How to uninstall Updatest on Mac
Record the applications you manage and any update preferences. This guide covers the downloaded Mac app, with Homebrew handled separately below.
Quit and remove the app
Keep the applications Updatest manages. Uninstalling Updatest is separate from uninstalling those apps.
Quit Updatest using its own quit action. In System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions, turn off any Updatest login entry if present. After backing up, move /Applications/Updatest.app to Trash in Finder and leave Trash intact until the wanted data is confirmed saved.
Review local data
Use Shift + Command + G in Finder to inspect each complete path. Copy wanted contents elsewhere before deciding to move that item to Trash. These locations come from the recorded test and the live Homebrew cask. Do not create a missing path. A * marks a matching range, not a literal filename; inspect the actual matches individually.
| Location | Contents and decision |
|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/Updatest |
Local data or settings; back up before deciding to remove |
~/Library/Caches/app.updatest.Updatest |
Cache, logs or web state; optionally remove after quitting |
~/Library/Caches/Updatest |
Cache, logs or web state; optionally remove after quitting |
~/Library/HTTPStorages/app.updatest.Updatest |
Cache, logs or web state; optionally remove after quitting |
~/Library/Preferences/app.updatest.Updatest.plist |
Preferences; keep if you want to restore settings |
If you installed it with Homebrew
To uninstall without running zap:
brew uninstall --cask updatest
This removes the cask-managed app, without running its zap data list.
The following direct command applies the cask’s entire zap list independently of Mole’s checkboxes. Use it only after backing up and approving every target.
brew uninstall --cask --zap updatest
The live zap targets are ~/Library/Application Support/Updatest, ~/Library/Caches/app.updatest.Updatest, ~/Library/Caches/Updatest, ~/Library/HTTPStorages/app.updatest.Updatest, ~/Library/Preferences/app.updatest.Updatest.plist.
Group folders, containers and support folders may contain wanted data. Use the command without zap when retaining any of them. Live cask.
Check the result
ls -ld '/Applications/Updatest.app'
pgrep -ifl '/Applications/Updatest[.]app/'
A listed app path means that bundle remains. “No such file or directory” means that exact path is absent; “Permission denied” leaves the check unconfirmed. This checks one location, not other copies, background services or user data.
A pgrep result means a running command line matches this app path. No output means no such match, not that independent helpers or other app copies are absent; an error leaves this step unconfirmed.
What Mole lists
Mole lists the app bundle and settings, cache or data rows whose ownership it can establish. Use the actual scan result; the cask list is not a list of default-selected Mole rows.
These defaults assume “Remove data and settings with apps” is off, which is the default. Enabling it also selects eligible reviewed app data; shared and protected items retain their individual boundaries. Mole invokes Homebrew zap only when the whole zap scope passes its check. Unchecked, shared or out-of-boundary paths and unsupported directives suppress zap; selected remnants still use Mole’s own deletion flow.
What this test covered
The downloaded app was launched and removed; it was not used to update other applications.