How to uninstall uTools on Mac

uTools is a launcher and plugin platform for Mac, Windows and Linux from u-tools.cn (bundle ID org.yuanli.utools), opened with Alt + Space or its floating ball. Its documentation does not say where it stores its data. What the test and the Homebrew cask show is one folder, ~/Library/Application Support/uTools (2.1 MB right after the first launch). Because uTools runs plugin apps from its market, treat that folder as possibly holding plugins you installed and the data they made. Open it and look before you remove it, and copy out anything you want. An account sign-in and sync were not tested, so what a signed-in setup keeps online is not covered either. This guide covers the Apple silicon disk image from u-tools.cn and the Homebrew cask utools.

Quit and remove the app

  1. Open ~/Library/Application Support/uTools in Finder (Shift + Command + G) and copy out anything you want to keep.
  2. Quit uTools from its menu bar icon or floating ball. It is an Electron app with helper processes; in the test it showed as one uTools row with 8 processes in Mole's Status page, and it did not quit on request, so Mole had to force quit it. Make sure it has quit before you remove files.
  3. Open Finder, go to Applications and drag uTools to the Trash.
  4. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and remove uTools if it is listed. The test log shows Mole removing one uTools entry from the login items list after the uninstall, although no launch agent file was registered.

Where the data lives

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder to open each path. Skip any path that is not on your Mac.

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Application Support/uTools The app's data folder, possibly including plugins and their data; 2.1 MB in the test Look first and copy out what you need, then remove. Mole lists it for review and selects it by default when eligible; its blob_storage, Cache and Code Cache subfolders are selected by default.
~/Library/Preferences/org.yuanli.utools.plist Preferences Remove. Selected by default.
The folder getconf DARWIN_USER_CACHE_DIR prints, then org.yuanli.utools and org.yuanli.utools.helper.GPU Temporary caches Remove. Selected by default.
~/Library/Logs/uTools Logs; listed in the Homebrew cask, not present in the test Remove if present.
~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/com.apple.LSSharedFileList.ApplicationRecentDocuments/org.yuanli.utools.sfl4 macOS's list of documents you opened with uTools Optional. It survived the test because Mole could not read that protected folder without Full Disk Access.

Check the result

pgrep -il utools
ls -d /Applications/uTools.app "$HOME/Library/Application Support/uTools" "$HOME/Library/Preferences/org.yuanli.utools.plist" "$HOME/Library/Logs/uTools"
ls "$HOME/Library/Application Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/com.apple.LSSharedFileList.ApplicationRecentDocuments" | grep -i utools
  • No output from pgrep means uTools and its helpers are not running. A printed line is a process still alive; quit it first.
  • For ls -d, No such file or directory means that path is gone. A printed path is still on disk. A preferences file can be written again as the app quits, so check after it has quit.
  • A line from the last command is the recent-documents list. It is optional to remove, and Terminal may print Operation not permitted for that folder unless it has Full Disk Access.

If you installed it with Homebrew

brew uninstall --cask utools

The cask quits uTools and removes the app, nothing else. Its zap list trashes ~/Library/Application Support/uTools, ~/Library/Logs/uTools, the preferences file and the recent-documents list. A direct brew uninstall --cask --zap utools therefore deletes everything in the data folder, plugins included, and does not read Mole's checkboxes. Mole adds --zap only when its whole removal scope passes its zap gate (unchecked or shared paths, paths outside the reviewed boundary, unknown stanzas or unsupported directives suppress it) and otherwise removes the rows you selected itself. The Homebrew install was not tested.

What Mole lists

Mole selects the app, the preferences file, three cache subfolders inside ~/Library/Application Support/uTools and two temporary cache rows. It lists ~/Library/Application Support/uTools itself for review and selects it by default when eligible, so untick it if you want to keep your plugins and their data. Status shows uTools as one row, and the update page reads its Electron updater configuration.

What this test covered

On November 9, 2026, the Apple silicon uTools-8.0.2-arm64.dmg from u-tools.cn, whose checksum matched the Homebrew cask, was copied to Applications on a test Mac without running brew install and opened once. It was removed with a source-built Mole with every review row ticked. Mole asked the app to quit, force quit it, then ended it with SIGKILL, and moved the app and 7 rows to the Trash with no failures. It also removed one uTools entry from the login items list. Mole's rescan found nothing left; a file listing afterwards still showed the .sfl4 recent-documents file, which Mole's scan could not read because the test build ran without Full Disk Access. Status showed one row with 8 processes. No account was signed in and no plugin was installed, so plugin data, sync, the Homebrew install and Mole's notarized release build were not tested.