How to uninstall Things on Mac

Things (from Cultured Code, bundle id com.culturedcode.ThingsMac) keeps your actual to-do database inside a Group Container, which Mole lists but does not select by default. On disk the app is named Things3.app even though it displays as "Things" everywhere in macOS and in Mole, so look for that name if you cannot find it by searching "Things" in Finder. This guide covers the app downloaded from Cultured Code directly; there is no Homebrew cask for Things.

Back up your data first

Cultured Code's own uninstall instructions warn that deleting Things' folders "will delete your to-dos, so first create a copy if you need a backup." (Things for Mac: files and folders to delete) To back up before removing anything:

  1. Quit Things.
  2. In Finder, press Shift + Command + G and go to ~/Library/Group Containers/JLMPQHK86H.com.culturedcode.ThingsMac.
  3. Copy, do not move, the Things Database.thingsdatabase bundle to a safe location outside your Library folder. (Exporting your data)

If you use Things Cloud and want to close that account too, delete it from Things › Settings › Things Cloud › Edit Account › Delete Account before removing the app; Cultured Code describes this as permanent and says it stops sync on your other devices immediately, but does not by itself delete Things' local data from any device. (Deleting your account & data)

Quit Things and remove it

  1. Quit Things from its menu, and check Activity Monitor for a remaining Things Helper process.
  2. Move Things (Things3.app) from Finder's Applications folder to the Trash, then empty the Trash. (Uninstalling the apps)
  3. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and turn off a Things entry if one is listed.
  4. If you use Things' Quick Entry or Send to Things Services menu items, open System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Services and uncheck any remaining Things entries.

Where Things keeps local data

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Group Containers/JLMPQHK86H.com.culturedcode.ThingsMac Your actual to-do database, inside Things Database.thingsdatabase Back up first (see above); Mole lists it unticked
~/Library/Application Support/Cultured Code App-level data Remove with the app once you have your backup
~/Library/Application Support/Things Sandbox Helper Sandbox helper support files Remove with the app
Folders in ~/Library/Containers that Finder shows as Things, Add to Things, ThingsIntentsExtension and ThingsWidgetExtension Sandboxed containers for the app and its extensions Remove with the app
~/Library/Caches/com.culturedcode.ThingsMac Cache Safe to remove
~/Library/Caches/com.plausiblelabs.crashreporter.data/com.culturedcode.ThingsMac Crash reports Safe to remove
~/Library/Preferences/com.culturedcode.ThingsMac.plist Preferences, present only if you ran a trial Remove with the app

All of these come from Cultured Code's own uninstall article for macOS 11 and later; older systems use slightly different Containers folder names, which the same article lists. Finder shows containers by app name, while the folders on disk are named by bundle id, so look for them in Finder rather than with ls.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands in Terminal:

pgrep -il things
launchctl list | grep -i culturedcode
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/JLMPQHK86H.com.culturedcode.ThingsMac"
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Cultured Code" "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Things Sandbox Helper"
  • No output from pgrep means Things is not running.
  • No output from launchctl list means no Cultured Code login item is loaded in this session.
  • "No such file or directory" from either ls means that folder is gone. A path printed for the Group Container means your to-do database is still there, which is expected unless you ticked its row in Mole; a path printed for either Application Support folder means that data has not been cleaned up yet.

What Mole lists

For a Things app downloaded directly from Cultured Code:

  • ~/Library/Containers/com.culturedcode.ThingsMac, the container Finder shows as Things, is named after the bundle id and selected by default, as are ~/Library/Caches/com.culturedcode.ThingsMac and ~/Library/Preferences/com.culturedcode.ThingsMac.plist when they exist.
  • The containers of Things' own extensions are selected by default when their ids continue Things' bundle id.
  • ~/Library/Group Containers/JLMPQHK86H.com.culturedcode.ThingsMac, which holds your to-dos, is listed but not selected. If you tick it, Mole moves it to the Trash together with your database unless another installed app claims the group, in which case Mole keeps it and the row reads "Kept: couldn't confirm no other app uses this group".
  • Application Support/Cultured Code and Application Support/Things Sandbox Helper are named after the company and a helper rather than Things' bundle id or name, so Mole does not select them. Check them with the commands above and remove them yourself once you have your backup.

What this test covered

Things 3.24 (Things3.zip from Cultured Code) was installed and uninstalled on September 20, 2026 with Mole 1.15.0 (build 280) and Full Disk Access, as part of an eleven-app batch. The reviewer expanded the review list and selected every row before removing. Things was not signed into Things Cloud during the test. The Group Container (about 440 KB on this machine) was selected and kept by Mole's App Group check, and the small Quick Look extension container was selected but stayed because macOS refused to move it to the Trash. Account deletion, Things Cloud sync, and the iOS/iPadOS/watchOS/visionOS apps were not part of this test. Things