How to uninstall Thaw on Mac
Keep wanted Thaw settings before removing the menu bar manager. The official project supplies the Mac app. This guide covers the official archive build; the local test did not grant Accessibility or Screen Recording permissions and did not rearrange the menu bar.
Quit and remove the app
Quit Thaw from its menu bar menu. Check that Thaw and its MenuBarItemService have exited, then move Thaw.app to the Trash. Do not edit Control Center or system menu bar databases to remove it.
Review Thaw settings and extension data
~/Library/Application Support/Thawheld app-local data in the test; copy wanted configuration before reviewing the parent.~/Library/Preferences/com.stonerl.Thaw.plistheld preferences.- The cask additionally names
~/Library/Containers/com.stonerl.Thaw.ThawControls,~/Library/Application Scripts/com.stonerl.Thaw.ThawControls,~/Library/Caches/com.stonerl.Thaw,~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.stonerl.Thaw,~/Library/WebKit/com.stonerl.Thawand~/Library/Logs/Thaw. - System menu bar and Control Center state are separate from the app’s settings.
After quitting Thaw and its helper, use Finder’s Shift + Command + G to open each chosen exact path above. Copy wanted configuration outside the folders you are removing, then individually move the chosen files or folders to the Trash. For the cask’s group patterns, open ~/Library/Group Containers and ~/Library/Application Scripts and inspect only existing entries ending in .com.stonerl.Thaw. Remove a specific entry only after confirming it belongs to Thaw and no retained app needs it; keep it if ownership is uncertain. Keep these shared parent folders and all Control Center or system menu bar databases.
Check the result
pgrep -ifl "Thaw|MenuBarItemService"
ls -ld /Applications/Thaw.app "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Thaw" "$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.stonerl.Thaw.plist"
No process output means this name was not found, not that every helper has gone. Check any match against the app’s actual executable path. A missing-path error from ls means only that location is absent; permission errors leave its state unknown. A surviving folder can be intentional data to keep.
If you installed it with Homebrew
Ordinary cask uninstall quits both com.stonerl.Thaw and com.stonerl.Thaw.MenuBarItemService. Zap includes support data, preferences, caches, HTTP/WebKit state, logs, ThawControls containers/scripts and group patterns. Shared or unchecked data can suppress Mole’s entire zap stanza.
To uninstall without zap, use:
brew uninstall --cask thaw
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. A direct brew uninstall --cask --zap thaw runs Homebrew’s full zap list without consulting Mole’s checkboxes.
What Mole lists
Mole selects the app, exact preferences and attributable caches by default. The Thaw display-name support parent is unchecked with “Remove data and settings with apps” off; enabling it can also select this eligible reviewed row. Uncheck it if you want to keep your configuration. Group data requires ownership checks and its existing individual review; system menu bar databases are protected.
What this test covered
On September 25, 2026, Thaw 2.0.1 was copied from the official archive and tested with a development build of Mole. The selected local app data was removed. Accessibility and Screen Recording were not granted, so this did not verify restoring a customized menu bar or behavior after those permissions are enabled.