau also targets My Tableau Repository and settings regardless of Mole's choices. Back up user files first.

Mole leaves zap out because it reaches Documents and system preferences beyond the reviewed boundary. Selected remnants use Mole's own removal path.

What Mole lists

Mole selects the app and exact bundle-identified cache, preference and saved-state rows by default when present. Other safely attributable cask paths are review rows. It does not remove ~/Documents/My Tableau Repository through this uninstall.

These defaults assume “Remove data and settings with apps” is off. Enabling it may also select eligible reviewed data; shared data and protected locations retain their restrictions. Check the final list.

What this test covered

On September 21, 2026, Tableau Desktop 2026.2.2 for Apple silicon was extracted from the official package's app payload and removed with Mole build 282. The app, preferences, temporary cache and caching folder were removed; Documents protection refused the repository. The full installer, FLEXNet, telemetry, network extensions, working data sources and Homebrew installation were not tested. The unavailable Public download was a separate attempt.