Uninstall VirtualBox on Mac

Shut down every VirtualBox virtual machine and back up its VM files before uninstalling VirtualBox. Removing a VM is separate from removing the app. The September 19, 2026 record covers the app copied from the official package.

Quit and remove the app

For a full Oracle installer, use the uninstall tool on its official disk image while that image is available. The recorded test only copied VirtualBox.app out of a package, so moving that copy to Trash did not exercise installer components or a reboot. The official page has more product information.

Review the app’s data

The cask lists /Library/Application Support/VirtualBox, ~/Library/VirtualBox and exact preferences. ~/Library/VirtualBox can hold VirtualBox.xml VM registration; ~/VirtualBox VMs is a VM storage location and the cask only attempts to remove it when empty.

If you installed it with Homebrew

The Homebrew cask has its own --zap list. brew uninstall --cask virtualbox removes the cask without that list; brew uninstall --cask --zap virtualbox also acts on its listed data without consulting Mole’s checkboxes. Zap names both system support and user VM registration; it is not a substitute for the vendor installer’s removal flow. Mole also suppresses zap if its list would cross an unchecked, shared, unknown, or unsupported path; selected remnants still follow Mole’s own deletion path.

brew uninstall --cask virtualbox

Check the result

These commands inspect the running process and one relevant location. They do not remove anything:

pgrep -il "VirtualBox"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/VirtualBox"

No pgrep match means no process with that name is running; a match needs identification before quitting anything. A listed path still exists, while an ls “No such file” error means only that exact path is absent. A permission error is inconclusive.

What Mole lists

Mole lists ~/Library/VirtualBox for review and leaves it unchecked. It does not select VM images by default or equate an app-only test with removal of system components.

What this test covered

The test used the app copied from the official package. On September 19, 2026, version 7.2.18 was tested by copying only its .app; the installer was not run and the Mac was not restarted. Review coverage for ~/Library/VirtualBox was added, but driver and receipt removal remain unverified.